Eckhardt Flaring Bill Still Allows Flaring Where Pipelines Fall Short

The text as introduced · 665 words

89R4112 CXP-D

By: Eckhardt
S.B. No. 1157

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the flaring and venting of methane gas on land dedicated

to the permanent university fund.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 66, Education Code, is

amended by adding Section 66.455 to read as follows:

Sec. 66.455. METHANE FLARING AND VENTING REDUCTION PLANS.

(a) The board of regents of The University of Texas System shall

adopt a formal policy goal to eliminate routine methane flaring and

venting on university lands by 2029.

(b) Under each lease issued, modified, or renewed under this

subchapter relating to oil or gas, the lessee shall submit to the

board of regents of The University of Texas System a plan to end

routine methane flaring and venting in accordance with the policy

goal adopted under Subsection (a). The plan must:

(1) include provisions that prohibit routine methane

flaring and venting;

(2) for all new and existing sources, require

operators to adhere to the United States Environmental Protection

Agency's new source performance standards for methane emissions;

and

(3) require the lessee to implement quarterly

inspections and maintenance for the detection of malfunctioning and

unlit flares using leak detection equipment, such as optical gas

imaging cameras, and for the repair of those flares.

(c) The board of regents of The University of Texas System

shall review and approve or reject each plan submitted under

Subsection (b) according to procedures adopted by the board. The

University of Texas Bureau of Economic Geology shall assist the

board and lessees in matters relating to the plans.

(d) In adopting procedures to implement this section, the

board of regents of The University of Texas System may apply to new

facilities and existing facilities that have been modified after

initial construction more stringent standards than the standards

the board applies to other facilities.

SECTION 2. Section 86.185, Natural Resources Code, is

amended to read as follows:

Sec. 86.185. PROHIBITION AGAINST GAS IN AIR. (a) No gas

from a gas well may be permitted to escape into the air after the

expiration of 10 days from the time the gas is encountered in the

gas well, or from the time of perforating the casing opposite a

gas-bearing zone if casing is set through the zone, whichever is

later, but the commission may permit the escape of gas into the air

for an additional time if the operator of a well or other facility

presents information to show the necessity for the escape; provided

that the amount of gas which is flared under that authority is

charged to the operator's allowable production. A necessity

includes but is not limited to the following situations:

(1) cleaning a well of sand or acid or both following

stimulation treatment of a well; and

(2) repairing or modifying a gas-gathering system.

(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the commission may

permit methane flaring or venting from a well on university lands

described by Section 66.41, Education Code, if the board of regents

of The University of Texas System and the well operator jointly

submit to the commission an attestation that:

(1) the well:

(A) is connected to a pipeline on which pipeline

takeaway capacity is not expected to meet the demand for gas

produced from the well; or

(B) is not connected to a pipeline and connection

of the well to a pipeline is technically or commercially

unfeasible; and

(2) the well operator made a good faith effort to find

a productive purpose for the gas the operator is seeking to flare or

vent.

SECTION 3. Not later than June 1, 2026, the board of regents

of The University of Texas System shall adopt procedures

implementing Section 66.455, Education Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 4. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this

section, this Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

(b) Section 86.185, Natural Resources Code, as amended by

this Act, takes effect January 1, 2027.