Level of oil and gas regulation at heart of Texas Railroad Commission race

Commission Shift’s executive director, Virginia Palacios, moderates a Texas Railroad Commission candidate forum with Libertarian Hawk Dunlap, Democrat Katherine Culbert and Green Party candidate Eddie Espinoza in Austin on Oct. 16, 2024. Republican incumbent Christi Craddick did not attend. (Credit: Montinique Monroe for the Texas Tribune)

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The chair of the powerful and deceptively named Texas Railroad Commission is defending her seat this November at a time when the state’s oil and gas industry is booming but the agency that regulates it is facing criticism over safety concerns linked to fracking, well blowouts and groundwater protection.

In 2023, Texas broke a record by producing 42% of the nation’s oil. Most of the state’s oil comes from the Permian Basin, a 75,000-square-mile region that stretches from eastern New Mexico and covers most of West Texas.

Railroad Commission Chair Christi Craddick is touting that success in her campaign, saying Texas is and should remain a national leader in energy policy. But her Democratic challenger has called the regulation too lax.

Oil and gas production releases greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. These gases trap heat from the sun that contribute to climate change, which is why experts say the commission has a key role to play.

Three Republicans currently lead the regulatory commission: Craddick, Wayne Christian and Jim Wright. Commissioners are elected to serve six-year terms, which are staggered so that one seat is on the ballot every two years.

Craddick’s seat is on this year’s ballot. The 54-year-old Midland native started her career as an attorney specializing in oil and gas, water, electric deregulation and environmental policy. She’s been an elected member of the commission since 2012 and was chosen by her colleagues to serve as its chair. During her time on the commission, she’s fought against what she describes as “Washington’s one-size-fits-all environmental policies,” saying federal regulations would kill jobs and stifle energy production growth. Craddick has advocated for the recycling of fracking wastewater and has led the overhaul of the agency’s information technology systems.

From left: Texas Railroad Commission Commissioner Christi Craddick, then-Chairman Wayne Christian, and Commissioner Jim Wright listen during an RRC hearing in the William B. Travis Building in Austin on Nov. 30, 2021. (Credit: Dimitri Staszewski for The Texas Tribune)

Christi Craddick, chair of the Texas Railroad Commission, speaks to delegates at the 2024 Texas GOP Convention in San Antonio on May 25, 2024. Craddick is up for reelection this year. (Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune)

In a statement to The Texas Tribune, Craddick said the agency’s upgrades have reduced permitting times significantly, in some cases allowing operators to receive a permit within 48 hours. She added that she, if elected, will continue her work to “streamline the permitting process and keep the economic engine of this state moving forward is key.”

In 2021, environmental advocacy groups criticized Craddick for defending the oil and gas industry after Winter Storm Uri because she regulates and has financial ties to it. Frigid weather during that storm strained the power supply so much that the state's power grid operator ordered utilities to reduce power demand to prevent damage to the grid, leaving natural gas producers unable to deliver enough fuel to power plants. The energy grid collapsed, leaving millions without power. More than 200 people died. Many power plants were not prepared for extreme cold weather, which led to equipment failures.

Craddick is up against three candidates: Democrat Katherine Culbert, Libertarian Hawk Dunlap and Eddie Espinoza of the Green Party.

Last week, Craddick’s challengers attended a forum at the University of Texas at Austin that was hosted by Commission Shift, a Texas-based watchdog group focused on reforming oil and gas oversight in Texas. Craddick did not accept an invitation to the forum. Election Day is Nov. 5.

Challengers want more transparency 

The Railroad Commission was formed in the 1890s largely to regulate the state’s railroads, but don’t let the name deceive you. Today, the agency regulates oil and gas extraction and waste, pipelines, natural gas utilities and coal and uranium surface mining operations in Texas. The lesser-known agency is also tasked with inspecting wells, enforcing safety rules for pipelines, deciding who gets permits, fines, setting natural gas rates and where companies inject their waste — all to ensure that companies follow state and federal rules on safety and pollution.

Craddick’s message to voters centers on a conservative platform. She’s opposing policies that she argues undermine the state’s energy independence and positions herself as a defender of jobs and national security.

At last month’s commission meeting, commissioners discussed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s rule to cut ozone emissions from neighboring states and an endangered lizard designation. Craddick expressed frustration with federal oversight. She said the oil and gas industry is constantly fighting federal regulations to continue production and “they don’t care.”

Craddick told the Tribune in a statement she is running to “promote sensible, science-based regulation that fosters innovation and growth in the energy sector, while upholding the mission of the Railroad Commission to protect personal and environmental safety.”

A Railroad Commission race voter guide during the candidate forum at UT Austin on Oct. 16, 2024. The Texas Railroad Commission regulates the oil and gas industry in the state, not the railroads. (Credit: Montinique Monroe for the Texas Tribune)

Candidates running against Craddick argue that the agency’s name is misleading and they’ve spent much of their time educating people on what the commission actually does.

Culbert, the Democrat in the race, is a 49 year-old chemical engineer. She has worked as a process safety engineer preventing pipeline fires and disasters, and conducting pipeline investigations for 25 years. She said she is running because she is frustrated with “how lax the Railroad Commission is in their enforcement of regulations.”

Culbert said that Railroad Commission’s public meetings are often rushed, finishing within an hour, have too many items on the agenda and there aren’t enough public discussions of agency business.

Dunlap, a 54-year-old Libertarian and fourth-generation oil worker, has also criticized the meetings, calling them “back door” and emphasizing the need for transparency. If elected, Dunlap said the first thing on his list would be to ask for legislative involvement to change the commission’s name to The Texas Energy Commission or something he says that “accurately reflects what the agency does.” He is using TikTok to educate voters about the Texas Railroad Commission’s real role, attracting more than 95,000 followers on the platform.

Texas Railroad Commission candidates Katherine Culbert, Hawk Dunlap and Eddie Espinoza at the Oct. 16 candidates' forum. Republican incumbent Christi Craddick did not attend. (Credit: Montinique Monroe for the Texas Tribune)

Espinoza of the Green Party is a 54-year-old retired teacher. He has also called for more transparent meetings, adding that in addition to offering input in person, people should be able to give feedback on the commission’s decisions virtually. Espinoza, who’s bilingual, said that as a commissioner he would ensure that the agency’s website and information will be provided in multiple languages.

Protecting groundwater quality from oil and gas

The state is home to more than 9,000 so-called orphaned wells that have been inactive for a minimum of 12 months with no owner. These wells sometimes leak or burst and emit toxic chemicals that can contaminate clean water sources and the air. These wells also pose significant risks to human and environmental health.

The commission has received $25 million in federal dollars to plug known orphaned wells. So far, the commission has plugged about 10% of all the estimated orphan wells in Texas.

Craddick has called the commission’s well plugging efforts “one of the best in the country.” Critics say the agency is not working fast enough.

Recently, toxic water blowouts in the Permian Basin and research that ties wastewater injections to the increasing strength and frequency of earthquakes has put the issue of these orphan wells more in the spotlight.

Culbert said the solution is to stop wastewater injection.

“We need to protect our water, and we need to do whatever is possible to make sure that we are not threatening any of our groundwater and our drinking water across the state,” she said.

Dunlap, who has traveled the world working on oilfield disasters, managing blowouts and well control, said to speed up the well plugging process he would implement a system to distribute well plugging obligations among past operators of a well, based on their profit share, similar to practices in Louisiana. He added that it’s time to upgrade plugging practices including better verification and monitoring of plugged wells for 6 months to a year before the commission can sign off.

An oil well blowout shooting a mixture of oil, water, and gas over 100 feet in the air west of Toyah on Oct. 4, 2024. (Credit: Justin Hamel courtesy of DeSmog)

“Just because you put cement in a well and you cut off the wellhead and throw some dirt on it, does not mean that the well is plugged,” he said.

Dunlap said there are also technologies that exist to treat and recycle the liquid that comes out of a well.

Espinoza is the sole candidate to oppose oil and gas fracking altogether.

Improve pipeline safety

Last month, a massive pipeline fire burned for days in the La Porte and Deer Park area, near Houston. The pipeline fire led to hundreds of evacuations and shelter-in-place advisories in the cities.

The blaze involved a 20-inch pipeline carrying natural gas liquids operated by Energy Transfer, a Dallas-based company. The fire occurred when a sport utility vehicle hit an above-ground pipeline valve. During the fire, the commission deployed pipeline safety inspectors and notified pipeline operators in the area about the fire since it blazed over a major pipeline corridor.

But Culbert, the pipeline safety engineer, said the agency has not done enough since the incident to prevent similar situations from happening in the future. She said surrounding the pipeline valve with a chain link fence was not sufficient to protect the public.

“[The Railroad Commission] should look at all of the valve stations around the state and make sure that they're fortified a little better,” she said. “We need a regulatory body to actually regulate. They're not making any changes based on past incidents.”

Espinoza said the state needs more pipeline safety inspectors — something Craddick has also pushed for. He added that his goal is to phase out fossil fuels and transition to 100% renewable energy.

Gas pipelines from a refinery plant are seen near the Houston Ship Channel in Pasadena on Oct. 28, 2023. In nearby communities, locals say the air often smells like rotten eggs, nail polish or burning tires. (Credit: Go Nakamura for The Texas Tribune)

“I must be very clear: there is no such thing as a safe pipeline. Moving around oil and gas to burn as fossil fuels is dangerous to our climate and our health,” he added.

Dunlap said there are “pipelines in Texas that God missed the memo on” adding that he’s found unmarked pipelines while digging up orphan wells. He said the commission will need to take inventory of pipelines and their past owners.

He also mentioned addressing resident concerns about proposed pipelines near neighborhoods like the proposed Saguaro Connector Pipeline, which would transport natural gas underground within one mile of the small West Texas town of Van Horn.

“If somebody in Texas comes to me and says, I'm worried about a pipeline. That's my jurisdiction, and I don't care who's putting it in the ground. I'm going to look after the people of Texas,” he said.

Disclosure: Energy Transfer and University of Texas at Austin have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

Clarification, Oct. 22, 2024 at 10:36 a.m.: A previous version of this story mischaracterized the cause of statewide power failures during winter storm Uri in 2021. Frozen natural gas pipelines were just one of many factors that led to massive power outages during the storm.