The latest Texas Railroad Commission news from The Texas Tribune.
A tainted water well in North Texas has already stirred national debate about the impacts of oil and gas production. Now it stars in a free speech dispute that has landed in the Texas Supreme Court. Full Story
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Texas should not bank on legal action to free itself from the Obama administration’s proposal to tackle climate change, two state regulators said Friday at a Public Utility Commission workshop. Full Story
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The Railroad Commission's new chairman on the agency's dual role as an industry watchdog and champion, the push to ban fracking in Denton and the commission’s efforts on earthquakes and disposal wells. Full Story
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Two candidates for the Railroad Commission welcomed the agency's newly proposed requirements for disposal well applications, saying they were a good first step in addressing the spate of earthquakes that have shaken up parts of North Texas. Full Story
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Landowners and pipeline companies are closely scrutinizing proposed rules aimed at clearing up confusion over a status that gives pipeline companies the right to claim private property using eminent domain. Full Story
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A North Texas town's effort to ban hydraulic fracturing may prompt an unprecedented showdown between two powerful rights: a city's authority to shape development and mineral owners' right to tap their resources. Full Story
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Several thwarted legislative proposals to overhaul the Texas Railroad Commission — the state's curiously named oil and gas regulator — have resurfaced in the race for an open seat on the commission. Full Story
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Voters will decide whether Denton will become the state's first city to ban hydraulic fracturing after the city council rejected a proposal to ban the method of oil and gas extraction. Full Story
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Last month, the Railroad Commission of Texas rejected an argument that drilling activity was to blame for methane migrating into a North Texas neighborhood's water supply. But independent geoscientists remain divided on the issue. Full Story
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A key Republican lawmaker and a Democratic candidate for railroad commissioner are among those expressing concerns about the Railroad Commission of Texas' practice of preventing staffers from talking to members of the media. Full Story
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While Barnett Shale gas producers deny any connection between methane-contaminated wells and their operations, a pair of scientists dispute that. They say test results just released by state regulators provide concrete evidence of a link. Full Story
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UPDATED: The Railroad Commission on Thursday sided with Marathon Oil Company’s bid to dismiss a groundwater conservation district’s protest of its application to inject waste into part of South Texas’ Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer. Full Story
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More than six months after a series of earthquakes surprised parts of North Texas, the mayors of two shaken-up towns told a state House subcommittee Monday that the state has moved too slowly in investigating what’s behind the phenomenon. Full Story
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Railroad Commissioner Barry Smitherman lost his bid for attorney general, but he remains an oil and gas regulator and has sought industry help retiring campaign debts and perhaps landing a job. Full Story
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A former Texas Railroad Commission chairman is helping Ryan Sitton fight back against conflict-of-interest allegations in the Republican primary runoff for an open seat on the commission. Full Story
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In his first run for public office, Malachi Boyuls encountered a big state, a crowded ballot and some difficulty with names — both his own and that of the office he sought. Full Story
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The Texas Railroad Commission has hired a seismologist to research the oil and gas industry's ties to the spate of earthquakes that has rattled North Texans. Full Story
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Ryan Sitton, a Republican candidate for railroad commissioner, says that if elected, he would remain involved with his company, which consults with some of the world’s largest oil and gas companies. Some of his opponents have raised concerns. Full Story
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Four Republicans running for Texas railroad commissioner are working to differentiate themselves. But speaking Thursday at a Republican Women of Austin luncheon, they found plenty upon which to agree. Full Story
The Texas Railroad Commission said it would hire a seismologist to research the link between earthquakes and disposal of oil and gas waste in injection wells. Full Story