By:  Brown                                             S.B. No. 812
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
                                       AN ACT
 1-1     relating to the recovery by the Railroad Commission of Texas of
 1-2     well plugging and oil field cleanup costs incurred by the
 1-3     commission.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 89.043, Natural Resources Code, is
 1-6     amended by amending Subsection (c) and by adding Subsection (f) to
 1-7     read as follows:
 1-8           (c)  On or before the 30th day before the date the commission
 1-9     enters into a contract to plug a delinquent inactive well, the
1-10     commission shall send a notice by certified mail to the operator of
1-11     the well at the address last reported to the commission as required
1-12     by Section 91.142 [of this code] and commission rules.  The notice
1-13     shall direct the operator to plug the well and shall state that:
1-14                 (1)  the commission may plug the well unless the
1-15     operator requests a hearing not later than the 10th day after the
1-16     date the operator receives the notice;
1-17                 (2)  if the commission plugs the well, all well-site
1-18     equipment will be presumed to have been abandoned and the
1-19     commission may dispose of the equipment and hydrocarbons from the
1-20     well as provided by Section 89.085 [of this code]; and
1-21                 (3)  if the commission plugs the well, the commission:
1-22                       (A)  by order may require the operator to
1-23     reimburse the commission for the plugging costs; or
1-24                       (B)  may request the attorney general to [may]
 2-1     file suit against the operator to recover those [the plugging]
 2-2     costs [if the commission plugs the well and the operator fails to
 2-3     reimburse the commission for the plugging costs].
 2-4           (f)  At the request of the commission, the attorney general
 2-5     shall file suit to enforce an order issued by the commission under
 2-6     Subsection (c)(3)(A).
 2-7           SECTION 2.  Subsections (h), (i), and (j), Section 89.083,
 2-8     Natural Resources Code, are amended to read as follows:
 2-9           (h)  The commission:
2-10                 (1)  by order may require the operator and any
2-11     nonoperator to reimburse the commission for all reasonable expenses
2-12     incurred in plugging a well; or
2-13                 (2)  may request the attorney general to file suit
2-14     against the operator and any nonoperator to recover those expenses.
2-15           (i)  At the request of the commission, the attorney general
2-16     shall file suit to enforce an order issued by the commission under
2-17     Subsection (h)(1) [shall seek reimbursement for all reasonable
2-18     expenses incurred in plugging any well through an action instituted
2-19     by the attorney general].
2-20           (j) [(i)]  Money collected in a suit under this section shall
2-21     be deposited in the state oil-field cleanup fund.
2-22           (k) [(j)]  A civil action for reimbursement under this
2-23     section may be brought in Travis County, the county in which the
2-24     plugged well is located, or the county in which any defendant
2-25     resides.
2-26           SECTION 3.  Subsection (f), Section 91.113, Natural Resources
 3-1     Code, is amended to read as follows:
 3-2           (f)  If the commission conducts a site investigation or
 3-3     environmental assessment or controls or cleans up oil and gas
 3-4     wastes or other substances or materials under this section, the
 3-5     commission may recover all costs incurred by the commission from
 3-6     any person who was required by law, rules adopted by the
 3-7     commission, or a valid order of the commission to control or clean
 3-8     up the oil and gas wastes or other substances or materials.  The
 3-9     commission by order may require the person to reimburse the
3-10     commission for those costs or [The commission] may request the
3-11     attorney general to file suit against the person to recover those
3-12     costs.  At the request of the commission, the attorney general
3-13     shall file suit to enforce an order issued by the commission under
3-14     this subsection.  A suit under this subsection may be filed in any
3-15     court of competent jurisdiction in Travis County [to recover these
3-16     costs].  Costs recovered under this subsection shall be deposited
3-17     to the oil-field cleanup fund.
3-18           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
3-19     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-20     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-21     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-22     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
3-23     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
3-24     passage, and it is so enacted.