D22AP00226

The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) is seeking initial grant funding under Sec 40601 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to plug, remediate, and reclaim orphaned wells located on state-owned or privately owned land across Texas. The Commission is the state agency with primary regulatory jurisdiction over the oil and natural gas industry, with environmental and safety responsibilities related to oil and gas production. Protecting the environment and preserving natural resources by regulating fossil fuel energy production, storage, and delivery is one of the agency's primary goals.

The Commission began its statewide well plugging program in 1984, seeking to alleviate water quality problems associated with oil and gas production. With funding from the initial grant, the Commission will build on this nearly 40-year history. The Commission defines an orphaned well as an inactive, non-compliant well that has been inactive for a minimum of 12 months, and the responsible operator's organizational report, an operator's registration with the Commission, is delinquent or has been delinquent for greater than 12 months.

In 2001, the Commission established a well plugging priority system to prioritize those orphaned wells that pose a high risk to the environment. This system assigns numerical values to factors in four categories: well completion, wellbore conditions, well location with respect to sensitive areas, and unique environmental, social, or economic concerns. Upon enactment of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, there were 7,396 documented orphaned wells in Texas as of April 30, 2022. The number of documented orphaned wells in Texas increased to 7,979.

The Commission estimates that up to 800 documented orphaned wells across the state will be plugged with initial grant funding, with a focus on deeper or higher risk wells, including H2S wells. The Commission will use 90 percent of its initial grant funding request for contracted well plugging services. Within the first 30 days of the project period, the Commission will establish a plan to identify and prioritize those documented orphaned wells that will be plugged with initial grant funding. This plan, established within the first 30 days, will guide activities throughout the grant period.

With initial grant funding, the Commission estimates adding 20 plugging inspectors who will be located across the state throughout the Commission's 12 districts, which are managed from 10 district offices. Plugging inspectors are on-site representatives of the Commission during plugging activities to witness all plugging operations and ensure protection of the state's usable quality water. Inspectors also confirm that contract stipulations are followed, and costs align correctly with the work performed.

The Commission has developed a website that includes up-to-date information about Section 40601 implementation efforts. The website will be updated regularly to include details about the wells plugged with initial grant funding once activities begin. Additionally, the Commission will develop a GIS tool available from the website that will build on existing GIS layers. This tool will allow staff and the public to view wells selected for plugging with an overlay of U.S. Census data and elements from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool to determine whether those wells affect a disadvantaged community. Wells selected for plugging will follow the criteria of the Commission's established well plugging priority system.

This project will improve environmental outcomes across the state of Texas by eliminating the potential threat of pollution from documented orphaned wells, be it from the emissions of methane and other gases to the contamination of surface or groundwater.

Texas Railroad Comm

DECREASE THE AMOUNT OF METHANE EMISSIONS FROM ORPHANED WELLS. ENHANCE THE PROTECTION OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY AND PROPERTY FROM ADVERSE EFFECTS OF OIL DRILLING PRACTICES FROM ORPHANED WELLS ON STATES AND PRIVATE LANDS. PLUG AND REMEDIATE OR RECLAIM ORPHANED WELLS ON STATE AND PRIVATE LANDS.

15.018 - Energy Community Revitalization Program (ECRP)

Interior Business Center (IBC) [DOI]

Texas United States

State-Wide

D-AQD-FA-22-003

Infrastructure $25,000,000 (100%) percent this Project Grant was funded by the 2021 Infrastructure Act.
Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 5% from $25,000,000 to $26,354,846.