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.