86R1337 JXC-F
By: Lucio III H.B. No. 1147
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a requirement that the Railroad Commission of Texas
require the installation and use of subsurface safety valves on oil
and gas wells drilled in certain areas.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 91, Natural Resources
Code, is amended by adding Section 91.1016 to read as follows:
Sec. 91.1016. SUBSURFACE SAFETY VALVES IN CERTAIN AREAS.
(a) To prevent spills or releases of oil, gas, and related
hydrocarbons, the commission by rule shall require the installation
and use of subsurface safety valves in oil and gas wells drilled in:
(1) bays and estuaries;
(2) flood zones, particularly areas adjacent to rivers
or other bodies of water; and
(3) areas subject to hurricanes or other catastrophic
events.
(b) To determine whether a subsurface safety valve
installed in an oil or gas well is working properly, the commission
may inspect the valve or require the operator of the well to submit
to the commission information about the valve.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an oil or gas well for which the application for the drilling
permit is submitted to the Railroad Commission of Texas on or after
the effective date of the rules adopted under Section 91.1016,
Natural Resources Code, as added by this Act. A well for which the
application for the drilling permit is submitted before the date
the rules take effect is governed by the law in effect when the
application is submitted, and that law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.