WCMessenger.com: Oil and gas responds on well issue

There are few natural resources more critical to our society than water. How to best manage and maintain this resource is being discussed across kitchen tables, in community meetings and in the Capitol hallway. Getting the facts straight as these discussions transpire is critical to solid decision-making that will impact all of us for years to come.

In an opinion piece by Sharon Wilson on Feb. 22, she cites the need for a groundwater conservation district (GCD) to be established by the Wise County Commissioners. In citing the need for the district, Wilson points out the desperate need for clarification regarding a district and an exemption from permitting by the oil and gas industry.

Wilson is correct. There is a desperate need for clarification regarding groundwater districts and the permitting exemption for oil and gas in the groundwater statutes. However, Wilson incorrectly maintains that if a GCD were established in Wise County it would have no control over the main offender – and that oil and gas is exempt from any local control. Both of these statements are false.

First, the oil and gas industry does have a narrow exemption from some permitting requirements of a district, but not all of them. A GCD can require operators to report usage, place meters on wells, curtail usage during times of droughts, etc. The powers of the district are limited only by the citizens who vote for the directors of a district. Of course, the law is also clear that regulations developed by a GCD must be uniform within the boundaries of a district. The oil and gas industry is very supportive of this concept and will support and follow any district rules that are applied to all groundwater users.

Next, Wilson states that water disposal wells are self-monitored by the oil and gas industry and the EPA does not regulate the chemicals that are injected. Again, two statements that are in desperate need of clarification. Not only are disposal wells regulated and controlled by the Texas Railroad Commission (RRC), but the United States EPA also maintains joint oversight of those activities in Texas.

While the EPA does not actively permit wells – a task delegated to the state through the RRC – the EPA does have jurisdiction over pollution standards for drinking water in Texas. Should an oil and gas operator be found responsible for a violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act, that operator could be subject to both state and federal enforcement efforts. With or without a GCD in place, the safety of the groundwater is already protected.

Wilson is correct that oil and gas companies must monitor their operations. But, those same companies have to report activities to the Texas Railroad Commission and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. We are also required to meet stringent fresh water protection requirements to obtain a permit from the RRC in order to operate a well in Texas. The requirements ensure operators install thick industrial casing outside of the drill pipe to separate and protect freshwater from all drilling activity. In addition, operators have to post financial assurance requirements with the RRC to insure our activities within the state.

Finally, Wilson states that each well is fraced an average of 17 times. Once again, a statement searching for facts. Fracing, or fracture stimulation, is the process by which sand and water are used to separate the shale to allow for the gas to flow to the surface. When a well is fraced, there are multiple stages of that frac, but each well is fraced one time after the completion of the well bore. Although a well might require re-fracing over its lifetime, which can be more than 30 years, there is no guarantee that one well will need to be re-fraced at all. So assigning the arbitrary amount of fracs per well as being 17 is misleading and not based on facts or past history.

Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners, Texas Oil & Gas Association and our member companies are not opposed to a GCD for Wise County. In fact, most of our members agree with the concept of local government and local control. If the citizens of Wise County vote to approve a district, the oil and gas industry will be a willing participant in the development of the rules that govern all groundwater users in Wise County.

Adam Haynes is EVP for Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners and Ben Sebree is vice president of governmental affairs for the Texas Oil & Gas Association.