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Senate Bill 1130 |
Senate Author: Hinojosa |
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Effective: See below |
House Sponsor: Hilderbran |
Senate Bill 1130 amends the Natural Resources Code to require a common carrier or owner or operator of a pipeline to file a report within 24 hours to the Railroad Commission of Texas and the landowner if any petroleum-based contamination is observed or detected while placing, replacing, repairing, or maintaining a pipeline. The bill sets out requirements for the report, including content, filing deadline, and method of transmission. The bill prohibits the commission from using the oil-field cleanup fund to implement the regulations.
Senate Bill 1130 also provides that a common carrier or pipeline owner or operator that makes a contamination report is released from all liability for the contamination or the cleanup, except for any contamination caused by the reporting entity. The constitutional authority of the legislature to limit liability requires a three-fifths vote of the members of each house, and the bill did not receive this required vote, so the section on the release from liability is not effective. The remainder of the bill is effective September 1, 2005.