For the Environment,
Support Bills to Decrease Methane Pollution
Air pollution from the oil and gas industry in Texas is out of control
and it's damaging our health.
Low income communities and communities of color
are disproportionately affected.
Why This Matters
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality ignores the need for
controls on methane pollution. Evidence from the Railroad Commission
itself shows that industry routinely violates even the weak limits placed on it,
leading to unlit or improperly lit flares,
or worse,
illegal venting of methane into the air,
impacting people’s health
and adding to global warming.
Recently, the Railroad Commission made some modest adjustments
on venting and flaring.
However, rather than improving the regulations, they merely made a small change to the application form for oil and gas companies wishing to flare and vent.
We can do better.
The Texas Legislature needs to direct the RRC and TCEQ to take real action
to eliminate flaring and venting to significantly
reduce methane pollution
from the oil and gas industry.
The Texas Legislature should:
1) Order the RRC to require companies to reduce flaring and venting by setting fracked gas capture goals,
2) Set a policy of zero flaring by 2025,
3) Order TCEQ to require leak detection and repair programs, and other technologies to reduce and eliminate methane and other pollution throughout the oil and gas fields in Texas, and
4) Order the University Lands to establish a policy of zero flaring by 2025. Passing bills like HB 1452 (Rep. Rosenthal), HB 1377 (Gonzalez), HB 896, HB 897 (Rep. Reynolds), and SB 388 (Sen. Eckhardt) would be a good first step.
Learn More: sierraclub.org/texas/texas-legislature-1