The latest Texas Railroad Commission news from The Texas Tribune.
The Energy track at The 2015 Texas Tribune Festival featured panel discussions on the state’s drilling industry and the state of the electric grid. We also featured a one-on-one interview with Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick. Full Story
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When you read a letter from Texas Railroad Commission Chairman David Porter, there is a chance he wrote it. And there is a chance it was written by someone in the oil and gas industry he's supposed to be regulating. Full Story
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Weighing in on a case before the FCC, Texas Railroad Commission Chairman David Porter signed a letter authored by a pipeline company. Critics say the move illustrates a coziness with the industries he regulates. Full Story
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The Texas Railroad Commission looks poised to clear a second oilfield company of responsibility for a series of earthquakes that rattled two North Texas towns — despite research suggesting otherwise. Full Story
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A Palo Pinto County family is suing two oil and gas operators, alleging that gas from their wells migrated into the family's water well, which exploded and burned them. Full Story
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The Texas Oil and Gas Association and the state’s General Land Office have expanded the scope of their lawsuits against Denton. Both are taking aim at the city’s moratorium on new gas drilling in addition to the toothless fracking ban still on its books. Full Story
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After wrapping up a round of testing, Texas regulators say they have found no evidence that injecting oilfield waste into five disposal wells triggered the largest recorded earthquake in North Texas’ history. Full Story
The Texas Railroad Commission has a new leader. The state’s three-member oil and gas regulator on Tuesday unanimously elected David Porter as its chairman. He replaces Christi Craddick in the largely ceremonial role. Full Story
Frustrated Denton residents flooded a city council meeting Tuesday for a conversation about fracking that stretched late into the night. Now that state lawmakers have slapped down the city's fracking ban, residents wonder what else they can do. Full Story
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Seven months after a rag-tag group of local activists scored a surprising victory over the state’s powerful oil and gas industry when Denton voted to ban hydraulic fracturing, a natural gas company Monday resumed operations under a state law passed to overturn Denton's ban. Full Story
The Railroad Commission of Texas would avoid intense legislative scrutiny until 2023 under a deal reached late Friday, a surprise six-year reprieve that rankled the oil and gas regulator’s critics. Full Story
City officials are crossing their fingers that one Republican proposal – what consumer advocates call the session’s most important bill for natural gas utility customers – will pick up steam before time runs out. Full Story
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Four days after the Senate approved landmark legislation that would pre-empt local control over a variety of oil and gas activities, the Texas House advanced another response to Denton's vote to ban hydraulic fracturing. Full Story
The so-called Denton fracking bill is headed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. The Senate on Monday approved a bill to pre-empt local efforts to regulate a wide variety of oil and gas activities. Full Story
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In the latest chapter of a long-running legal fight, a Fort Worth oil and gas company has received permission from the Texas Supreme Court to pursue defamation damages from a Parker County man. Full Story
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Gas industry activity “most likely” triggered a series of earthquakes that shook two North Texas towns from late 2013 through early 2014, new peer-reviewed research shows. Full Story
A group of lawmakers is trying – again – to change the Railroad Commission's name to reflect what it does. This time, proponents want to call the agency the Texas Energy Commission. Full Story
UPDATED: The Texas House on Friday approved House Bill 40, which would pre-empt local efforts to regulate a wide variety of oil and gas activities. Full Story
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Barry Smitherman, the only person to serve both on the Texas Railroad Commission and the state’s Public Utility Commission, will practice energy law at Vinson and Elkins, the international law firm announced Tuesday. Full Story
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A House committee on Monday approved legislation that would limit local control over oil and gas activities — a committee substitute for a bill that initially stirred anger in city halls across Texas. Full Story
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