Oil companies win protections from Texas Legislature ahead of selling fracking water
The Texas Legislature has given oil and gas companies legal cover to sell wastewater to be treated and released into the state's rivers, lakes and streams.
State Rep. Drew Darby's House Bill 49 — on its way to Gov. Greg Abbott — marks a step the oil and gas industry has said is a key barrier to expanding the treatment of the brine it generates, known as produced water, and making it available for reuse.
The bill protects landowners, oil, treatment and transportation companies from liability should consequences arise after they sell or treat the liquid.
In Texas, record oil and gas production is only outmatched by the backwash that surfaces with the fossil fuels. There are five barrels of produced water for every barrel of oil. Texas oil companies are increasingly using this liquid, which is trapped in the rock where drilling and fracking occur, to frack more.
Now, companies believe the water can help replenish the state's water supply, which is under strain due to a larger population, withering infrastructure and climate change. Four treatment companies applied for state permission to release the water into the state's waterways.
'I think this will really free up some water transactions to start happening, where people will more freely exchange water,' said Laura Capper, a produced water expert and oil and gas consultant.
[Can Texas clean up fracking water enough to use for farming? One company thinks so.]
Under Darby's bill, companies that sell the water can't be held responsible for the consequences if someone else uses the water. Treatment and transportation companies and landowners also qualify for protection, including in cases of personal injury, death, or property damage.
Companies and landowners can only be sued when they are grossly negligent, commit intentional, wrongful acts of omission, break state or federal laws, or fail to satisfy standards set by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which sets and enforces the state's environmental rules.
The bill directs the environmental quality commission to write rules around produced water research and reuse.
Darby's bill also prohibits courts from issuing what are known as exemplary damages, or additional punitive measures, to deter companies from committing the same mistake.
Cyrus Reed, a legislative and conservation director for the Sierra Club, an environmental advocacy organization, said the state is moving too fast. He said scientists and regulators should continue experimenting with treatment methods until they can be sure the water can be treated continuously.
In 2021, lawmakers began to fund treatment research, putting $10 million toward the effort, called the Texas Produced Water Consortium. The environmental quality commission has said the consortium's findings will help decide whether to let companies release water into the environment.
But Reed said the consortium should spend more years on pilot projects, experimenting on soil, before laws are introduced, adding that the water, even when treated, could still contain contaminants the environmental quality commission has not accounted for.
'I understand why (lawmakers) want this,' Reed said. 'They're trying to make it work so that this water can be reused, but who's going to ultimately pay the price? It's going to be the public.'
Capper, the water consultant, said the law places the responsibility on the state's regulatory agencies to make sure the water is safe, which also gives the industry security to sell it. She said there is enough research through Texas and New Mexico, which has also funded produced water treatment research, to make the water safe to discharge.
'We've studied this water to death,' she said.
First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
‘It's complete': Officials detail ‘chilling sequence' prior to fatal shooting
A day after ShotSpotter detected 18 gunshots in seven seconds and police found a man fatally shot, a chilling text message was sent: 'It's complete.' Three men have now been charged in connection with the Feb. 4 death of 33-year-old Mauricio Lawrence on Tennis Road in Mattapan. At about 11:30 p.m. on Feb. 4, ShotSpotter detected 18 gunshots near 35 Tennis Road. Boston police responded and found Lawrence had multiple gunshot wounds. He died while being taken by Boston EMS to Boston Medical Center. Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said the case is a 'chilling sequence of calculated actions.' About six hours before the shooting, video surveillance shows Jair Meeks, 24, entering Lawrence's place of work to record him while two others waited nearby in a Honda Accord. Once back in the car, the car's dash cam recorded Meek tell Shovan Darby, 29, of East Weymouth, and Roberto Taylor, 29, of Dorchester, what to do leading up to the shooting, the district attorney's office said. This included telling them to 'wrap [the gun] up in a bag' to 'try to catch the shells,' to put different tire rims on the Accord to alter its appearance and to use special tape to cover the license plate to make the vehicle harder to detect. Darby and Taylor followed Lawrence in the Accord when he left work, officials said. As Lawrence neared his apartment door, Taylor approached from behind and fired, officials added. Taylor returned to the car and, with Darby driving, fled the area. 'It's complete,' Darby sent Meeks in a text the next morning. 'This case presents a chilling sequence of calculated actions. It also provides an excellent example of investigators pursuing a criminal incident until every person who played a role is identified and brought forward to answer for their conduct,' Hayden said in a press release. Meeks was charged in Suffolk Superior Court with one count of accessory before the fact. He was ordered held without bail. Darby and Taylor were charged in Suffolk Superior Court with first-degree murder on May 8. Meeks, Darby, and Taylor are all due back in Suffolk Superior on June 17 for pre-trial hearings. Here's how long you can get Dunkin's new Pink Spritz refresher for just $3 Scammer told her to withdraw $20K and stop talking to her family — so she did Mass. firefighter arrested at work in connection with child sex abuse materials Mass. casino winner: Slots player bet $1.80 on jackpot spin Community Preservation Committee to hold informational meeting Read the original article on MassLive.
Business Journals
2 days ago
- Business Journals
Financing the future: How special districts are shaping the path to attainable housing in Texas
Texas is in the midst of a housing attainability crisis — one that's growing more acute by the year, particularly in rapidly developing regions like North Texas. As the median home price pushes past $400,000 and the average first-time homebuyer approaches age 39, the long-held perception of Texas as a haven for affordable housing is being challenged. According to Steve Robinson, founding partner at Allen Boone Humphries Robinson (ABHR), these pressures are not just reshaping the real estate landscape — they're threatening the very foundation of the so-called 'Texas Miracle.' 'If we can't house our people — if workers can't afford to live where the jobs are — it's going to stifle the economy,' Robinson says. 'What we do at ABHR is help build great communities. We use innovative financing tools to make those communities more attainable for more Texans.' One of the most powerful tools in Texas' housing development toolbox? The Municipal Utility District, or MUD — a mechanism Robinson and his team have helped deploy across the state to fund critical infrastructure and enable large-scale, master-planned developments. What exactly is a MUD? At its core, a MUD is a governmental entity empowered to levy taxes in order to finance public infrastructure — think water, sewer, drainage and roads. Originating in the Houston area more than 60 years ago, MUDs were initially developed to address the city's explosive growth. Today, they've become a cornerstone of real estate development across Texas. 'MUDs allow developers to shoulder the upfront costs of infrastructure in areas where cities aren't extending services yet,' says Kelsey Taylor, attorney at ABHR. 'That means development can proceed where demand exists, instead of waiting years for a city to act.' Importantly, MUDs also promote long-term planning by allowing developers to phase infrastructure alongside home construction, resulting in cohesive, high-quality communities. These districts are governed by locally appointed boards and regulated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), which provides layers of public oversight that enhance accountability and quality control. Texas vs. the nation: What makes our system different? While special districts are common across the U.S. — with California's Mello-Roos districts, Florida's Community Development Districts (CDDs) and Colorado's Metropolitan Districts — Texas' MUD system stands out for its financial structure and regulatory rigor. 'Texas' system is unique in that it is reimbursement-based,' Robinson explains. 'The developer takes the risk — building the public infrastructure and private development first — and is only repaid after performance.' This structure, paired with tax-based financing rather than assessments, results in lower borrowing costs and greater financial stability. Since the current rules were implemented in 1989, Texas MUDs have maintained a 0% default rate. 'This is a performance-based system with very high oversight,' Robinson notes. 'It's efficient, it's stable, and it's the largest and most robust system of its kind in the country.' Speed, scale and attainability While MUDs don't directly shorten development timelines — they generally take about a year to form — they dramatically improve the financial feasibility of development by decoupling public infrastructure costs from home prices. 'If you can remove $100,000 in infrastructure costs from the lot price, there's a broader group of people who will qualify for a $400,000 mortgage instead of a $500,000 one,' Robinson says. 'That increases attainability, which in turn increases the velocity of development.' Taylor agrees. 'In many areas, without a MUD, development wouldn't happen at all. Developers would simply pass on the opportunity. With a MUD, they can move forward, and that speeds up access to housing.' Funding amenities and green space Although certain counties — primarily in South and Central Texas — allow MUDs to issue bonds specifically for park development, North Texas does not currently have that capability. Still, MUDs play a significant role in creating amenitized communities by reallocating reimbursed infrastructure dollars toward parks, trails and public gathering spaces. 'Today's buyers expect more than just a home — they want vibrant communities,' Taylor says. 'While we can't use tax-secured park bonds in North Texas, we can leverage other financing tools to support those amenities. That's part of what we love to do: find creative solutions that enhance quality of life.' A North Texas transformation While MUDs have long been embraced in the Houston area, their use in North Texas has historically been limited. That's changing — and fast. 'There are more than 200 cities in North Texas, most with their own water and sewer systems,' Robinson explains. 'Development used to be constrained to areas where those services were available. But with rising land prices, interest rates and infrastructure costs, developers began asking why comparable homes in Houston were significantly less expensive. One big answer was the use of MUDs.' Over the last decade, legislative changes and market forces have paved the way for widespread adoption of MUDs in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Today, virtually every major master-planned community in North Texas is using a special district to finance infrastructure — something that would have been rare just 10 years ago. Spotlight: Viridian in Arlington One standout example is Viridian, a master-planned community in Arlington that was made possible through a Municipal Management District (MMD) — a cousin of the MUD structure that offers expanded flexibility. Developed on challenging land within the Trinity River floodplain and adjacent to a landfill, the project faced steep financial and logistical hurdles. "It is critical that cities and counties invest in their community development. These district tools can achieve best in class environments for cities with the right developers. Viridian is one great case study of PPP success," says Robert Kembel, partner and president of The Nehemiah Company. Unlike traditional MUDs, MMDs can levy assessments to reimburse costs for features like parks and public amenities — expenses that are difficult to fund through bond financing in North Texas. That gave Viridian the resources to create a highly amenitized, high-quality community complete with trails, green space and even a 90-acre lake where residents can sail. 'Arlington didn't have much new single-family housing stock,' adds Robinson. 'Viridian brought it in at scale, in a part of town that had been previously overlooked. The district financing model made it all possible.' The path forward As Texas continues to grow, MUDs will play an increasingly vital role in ensuring that housing remains accessible, communities remain livable and economic growth remains sustainable. In Robinson's words, the model is the ultimate public-private partnership. 'Cities can't always move fast enough to meet demand,' he says. 'MUDs allow the private sector to take that risk, while still complying with public oversight. It's a powerful model that allows Texas to keep growing — and to keep the dream of homeownership within reach for more families.' To learn more about ABHR, visit
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Oil companies win protections from Texas Legislature ahead of selling fracking water
The Texas Legislature has given oil and gas companies legal cover to sell wastewater to be treated and released into the state's rivers, lakes and streams. State Rep. Drew Darby's House Bill 49 — on its way to Gov. Greg Abbott — marks a step the oil and gas industry has said is a key barrier to expanding the treatment of the brine it generates, known as produced water, and making it available for reuse. The bill protects landowners, oil, treatment and transportation companies from liability should consequences arise after they sell or treat the liquid. In Texas, record oil and gas production is only outmatched by the backwash that surfaces with the fossil fuels. There are five barrels of produced water for every barrel of oil. Texas oil companies are increasingly using this liquid, which is trapped in the rock where drilling and fracking occur, to frack more. Now, companies believe the water can help replenish the state's water supply, which is under strain due to a larger population, withering infrastructure and climate change. Four treatment companies applied for state permission to release the water into the state's waterways. 'I think this will really free up some water transactions to start happening, where people will more freely exchange water,' said Laura Capper, a produced water expert and oil and gas consultant. [Can Texas clean up fracking water enough to use for farming? One company thinks so.] Under Darby's bill, companies that sell the water can't be held responsible for the consequences if someone else uses the water. Treatment and transportation companies and landowners also qualify for protection, including in cases of personal injury, death, or property damage. Companies and landowners can only be sued when they are grossly negligent, commit intentional, wrongful acts of omission, break state or federal laws, or fail to satisfy standards set by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which sets and enforces the state's environmental rules. The bill directs the environmental quality commission to write rules around produced water research and reuse. Darby's bill also prohibits courts from issuing what are known as exemplary damages, or additional punitive measures, to deter companies from committing the same mistake. Cyrus Reed, a legislative and conservation director for the Sierra Club, an environmental advocacy organization, said the state is moving too fast. He said scientists and regulators should continue experimenting with treatment methods until they can be sure the water can be treated continuously. In 2021, lawmakers began to fund treatment research, putting $10 million toward the effort, called the Texas Produced Water Consortium. The environmental quality commission has said the consortium's findings will help decide whether to let companies release water into the environment. But Reed said the consortium should spend more years on pilot projects, experimenting on soil, before laws are introduced, adding that the water, even when treated, could still contain contaminants the environmental quality commission has not accounted for. 'I understand why (lawmakers) want this,' Reed said. 'They're trying to make it work so that this water can be reused, but who's going to ultimately pay the price? It's going to be the public.' Capper, the water consultant, said the law places the responsibility on the state's regulatory agencies to make sure the water is safe, which also gives the industry security to sell it. She said there is enough research through Texas and New Mexico, which has also funded produced water treatment research, to make the water safe to discharge. 'We've studied this water to death,' she said. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
