Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1157 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R4112 CXP-D
2	2	By: Eckhardt S.B. No. 1157
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the flaring and venting of methane gas on land dedicated
10	10	to the permanent university fund.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 66, Education Code, is
13	13	amended by adding Section 66.455 to read as follows:
14	14	Sec. 66.455. METHANE FLARING AND VENTING REDUCTION PLANS.
15	15	(a) The board of regents of The University of Texas System shall
16	16	adopt a formal policy goal to eliminate routine methane flaring and
17	17	venting on university lands by 2029.
18	18	(b) Under each lease issued, modified, or renewed under this
19	19	subchapter relating to oil or gas, the lessee shall submit to the
20	20	board of regents of The University of Texas System a plan to end
21	21	routine methane flaring and venting in accordance with the policy
22	22	goal adopted under Subsection (a). The plan must:
23	23	(1) include provisions that prohibit routine methane
24	24	flaring and venting;
25	25	(2) for all new and existing sources, require
26	26	operators to adhere to the United States Environmental Protection
27	27	Agency's new source performance standards for methane emissions;
28	28	and
29	29	(3) require the lessee to implement quarterly
30	30	inspections and maintenance for the detection of malfunctioning and
31	31	unlit flares using leak detection equipment, such as optical gas
32	32	imaging cameras, and for the repair of those flares.
33	33	(c) The board of regents of The University of Texas System
34	34	shall review and approve or reject each plan submitted under
35	35	Subsection (b) according to procedures adopted by the board. The
36	36	University of Texas Bureau of Economic Geology shall assist the
37	37	board and lessees in matters relating to the plans.
38	38	(d) In adopting procedures to implement this section, the
39	39	board of regents of The University of Texas System may apply to new
40	40	facilities and existing facilities that have been modified after
41	41	initial construction more stringent standards than the standards
42	42	the board applies to other facilities.
43	43	SECTION 2. Section 86.185, Natural Resources Code, is
44	44	amended to read as follows:
45	45	Sec. 86.185. PROHIBITION AGAINST GAS IN AIR. (a) No gas
46	46	from a gas well may be permitted to escape into the air after the
47	47	expiration of 10 days from the time the gas is encountered in the
48	48	gas well, or from the time of perforating the casing opposite a
49	49	gas-bearing zone if casing is set through the zone, whichever is
50	50	later, but the commission may permit the escape of gas into the air
51	51	for an additional time if the operator of a well or other facility
52	52	presents information to show the necessity for the escape; provided
53	53	that the amount of gas which is flared under that authority is
54	54	charged to the operator's allowable production. A necessity
55	55	includes but is not limited to the following situations:
56	56	(1) cleaning a well of sand or acid or both following
57	57	stimulation treatment of a well; and
58	58	(2) repairing or modifying a gas-gathering system.
59	59	(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the commission may
60	60	permit methane flaring or venting from a well on university lands
61	61	described by Section 66.41, Education Code, if the board of regents
62	62	of The University of Texas System and the well operator jointly
63	63	submit to the commission an attestation that:
64	64	(1) the well:
65	65	(A) is connected to a pipeline on which pipeline
66	66	takeaway capacity is not expected to meet the demand for gas
67	67	produced from the well; or
68	68	(B) is not connected to a pipeline and connection
69	69	of the well to a pipeline is technically or commercially
70	70	unfeasible; and
71	71	(2) the well operator made a good faith effort to find
72	72	a productive purpose for the gas the operator is seeking to flare or
73	73	vent.
74	74	SECTION 3. Not later than June 1, 2026, the board of regents
75	75	of The University of Texas System shall adopt procedures
76	76	implementing Section 66.455, Education Code, as added by this Act.
77	77	SECTION 4. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
78	78	section, this Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
79	79	(b) Section 86.185, Natural Resources Code, as amended by
80	80	this Act, takes effect January 1, 2027.