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.
Texas Railroad Commission
Posted in
Economy
Race for Railroad Commissioner Revives Overhaul Talk
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.
Posted in
Energy
Denton Council Punts Fracking Ban Proposal to Voters
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.
Posted in
Energy
Methane Inquiry Closes, but Questions Linger
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.
Posted in
Energy
Railroad Commission’s Media Policy Has Some Expressing Concerns
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.
Posted in
Energy
Scientists: Data Shows Fracking’s Link to Methane in Well
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.
Posted in
Energy
Railroad Commission Sides With Driller on Well Protest
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.
Posted in
Energy
Mayors: State Must Act Faster on Earthquake Study
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.
Posted in
Politics
Analysis: Smitherman Lost, but Stays in Game
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.
Posted in
Energy
GOP Railroad Commission Hopefuls Trade Ethics Barbs
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.
