Bill Text: TX SB185 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to disclosure requirements regarding certain oil or gas well accidents.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-05-16 - Referred to Energy Resources [SB185 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-SB185-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Relating to disclosure requirements regarding certain oil or gas well accidents.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-05-16 - Referred to Energy Resources [SB185 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-SB185-Introduced.html
86R827 JXC-D | ||
By: Miles | S.B. No. 185 |
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relating to the response to certain oil or gas well accidents by | ||
state agencies and responsible parties. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 91, Natural Resources | ||
Code, is amended by adding Sections 91.118, 91.119, and 91.120 to | ||
read as follows: | ||
Sec. 91.118. NOTICE TO COMMISSION OF WELL FIRE, LEAK, | ||
SPILL, OR BREAK. (a) An operator of an oil or gas well shall: | ||
(1) give immediate notice of a fire, leak, spill, or | ||
break at the well to the appropriate commission oil and gas division | ||
district office; and | ||
(2) submit to the commission a letter giving a full | ||
description of the event, including the volume of crude oil, gas, or | ||
other well liquids or gases lost. | ||
(b) This section does not limit the authority of the | ||
commission to require other types of notice from operators. | ||
Sec. 91.119. WELL BLOWOUT EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM. (a) In | ||
this section, "state emergency response commission" means the state | ||
emergency management council or other committee appointed by the | ||
governor in accordance with the Emergency Planning and Community | ||
Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. Section 11001 et seq.). | ||
(b) The commission and the Texas Commission on | ||
Environmental Quality shall jointly develop an emergency alert | ||
system to notify the public of the uncontrolled release from an oil | ||
or gas well of a substance that will substantially endanger human | ||
health or the environment. The commission and the Texas Commission | ||
on Environmental Quality shall consult with the state emergency | ||
response commission in developing the system. | ||
(c) If the commission or the Texas Commission on | ||
Environmental Quality determines that an uncontrolled release of a | ||
substance from an oil or gas well will substantially endanger human | ||
health or the environment, that agency shall, not later than 30 | ||
minutes after making the determination, notify persons in the area | ||
in which the well is located of the release using the alert system. | ||
When the agency determines a release is no longer a threat to human | ||
health or the environment, the agency shall notify persons using | ||
the alert system. | ||
(d) In developing the alert system, the commission and the | ||
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality may use as a model the | ||
alert systems established by Subchapter L, Chapter 411, Government | ||
Code, and Section 51.854, Water Code. | ||
(e) The alert system must: | ||
(1) allow a person to register for a preferred method | ||
of receiving a message under the alert system and allow a person the | ||
option of not receiving the alerts; | ||
(2) provide notification through reverse 9-1-1 calls, | ||
text messages, e-mails, social media, and other instant messaging | ||
systems; and | ||
(3) allow the state agency providing the notification | ||
to modify the notification based on: | ||
(A) the distance of the release to the person | ||
receiving the notification; and | ||
(B) the projected movement of the release. | ||
(f) An alert issued by the alert system must include: | ||
(1) each area affected by the release, including a | ||
geographic display of the severity of the threat posed by the | ||
release; | ||
(2) a link to an Internet website or other message | ||
system that maintains current information on each affected area; | ||
(3) a link to an Internet website or other message | ||
system that describes a symptom of any illness caused by the release | ||
that may require emergency medical treatment; | ||
(4) the chemicals involved in and toxicity of the | ||
release; | ||
(5) the projected movement of the release; and | ||
(6) instructions for protection from exposure to the | ||
release or for reducing exposure to the release. | ||
Sec. 91.120. APPLICATION FOR PERMIT FOR WELL ADJACENT TO | ||
WELL BLOWOUT SITE. (a) In the case of a conflict between this | ||
section and Section 91.114, this section controls. | ||
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (e), the commission may | ||
not approve an application for a permit to drill an oil or gas well | ||
if: | ||
(1) the organization that submitted the application: | ||
(A) violated a statute or commission rule, order, | ||
license, certificate, or permit that relates to safety or the | ||
prevention or control of pollution; or | ||
(B) is under investigation by a state or federal | ||
agency for an alleged violation of a statute or commission rule, | ||
order, license, certificate, or permit that relates to safety or | ||
the prevention or control of pollution; | ||
(2) the violation or alleged violation described by | ||
Subdivision (1) relates to an uncontrolled release from an oil or | ||
gas well of a substance that substantially endangered human health | ||
or the environment; and | ||
(3) the well that is the subject of the application is | ||
proposed to be drilled at a site adjacent to the site of the | ||
violation or alleged violation described by Subdivision (1). | ||
(c) An organization has committed a violation for purposes | ||
of Subsection (b)(1)(A) of this section if the circumstances | ||
described by Section 91.114(b) have been met with respect to the | ||
violation. | ||
(d) The commission may adopt rules if necessary to establish | ||
criteria for determining whether a site is adjacent to another site | ||
for the purposes of this section. | ||
(e) The commission may approve the application if: | ||
(1) the conditions that constituted the violation have | ||
been corrected; | ||
(2) the organization has paid all administrative, | ||
civil, and criminal penalties and all cleanup and plugging costs | ||
incurred by the state relating to those conditions; and | ||
(3) the application is in compliance with all other | ||
requirements of law and commission rules. | ||
(f) If an application is rejected under this section, the | ||
commission shall provide the organization with a written statement | ||
explaining the reason for the rejection. | ||
(g) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), the commission may | ||
issue a permit to drill an oil or gas well to an organization | ||
described by Subsection (b) for a term specified by the commission | ||
if the permit is necessary to remedy a violation of law or | ||
commission rules. | ||
(h) A fee tendered in connection with an application that is | ||
rejected under this section is nonrefundable. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 91.120, Natural Resources Code, as added | ||
by this Act, applies only to an application for a permit to drill an | ||
oil or gas well filed with the Railroad Commission of Texas on or | ||
after the effective date of this Act. An application for a permit | ||
filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law | ||
in effect on the date of filing, and that law is continued in effect | ||
for that purpose. | ||
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |