Craddick seeking another term on Railroad Commission
Craddick's announcement means that every non-judicial statewide official in Texas — all of them Republicans — has plans to seek re-election next year. Full Story
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![Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick speaks at the GOP state convention in Dallas, Texas on May 12, 2016.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Legislature passes much-criticized bill reforming oil and gas regulatory agency
A Democratic senator on Tuesday made a last-ditch effort to beef up a bill aimed at reforming and reauthorizing the state’s oil and gas regulatory agency — legislation environmental groups and watchdogs have decried as toothless. Full Story
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![Texas Railroad Commissioners Christi Craddick, Ryan Sitton and David Porter wait for their turn to testify before the Sunset Advisory Commission on Aug. 22, 2016.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Lawmakers try to add bathroom amendment to Railroad Commission bill
In the Texas Political Roundup: Lawmakers attempt to add bathroom and immigration amendments to a Texas Railroad Commission bill, legislators are getting closer to a state budget, and how to interact with police may become required learning for Texas teens. Full Story
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After immigration and bathroom fights, House votes to keep Railroad Commission functioning
Immigration and bathrooms took over a good chunk of a floor debate on whether to keep the Texas Railroad Commission functioning until 2029. In the end lawmakers voted unanimously to tentatively send the bill to the Senate. Full Story
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![State Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, leads a coalition of Hispanic and African-American groups in a gathering on the South Steps March 21, 2017. Anchia was voicing opposition to school voucher bills winding their way through the legislature with committee hearings scheduled Tuesday.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Years after well explosion, Texas family still waiting for answers from agency
A North Texas family is still waiting for answers about whether nearby gas production caused their water well to explode and why the Railroad Commission seemed to miss early signs that something like this could happen in their community. Full Story
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![Ashley and Cody Murray, ranchers in Palo Pinto County, pose with their two children. They allege nearby gas drilling caused methane to leak into their water well before it exploded, severely burning the couple, their four-year-old daughter and Cody's father. Their legal case could put pressure on Texas regulators.]()
Credit: Murray Family -
Expect fewer man-made earthquakes in Texas, federal agency says
The odds that a man-made earthquake will hit Texas this year have plummeted, according to new risk projections from the U.S. Geological Survey that are based on the amount of seismic activity that's occurred here in the past few years. Full Story
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![Each day, dozens of trucks hook up to the Gulf Coast-run fracking fluid disposal well site near Gonzales, Texas.]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney -
House, Senate disagree on how to fund the state's oil and gas regulator
Texas House and Senate leaders unveiled dueling budget proposals this week that are billions of dollars apart. Full Story
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Credit: Paul Lowry -
Abandoned Texas oil wells seen as "ticking time bombs" of contamination
Texas is among several states grappling with a surge of abandoned drilling sites and dwindling funds to clean them up. Full Story
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![Ty Edwards, assistant general manager of the Middle Pecos Groundwater Conservation District, points to brackish water flowing from one of several flowing abandoned wells— originally drilled for oil, but later used for irrigation — that no state agency plans to plug.]()
Credit: Rafael Aguilera for The Texas Tribune -
Sunset panel passes on Railroad Commission name change
The Texas Sunset Advisory Commission on Thursday snubbed several recommendations meant to enhance the Railroad Commission of Texas' efficiency and environmental regulatory functions. Full Story
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Credit: Paul Lowry -
Wayne Christian wins big in Texas Railroad Commission race
Former state Rep. Wayne Christian, a Republican, notched an easy victory Tuesday in the race for Texas railroad commissioner. Full Story
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Petroleum engineer lifts Libertarian hopes in Railroad Commission race
Mark Miller, a Libertarian running for Railroad Commission, is gaining an unusual amount of attention in a turbulent election cycle, leaving his party hopeful that it can make a splash in a statewide race. Full Story
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![Mark Miller, the Libertarian candidate for Texas railroad commissioner, stands outside of his home in Dripping Springs on Oct. 14, 2016.]()
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Toxic Aquifer Injections Trouble Railroad Commission Hopeful
Mark Miller, a Libertarian candidate for Texas railroad commissioner, is taking the commission to task for its failure to track toxic injections into underground zones that could hold drinking water. Full Story
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![Mark Miller, Libertarian candidate for Texas railroad commissioner.]()
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Texas Rep Wants to Limit His Industry's Liability For Busting Pipes
State Rep. Cecil Bell, a private contractor, says he has a plan to curb costly and sometimes dangerous strikes to underground pipelines during construction: make sure whoever is responsible pays to fix them. Full Story
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![Water pipeline crew members prepare for the laying of a section of the 60-mile-long chain running near Eden, Texas, in 2012.]()
Credit: Jerod Foster -
Texas Promised to Track Oilfield Waste in Aquifers. It Didn't.
Texas regulators have allowed energy companies in recent years to inject toxic materials into at least a “handful” of underground sources of drinking water, records show. Full Story
![Each day, dozens of trucks hook up to the Gulf Coast-run fracking fluid disposal well site near Gonzales, Texas.]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney -
"Why Are You So Angry at the Railroad Commission?" Texas Lawmaker Asks Reviewers
State lawmakers on Monday considered a host of recommendations to reshape and rename the Texas Railroad Commission, a powerful agency that oversees a host of oil and gas activities but not railroads. Full Story
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![Texas Railroad Commission Chairman David Porter speaks during a Sunset Advisory Commission hearing in Austin on Aug. 22, 2016.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
EPA: North Texas Quakes Likely Linked to Oil and Gas Drilling
Federal regulators believe “there is a significant possibility” that a recent surge in North Texas earthquakes is linked to oil and gas activity, even if state regulators won’t say so. Full Story
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![Kaylen Holmesly, a 7th grade resident of Azle, Texas, testifies before the Texas Railroad Commission and voiced her concern about an increased number of earthquakes around Eagle Mountain Lake on January 21st, 2014.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Tiny Nordheim Sues State Over Drilling Waste Dump
A tiny South Texas town is continuing its fight against an oil and gas waste site half its size, even after regulators gave its developer the go-ahead. Residents of Nordheim, population 316, are suing the Texas Railroad Commission. Full Story
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![Paul Baumann's property, owned by his family for generations, is directly next to a proposed drilling waste dump in the small town of Nordheim. He, along with other concerned citizens, are protesting the dump as they fear it will pollute and ruin their way of life.]()
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Ryan Sitton on Oil Prices, Regulation, Trump (Video)
Here's full video of our June 3 conversation in Austin with Texas Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton. Full Story
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Christian Defeats Gates in Railroad Commission's Republican Runoff
Former state Rep. Wayne Christian won the Republican nomination late Tuesday in the race for Texas railroad commissioner, edging out Houston-area real estate mogul Gary Gates in a race that turned heated in its final stages. Full Story
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![Republicans Wayne Christian (left), and Gary Gates (right) are facing off in a May 24 primary runoff for Texas railroad commissioner.]()
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Christian Calls Gates "Slumlord" as Railroad Commission Runoff Nears
In an increasingly testy Republican runoff for railroad commissioner, state Rep. Wayne Christian is reaching into Gary Gates' legal history in an effort to paint his opponent as a “slumlord.” Full Story
![Republicans Wayne Christian (left), and Gary Gates (right) are facing off in a May 24 primary runoff for Texas railroad commissioner.]()
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