Railroad Commission of Texas said this week the 89th session of the Texas legislature that ended June 2 provided historic funding of more than $593 million for the next two fiscal years beginning Sept. 1, 2025. The appropriations include $100 million for oil and gas well plugging to be used in the commission’s state-managed plugging program. It’s the largest one-time infusion of funds from the legislature to support this program, which has plugged more than 46,000 wells since it started in 1984.
Other funding included $16.7 million for data reporting systems to track produced water, authorized pit registrations, and oversight and safety regulatory filing and permitting; $2 million for upgrades to the agency’s GIS cloud systems; and $1.3 million to establish an underground injection well investigation team.
Newly elected chairman Jim Wright said Monday, “The development of our natural resources plays a vital role in our state’s economy, and I thank the legislature for their continued commitment to the Railroad Commission to carry out our important mission.” Commissioner Wayne Christian added, “The industry generates so much in tax revenues for Texas that for every $1 appropriated by the legislature to the commission the industry returns $47. Talk about a return for the taxpayer.”
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