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Differences on display in Railroad Commissioner hopefuls dual appearance

AUSTIN—New technology in drilling has unleashed an unprecedented oil and gas boom in Texas. Production has brought billions into state coffers, created well-paying jobs and helped the state avoid recession.

Ryan Sitton on left, Steve Brown opposite

But it’s also had its pitfalls. Scientists have raised serious questions about air quality, earthquakes and protection of water resources. Increased traffic in drilling areas has brought unwanted noise to communities and potholes and wear and tear to roads. Property owners have wound up spending thousands fighting common carrier pipelines in Texas courts. One city in the heart of the productive Barnett Shale has even pushed for a ban on the practice of fracking because of problems some residents see with the industry’s proximity to homes and schools.

And some fear that if and when the boom ends, Texas land owners will be left with trashed property and little else.

Then there’s the Railroad Commission, the agency that regulates the energy sector. Critics have charged that the commission has been more of a cheerleader for industry than a watchdog for Texans.

Early Thursday morning, the two leading candidates for the third seat on the railroad commission, Ryan Sitton, a Republican, and Steve Brown, the Democrat running, came together to talk about these challenges with Jim Malewitz, an energy reporter for the Texas Tribune. Mark Miller, a Libertarian, is also running but was not at the event.

Here are three exchanges from the morning, edited for conciseness:

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Republican holds huge cash advantage in race for oil and gas regulator

AUSTIN—Ryan Sitton, the Republican in the race for oil and gas regulator, has a war chest nearly 40 times larger than that of his Democratic opponent, new campaign finance documents reveal.

Ryan Sitton

Sitton has just over $200,000 cash on hand going into the final weeks of the election. Steve Brown, a Fort Bend Democrat running for railroad commissioner, has close to $5,500, according to reports out Tuesday from the state’s ethics commission.

The Republican from Houston raised more than $446,000 in campaign contributions since July 1. His campaign has $1.2 million in loans outstanding. Brown received nearly $19,000 in the same period and has zero loans out.

“Texans are contributing to and volunteering on his campaign because they know we need Ryan’s technical expertise on the commission,” said Jared Craighead, Sitton’s campaign manager.

Sitton, an oil and gas engineer and businessman, spent about $278,000 in the 3-month period, which is less than half the amount he spent in the GOP primary. More than $100,000 went toward repaying loans. By comparison, Brown spent about $11,000.

Brown spun his smaller reserves, touting that his public advocacy message resonates better with voters.

Steve Brown

“I’ve spoken with hardworking Texans all across the state and have seen how fired up they are. On November 4, money won’t decide the election, voters will,” he said.

Several of Sitton’s top contributions came from industry interests. Permian Enterprises, an oil and gas technology firm, gave $25,000. Devon Energy Corporation gave $10,000, for example. Exxon Mobil Corp PAC contributed $12,500 and T. Boone Pickens donated $10,000.

The Railroad Commission is the state’s oil and gas regulatory agency. The candidate elected in November will join Republicans Christi Craddick and David Porter on the three-person panel.

 

Railroad Commissioner candidate proposes ‘water conservation plan’ for fracking

AUSTIN—Amid concerns over drought and earthquakes, Steve Brown, the Democrat running for Railroad Commissioner, proposed a plan Tuesday that would incentivize water reuse projects, increase local control in groundwater permitting and phase out permits for new hydraulic fracturing wastewater disposal wells.

The amount of water used in drilling—about 40,000 Olympic size pools each year statewide, according to the Texas Water Development Board—puts an “unsustainable burden on local municipalities, farmers and landowners,” Brown said.

Ryan Sitton, the Republican nominee in the race, called the proposals “out of touch and not carefully constructed to consider consequences and the impacts on our economy.”

The Railroad Commission is responsible for regulating oil and gas in the state.

Several years of drought and a series of earthquakes in North Texas that some believe were caused by nearby disposal wells (drillers inject frack waste product into disposal wells) have raised concerns about water use in drilling.

Brown, former chairman of the Democratic Party in Fort Bend, proposed his “water conservation plan” for the agency, which aims to eliminate freshwater fracking by 2020. The changes would preserve water resources and not be cost prohibitive to the industry, he said.

The plan calls for tapping the Rainy Day Fund for $50 million to use toward research and development grants for businesses creating technologies to recycle frack water, reuse wastewater and create less water intensive methods for drilling. Brown also suggested tax credits for operators who use recycled wastewater.

The commission would gradually phase out permits for injection wells with no new disposal wells receiving permits by 2020, the plan said.

Drilling operators would be required to get permits from local groundwater conservation districts to extract water, according to the plan. The water usage would be reported monthly and groundwater districts would be allowed to protest injection well permits, the plan said.

Sitton, a Houston oil and gas businessman and engineer, rejected the proposals. The industry is already increasing its recycled water use and adding regulation would be damaging to production, he said.

The election is in November. The commissioner will join current commissioners Christi Craddick and David Porter on the regulatory panel.