| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the authority of the Railroad Commission of Texas to |
|
|
contract for the treatment of and sell drill cuttings. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. The heading to Section 91.115, Natural Resources |
|
|
Code, is amended to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 91.115. FIRST LIEN ON EQUIPMENT AND STORED |
|
|
HYDROCARBONS OR DRILL CUTTINGS. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Section 91.115, Natural Resources Code, is |
|
|
amended by amending Subsections (a), (e), (f), and (g) and adding |
|
|
Subsections (f-1) and (f-2) to read as follows: |
|
|
(a) If a responsible person fails to clean up a site or |
|
|
facility that has ceased oil and gas operations under the |
|
|
commission's jurisdiction on or before the date the site or |
|
|
facility is required to be cleaned up by law or by a rule adopted or |
|
|
order issued by the commission, the state has a first lien, superior |
|
|
to all preexisting and subsequent liens and security interests, on |
|
|
the responsible person's interest in any hydrocarbons or drill |
|
|
cuttings stored at the site or facility and in any equipment that |
|
|
is: |
|
|
(1) located at the site or facility; and |
|
|
(2) used by the responsible person in connection with |
|
|
the activity that generated the pollution. |
|
|
(e) The lien is extinguished as to any stored hydrocarbons |
|
|
or drill cuttings or items of equipment that are lawfully removed by |
|
|
any person other than the operator or a nonoperator according to a |
|
|
lien, lease, judgment, written contract, or security agreement |
|
|
before the commission enters into a cleanup contract. An item of |
|
|
equipment may not be removed from an abandoned site or facility if |
|
|
the removal will cause the release of a substance that may cause |
|
|
pollution unless the substance is lawfully disposed of. |
|
|
(f) Equipment or stored hydrocarbons or drill cuttings |
|
|
subject to a lien under this section are presumed to have been |
|
|
abandoned on the date the commission enters into a contract to clean |
|
|
up the site or facility on which the equipment, [or] hydrocarbons, |
|
|
or drill cuttings are located. |
|
|
(f-1) The commission may dispose of the abandoned equipment |
|
|
or stored hydrocarbons in accordance with the provisions of |
|
|
Sections 89.085, 89.086, and 89.087 [of this code] for the |
|
|
disposition of well-site equipment and hydrocarbons. |
|
|
(f-2) The commission may dispose of the abandoned stored |
|
|
drill cuttings by contracting with a person to treat the drill |
|
|
cuttings at the site or facility for a subsequent beneficial use and |
|
|
selling the treated drill cuttings at a public auction or a public |
|
|
or private sale. Sections 89.085(c)-(i), 89.086, and 89.087 apply |
|
|
to the disposition of drill cuttings under this subsection in the |
|
|
same manner as those sections apply to the disposition of |
|
|
hydrocarbons. |
|
|
(g) In this section: |
|
|
(1) "Drill cuttings" has the meaning assigned by |
|
|
Section 123.001. |
|
|
(2) "Responsible ["responsible] person" has the |
|
|
meaning assigned by Section 91.113 [of this code]. |
|
|
(3) "Treat" means to use a manufacturing, mechanical, |
|
|
thermal, or chemical process other than sizing, shaping, diluting, |
|
|
or sorting. |
|
|
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
|
|
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
|
|
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
|
|
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
|
|
Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |