Oil and Gas Incidents: Knowing Who to Call May 2018 www.rrc.texas.gov
Overview Provide information on the jurisdiction of the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) Clarify who to contact in oil and gas related emergencies Raise awareness of helpful resources available through RRC
RRC History Established 1891 Texas oldest regulatory agency almost 100 years regulating oil & gas Led by 3 statewide elected officials
RRC Mission Our mission statement is to serve Texas by our stewardship of natural resources and the environment, our concern for personal and community safety, and our support of enhanced development and economic vitality for the benefit of Texans.
Jurisdiction Oil and natural gas exploration & production industry Intrastate pipelines, natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeline industry Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Natural gas utilities Coal and uranium surface mining operations
Jurisdiction RRC has primary regulatory authority over the oil & gas (O&G) industry. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) environmental agency for the state some regulatory responsibility
Codified in RRC Rules 16 TAC 3.30 Jurisdiction Jurisdictional agreement between TCEQ & RRC
Jurisdiction Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Who Regulates Oil and Gas Activity in Texas? https://www.tceq.texas.gov/assistance/industry/o il-and-gas/oilgas.html
Partnerships Texas Division of Emergency Management Office of the Attorney General Texas General Land Office Texas Public Utility Commission Texas Dept. of Public Safety Texas Dept. of Transportation Texas Dept. of State Health Services Texas Parks and Wildlife Texas Historical Commission
Oil and Gas Activity Texas is the number one oil and gas producing state with more than 270,000 actively producing oil and gas wells Texas leads the nation in crude oil and natural gas production. Approximately 2.6 million barrels of crude oil are produced daily.
Oil and Gas Division Administrative Compliance Technical Permitting Field Operations
Oil and Gas District Offices Abilene Corpus Christi Houston Kilgore Midland Pampa San Angelo San Antonio Wichita Falls
Pipeline Safety 448,446 total pipeline miles in Texas 396,916 miles of pipeline under RRC safety oversight RRC regulates intrastate pipeline in Texas interstate pipeline regulated by Pipeline Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration (PHMSA) Oil and Gas Division responds to spills
Pipeline Safety Regional Offices Pipeline Safety Regional Offices 1 - Pampa 2 - Midland 3 - Kilgore 4 - Austin 5 - Houston 6 - Fort Worth 7 - Corpus Christi
Pipeline Damage Prevention Promote/enforce underground pipeline damage prevention program effective Sept. 1, 2017: damage prevention rules apply to both intrastate and interstate pipelines
Overview of What s New Excavators must call 811 no later than one hour after an incident Excavators must call 911 if any natural gas or other product is released Operators and excavators have 30 days to file a Texas Damage Report Form (TDRF) with RRC
District/Regional Offices Serve as the eyes and ears of RRC regulatory efforts Contact with complaints On call 24/7 to respond to emergencies Ensure oil and gas activities done in accordance with RRC rules & regulations
Emergency Contacts Appropriate District or Regional Office 24 hour emergency line: 844/773-0305 toll free 512/463-6788 Always call 911 first!
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Complaints In general, complaints for O&G exploration, production and transportation should be directed to the RRC. Depending upon the complaint, other entities may have jurisdiction.
Complaints Appropriate District Office Refer to RRC website 877-228-5740 http://www.rrc.texas.gov/oil-gas/complaints/
Complaints Local law enforcement/government Noise complaints Traffic complaints Dust from public roads
Spills What is spilled How much is spilled Where it is spilled Determine who has jurisdiction
RRC & Spills Spills that occur at oil and gas drilling, exploration, development or production sites Spills from RRC permitted O&G waste haulers on public roadways Spills related to the transportation of crude and natural gas by pipeline.
TCEQ & Spills Spills of hazardous substances including refined petroleum products from pipelines or over roadways Spills associated with transportation of crude oil and natural gas including natural gas liquids, by railcar, tank truck, barge or tanker
Other Agencies & Spills General Land Office (GLO) Crude oil that threatens to enter coastal water ways. Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD) Impacts to fish and wildlife The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) securing incident sites at transportation related spills
RRC & Air RRC air jurisdiction Flaring and venting of natural gas From the perspective of it being a waste of natural resources
Public Safety Blowout and spill prevention and response Hydrogen Sulfide Gas (H2S) with 100 ppm or greater concentration exploration (drilling), production and transportation with H2S as a constituent concentrations below 100 ppm considered nuisance odor, addressed by TCEQ
TCEQ regulation of air TCEQ & Air 72 hours after the well test Start of production For non well tested sites, the date equipment is brought on-site
RRC & Water Protection Well construction requirements Well plugging/site remediation Prevention and cleanup of spills Management of wastes On well sites At disposal facilities
RRC & Water RRC regulation of water Suspected contamination of private water wells from oil & gas activity Wastewater at the drilling rig or disposal well site Discharge of oil and gas waste to surface waters of the state Authorization required from both RRC and EPA-R6
RRC & Water RRC regulation of water Non-contact storm water discharge RRC may not be required; EPA permit may be required Contact storm water discharge: considered oil and gas waste
TCEQ & Water TCEQ water jurisdiction Wastewater & storm water from commercial service companies Public Drinking Water and Surface Water Rights
Jurisdiction Over Waste RRC has jurisdiction over waste generated onsite at the lease specific to the exploration, drilling or production TCEQ has jurisdiction over residential-like garbage generated anywhere on the lease from living activities/office trailers
County Authority Counties have the ability to enforce the Texas Health & Safety Code (THSC) in unincorporated areas of the county.
RRC State Operations Center (SOC) Team Texas Division of Emergency Management - State Operations Center (SOC) Support the Emergency Management Council Maintain RRC's annual Homeland Security Implementation Plan
RRC SOC Team RRC SOC Team's primary duties: RRC mapping data cleanup and remediation expertise shutdown/reestablishment of gas service understanding of alternative fuels
RRC SOC Team Hurricane Harvey response 14 RRC Employees logged 354 hours at SOC worked 24/7 from Aug. 24 Sept. 3. Review of Civil Air Patrol photographs More than 325,000 photos reviewed by RRC staff Resulted in approximately 300 field inspections
Emergency Response Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 Regional Response Team (RRT-6) 15 federal department/agencies Five states represented Ensures both state and federal response
U. S. Border Patrol Homeland Security Emergency Response Law enforcement personnel theft, vandalism, possible terrorism Texas Emergency Management Conference Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs)
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Contact Information Travis Baer Director, San Antonio District Office 210/227-1313 Travis.Baer@rrc.texas.gov Gaye Greever McElwain Communications and Outreach 512/463-5126 Gaye.McElwain@rrc.texas.gov
Commissioner Contact Information Christi Craddick, Chairman Ryan Sitton, Commissioner Wayne Christian, Commissioner 1701 N. Congress Ave. P.O. Box 12967 Austin, TX 78711-2967