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.
3-25 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1
3-26 Amend S.B. 812 as follows:
4-1 (1) On page 2, line 5, strike "shall" and substitute "may".
4-2 (2) On page 2, line 16, strike "shall" and substitute "may".
4-3 (3) On page 3, line 13, strike "shall" and substitute "may".
4-4 Lewis of Orange