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May 23, 2013
LANDOWNERS WIN VICTORY AGAINST CROSSTEX NGL PIPELINE
Court: Evidence didn’t show natural gas liquids pipeline qualifies as common carrier with power to seize land
In a
victory for Texas landowners fighting claims of common-carrier status by
pipelines, a state appeals court ruled Thursday in favor of a farming operation
that refused access so the pipeline could begin construction on its land.
The Ninth
Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s finding in favor of Reins
Road Farms-1, Ltd., which challenged the common-carrier status of Crosstex
NGL Pipeline, L.P. It also ordered Crosstex to pay all costs associated
with its appeal.
“After
carefully reviewing the evidence from the hearing, we conclude there is
evidence supporting the inference that the pipeline will not actually be used
by the public,” reads the appeals court’s opinion delivered by Justice Hollis Horton. “Although it was
shown that the Railroad Commission had issued a T-4 permit for the line, the Texas
Supreme Court recently held that a party may dispute whether a pipeline
has a public use despite the issuance of a T-4 permit.”
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By Polly Ross Hughes
Copyright May 23, 2013, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 23, 2013
U.S. SENATE ENERGY PANEL EXPLORES FRACKING
RRC Chief Barry Smitherman puts in a plug for regulations “13 months in the process”
Texas Railroad
Commission Chairman Barry Smitherman said in Washington, D.C., this
morning that Texas oil-and-gas regulators would never
“sit passively by” if told that groundwater had been contaminated.
“An
incident like that, if it were proven, would be devastating for the industry.
It would be devastating for our state,” Smitherman said, repeating his
long-held assertion that Texas has no recorded cases of hydraulic fracturing
contaminating groundwater.
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By Polly Ross Hughes
Copyright May 23, 2013, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 23, 2013
PIPELINES: IT ISN’T OVER ‘TIL IT’S OVER
Property rights proponents worry an amendment in play in HB500 conference could immunize pipelines from civil and criminal causes of action in eminent domain cases
This story originally appeared in Quorum Report In one of the
most intense but under reported property rights battles of the session, private
pipelines have sought to weaken the protections and recourse available to
landowners in condemnation and eminent domain claims.
There was little
appetite for the battle in the Legislature and State
Affairs Chairman Robert Duncan
even told our sister publication, Texas Energy Report
that he could find little consensus in either his committee or the Senate.
Now, a seemingly
innocuous
amendment is apparently in play in an HB500 conference committee that
has set off alarms for those supporting the current protections for property
owners.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By Harvey Kronberg
Copyright May 23, 2013, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 22, 2013
HOUSE GIVES ENERGY ROADS BILL FINAL PASSAGE, 135-12
Now, the oil and gas industry waits to see if state funding materializes
The Texas
House just passed, 135-12 a bill to help counties experiencing
dangerous road damage from heavy oil and gas trucks related to hydraulic
fracturing.
Passage
of Senate
Bill 1747 by both chambers increases chances lawmakers might devote
$500 million toward a Transportation Infrastructure Fund
to award grants to repair local roads crumbing from the shale oil and gas boom,
said Deb Hastings, vice president of
Texas
Oil & Gas Association (TXOGA).
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By Polly Ross Hughes
Copyright May 22, 2013, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 22, 2013
SENATE PUTS ITS STAMP, 27-4, ON ENDANGERED SPECIES BILL
Adds interim study to ‘defend against the overreaching inclusion of species’
The Texas
Senate passed a bill today to coordinate the state’s evaluation and
development of conservation plans aimed at preventing more than 100 species
from landing on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s “endangered” list.
House Bill 3509, sponsored by Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, expands
the existing Task Force on Economic Growth and Endangered Species, currently
headed by the comptroller.
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By Polly Ross Hughes
Copyright May 22, 2013, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 21, 2013
SHALE OIL AND GAS ROADS MEASURE GETS INITIAL HOUSE APPROVAL
SB 1747 will help counties fund repairs to roads crumbling from heavy trucks
The Texas
House
tentatively approved a bill this evening to help counties and councils of
governments repair and maintain shale energy roads decimated by oil and gas
operations that require heavy truck traffic associated with hydraulic
fracturing.
Senate Bill 1747 by Sen.
Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, and House sponsor Rep. Jim Keffer,
R-Eastland, is a response to crumbling roads and rising fatality rates in areas
like the Eagle Ford Shale where hydraulic fracturing has set off a shale
oil and gas boom. It applies as well to other oil and gas regions such as the Barnett
Shale and the highly active Permian Basin in West Texas.
Keffer said the bill will address both
short-term repair needs and longer term maintenance and repair need.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By Polly Ross Hughes
Copyright May 21, 2013, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 21, 2013
RAILROAD COMMISSION OUT IN THE COLD (AT LEAST FOR NOW)
Senators leave oil-and-gas regulator out of sunset safety net bill
The Texas
Senate passed its sunset safety net bill this afternoon, but didn’t add
the Texas
Railroad Commission into the list of agencies re-scheduled for sunset
review.
The commission’s
sunset bill with recommended ethics reforms failed to pass for the second
legislative session in a row, thanks in part to intense lobbying by the
agency’s three elected commissioners. The commissioners objected to limits on
when and how they can raise campaign funds from the industry they regulate.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By Polly Ross Hughes
Copyright May 21, 2013, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 21, 2013
CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS ANNOUNCES CLEAN ENERGY RESEARCH
R&D projects include fuel efficiency, electric vehicles, solar, wind and more
Austin’s
sports and entertainment complex, Circuit of The Americas, announced
an agreement Tuesday with the Pike Powers Laboratory and Center for
Commercialization to conduct an array of clean energy research and
development projects.
Pike
Powers Lab is operated by Pecan Street Inc., a research
institute based at The University of Texas at Austin. It will conduct research,
development and commercialization activities at the circuit’s 1,500-acre
complex, consisting of a motor racetrack, amphitheater music venue and more.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By Polly Ross Hughes
Copyright May 21, 2013, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 20, 2013
HOUSE ADOPTS BONNEN'S RRC "RESIGN TO RUN" AMENDMENT 90-51
Amendment to Ethics Commission Sunset bill revives element that died with RRC sunset bill
By Polly Ross Hughes
Copyright May 20, 2013, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 20, 2013
FRACK WATER RECYCLING BILL REMOVES EXCUSE
Liability for fluids shifts to party with possession of it
The Texas
Senate appears set to approve a bill that would take away one excuse
oil and gas companies make for not recycling waste water from hydraulic
fracturing operations.
House Bill 2767 by Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, and sponsored by Sen. Craig Eltife,
R-Wichita Falls, removes doubt over who is liable for the waste water as it
moves from oil and gas producers to recyclers or disposal companies. Liability
simply changes to whichever party takes possession of the waste or recycled
water.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By Polly Ross Hughes
Copyright May 20, 2013, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 17, 2013
TEXAS FILES DEEPWATER HORIZON CLAIMS AGAINST BP, OTHERS
AG seeks civil penalties, monetary damages for ‘willful and wanton misconduct’
Texas
staked its claim to damages arising from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil
spill Friday, filing a lawsuit against BP America and others for harm the
world’s worst offshore oil disaster caused to the state’s economy and natural
resources.
“This is
a case in which the defendants engaged in willful and wanton misconduct and
caused the worst environmental disaster in the history of the United States,”
the lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney
General Greg Abbott says.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By Polly Ross Hughes
Copyright May 17, 2013, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 17, 2013
CORRECTION: CRAYMER NOT INVOLVED IN CANVASSING SENATORS
Story on ending wind energy project tax abatements erred
Dale Craymer,
director of Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, said TER mistakenly
reported that he was involved in canvassing 31 senator offices yesterday to see
whether the senators had agreed to carry amendments that would limit school tax
abatements for capital investments and eliminate the tax breaks for wind energy
projects. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is
drafting the amendments to a House bill dealing with economic development,
according to Jeff Clark, director of
The
Wind Coalition. Craymer in the past has said he supports extending the
tax breaks for wind projects and others.
By Polly Ross Hughes
Copyright May 17, 2013, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 17, 2013
NEVER-SAY-DIE COMMON CARRIER PIPELINE AMENDMENT SURFACES
Retroactively redefines public use as cutting air pollution, preventing road damage
A
proposed amendment to a pipeline safety bill in conference committee would retroactively
allow pipelines to claim eminent domain power and take private land because
they reduce air pollution or prevent road damage.
Under
current law, a common carrier is a pipeline that is available to be used by
more than one party other than the owner or its own subsidiaries. Common-carrier
status is required for a pipeline to claim it is for public use, giving it the
authority to seize private land, even against a landowner’s will.
The
proposed amendment to the final stages of Senate Bill 901 by Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, and House
sponsor Rep. Chris Paddie,
R-Marshall, would deprive landowners currently challenging the common carrier
status of pipelines from their day in court.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By Polly Ross Hughes
Copyright May 17, 2013, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 16, 2013
WIND INDUSTRY FEARS DEWHURST MOVE TO SLASH TAX BREAKS
Wind supplies more than nine percent of Texas electric power, $24 billion in investments
Advocates
for the Texas wind industry flew into defense-mode Wednesday afternoon after
getting word that Lt. Gov. David
Dewhurst was drafting “extraordinarily hostile” amendments to remove school
property tax abatements for renewable energy projects.
“My
understanding is it’s the lieutenant governor’s intention to dramatically
reduce if not remove wind from the 313 (school tax abatement) program,” said Jeffrey Clark, executive director of The
Wind Coalition. “We’ve been told it will be extraordinarily hostile to
wind.”
Texas
leads the nation in wind energy production – supplying more than nine percent
of the state’s electric power supply – and boasts more than $24 billion in wind
development investments in 56 counties. Of those, $15 billion has resulted at
least in part from the 313 property tax abatement program. The program lets
school districts, especially rural ones, offer tax incentives to attract
capital investments they otherwise wouldn’t.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By Polly Ross Hughes
Copyright May 16, 2013, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 14, 2013
KEFFER’S COMMITTEE ADVANCES SHALE ROADS BILL
House version of SB 1747 changes criteria for county grants
A Senate
bill that would help counties repairs roads devastated by heavy oil and gas
trucks related the state’s shale boom is on its way the Texas House.
The House
Energy Resources Committee on Tuesday gave unanimous, 11-0, approval to
a substitute for Senate Bill 1747 by Sen.
Carlos Ureseti, D-San Antonio.
The
House substitute differs from Uresti’s bill in that it sets up a framework
under which the Texas Department of Transportation can award grants to repair
shale roads while Uresti’s established a numerical formula.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By Polly Ross Hughes
Copyright May 14, 2013, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 14, 2013
NO NEW NAME, NO ETHICS REFORMS FOR TEXAS RAILROAD COMMISSION
House energy committee will ask for oil and gas agency to get six more years of life
The Texas
Railroad Commission, which regulates the oil and gas industry, is not getting
a new name or new ethics reforms limiting campaign fundraising activities of
its three elected commissioners. Senate Bill 212, the sunset bill for
the agency, is officially dead.
For the
second session in a row, the Texas House killed chances Tuesday
of long-called for reforms that would have provided more transparency for a
confused public – the commission no longer has anything to do with railroads –
and would have limited the practice of commissioners filling their campaign
coffers with money donated by the oil and gas industry they regulate.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By Polly Ross Hughes
Copyright May 14, 2013, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 14, 2013
RAILROAD COMMISSION SUNSET DEAD FOR THIS SESSION
Details to follow
By Polly Ross Hughes
Copyright May 14, 2013, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 13, 2013
HOUSE CONCURS IN SENATE AMENDMENTS ON PUC SUNSET
By Polly Ross Hughes
Copyright May 13, 2013, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 13, 2013
PERRY PRAISES GEORGE MITCHELL AS ‘BEYOND A VISIONARY’
‘Father of Fracking’ calls on Texas to lead transition to clean energy
Gov. Rick Perry made a rare visit to the Texas
House Monday to praise the history-making energy achievements of
Galveston-born George P. Mitchell,
often referred to as the “Father of Fracking.”
Perry
addressed the chamber as it passed House Resolution 107, which recognized
Mitchell for his “History-Making Texan Award,” which recognized his development
of hydraulic fracturing which created a “massive expansion” in natural gas
supplies.
“That is
a man that looks in the mirror every morning and there is no question that he
has made a huge difference in our world. Today I wanted to come and join you
collectively as this great body and say thank you to one of our great Texans of
not just our lifetimes but of the history of this state,” Perry said.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By Polly Ross Hughes
Copyright May 13, 2013, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 11, 2013
BILL AIMS TO PROTECT AGAINST ENDANGERED SPECIES LISTINGS
Lawmakers approve measure just before clock ran out on House bills
The Texas
House gave final passage Friday to a bill that would create a
comprehensive state response to protect habitat for more than 100 species in
the coming decade to prevent them from landing on the federal endangered
species list.
“This is
probably one of the more exciting bills I’ve had, because I’m proud to have the
support of the Texas Cattle Raisers along with the Sierra Club, the energy
producers, the Panhandle producers (and) the Apache Resources,” said House
Bill 3509 author Rep. Dennis
Bonnen, R-Angleton.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By Polly Ross Hughes
Copyright May 11, 2013, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 10, 2013
PRO-SOLAR BILL GETS PRELIMINARY HOUSE PASSAGE
Measure would create tax uniformity for industrial-scale solar facilities
A bill
its author called “the most significant pro-solar legislation” the Texas
House has passed in many years got preliminary approval tonight just
two hours from a deadline for passage of House bills.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By Polly Ross Hughes
Copyright May 10, 2013, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 9, 2013
SENATE STYMIED OVER PIPELINES VERSUS LANDOWNERS BILL
‘It’s facing a difficult struggle,’ says Duncan
Senate State
Affairs Committee Chairman Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, told Texas
Energy Report that Senate attempts are “in limbo” when it comes to
crafting a bill balancing the need for oil and gas pipelines versus private
property rights.
“I would
think that the policy issues are very clear – property rights versus commerce,”
Duncan said. “Where’s the right balance?”
The Senate
scrambled this week to find that balance after the House killed a bill last
Friday by Rep. Tryon Lewis, R-Odessa, that pipelines favored and rural landowners abhorred.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By Polly Ross Hughes
Copyright May 09, 2013, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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