Railroad Commission of Texas
Agency overview | |
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Formed | 1891 |
Jurisdiction | Texas |
Headquarters | Austin, Texas |
Employees | 835 |
Agency executives |
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Website | www |
The Railroad Commission of
Established by the
The three-member commission was initially appointed by the governor, but an amendment to the state's constitution in 1894 established the commissioners as elected officials who serve overlapping six-year terms, like the sequence in the
Origins
Attempts to establish a railroad commission in Texas began in 1876. After five legislative failures, an amendment to the state constitution that provided for a railroad commission was submitted to voters in 1890. The amendment's ratification and the 1890 election of Governor
The agency did not have the legal authority to set rates, nor did it have the resources to spend much of its time in court battles. The carrot was far more important than the stick. Freight rates continued to decline dramatically. In 1891, a typical rate was 1.403 cents per ton mile. By 1907, the rate was 1.039 cents—a decline of 25%. However, the railroads did not have rates high enough for them to upgrade their equipment and lower costs in the face of competition from pipelines, cars, and trucks, and the Texas railway system began a slow decline.[9]
Members of the First Railroad Commission of Texas
Lafayette L. Foster (1851–1901) was a commissioner of the first TRC (1891–1895) appointed by Governor Hogg. He resigned in 1895, and became the vice president and general manager of the Velasco Terminal Railway.[10] He was succeeded as commissioner by Nathan Alexander Stedman.
Segregation
From the 1890s through the 1960s, the Texas Railroad Commission found it difficult to fully enforce
Expansion to oil
The agency's reach expanded as it took over responsibility for regulating oil pipelines (in 1917), oil and gas production (1919), natural gas delivery systems (1920), bus lines (1927), and trucking (1929). It grew from 12 employees in 1916 to 69 in 1930 and 566 in 1939. It does not have jurisdiction over investor-owned electric utility companies; that falls under the jurisdiction of the Public Utility Commission of Texas.[13][14]
A crisis for the
Ernest O. Thompson (1892–1966), head of the TRC from 1932 to 1965, took charge of the agency, and indeed the oil industry, by appealing to an ideal of Texas's role in the global oil order—the civil religion of Texas oil. He cajoled, harangued, and browbeat recalcitrant producers into compliance with the TRC's prorationing orders. The New Deal allowed the TRC to set national oil policy.[15] As late as the 1950s, the TRC controlled over 40% of United States’ crude production, and approximately half of estimated national proved reserves. It served as a model in the creation of OPEC.[16] Gordon M. Griffin, chief engineer of the TRC during World War II, developed the formula for prorationing to keep production flowing for the military.
Because the TRC needed access to the Texas headquarters of the various oil companies, it became a long term tenant at the Milam Building.[17]
Operations
Regulation was a practical rather than ideological affair. The TRC typically worked with the regulated industries to improve operations, share best practices, and address consumer complaints. Radical activities—like heated court battles or rate-setting to favor shippers, producers, or consumers—were the exception rather than the rule.
Within the oil and gas industry, it took into account production in other states, in effect bringing total available supply (including imports, which were small) within the principle of prorationing to market demand. Allowable oilfield production was calculated as follows: estimated market demand, minus uncontrolled additions to supply, gave the Texas total; this was then prorated among fields and wells in a manner calculated to preserve equity among producers, and to prevent any well from producing beyond its maximum efficient rate (MER). Scheduled allowables are expressed in numbers of calendar days of permitted production per month at MER.
Recent history
As of March 2022, the commission members are Wayne Christian (chairman), Christi Craddick, and Jim Wright. All three members are Republicans. Christian was elected in 2016 as a commissioner, and was selected as chairman in 2019.[21][22] Craddick was elected in 2012, and reelected in 2018.[23] Wright was elected in 2020.[24]
Effective October 1, 2005, as a result of House Bill 2702,[25][26] the rail oversight functions of the Railroad Commission were transferred to the Texas Department of Transportation.[27] The traditional name of the commission was not changed despite the loss of its titular regulatory duties.[1]
Court cases involving the commission
The
The Railroad Commission has also figured prominently in two major U.S. Supreme Court cases on the doctrine of abstention:
- Railroad Commission v. Pullman Co., a 1941 case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was appropriate for federal courts to abstain from hearing a case to allow state courts to decide substantial constitutional issues that touch upon sensitive areas of state social policy, specifically the race of railroad employees.
- Burford v. Sun Oil Co., a 1943 case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a federal court sitting in diversity jurisdiction may abstain from hearing the case where the state courts likely have greater expertise in a particularly complex and unclear area of state law which is of special significance to the state, where there is comprehensive state administrative/regulatory procedure, and where the federal issues cannot be decided without delving into state law.
Commissioners
The commissioners are elected in statewide partisan elections for six-year terms, with one commission seat up for election every two years. The commission selects a chairperson from among their members every year.
Commissioner | Party | Assumed office | Next election |
---|---|---|---|
Wayne Christian | Republican | January 3, 2017[28] | 2028 |
Christi Craddick, Chairwoman | Republican | December 12, 2012 | 2024 |
Jim Wright | Republican | January 4, 2021 | 2026 |
Offices and districts
The agency is headquartered in the William B. Travis State Office Building at 1701 North Congress Avenue in Austin.[29] In addition, the Texas Railroad Commission has twelve oil and gas district offices located throughout the state. The district offices facilitate communication between industry representatives and the Commission.[30]
Name | Office | Region
|
---|---|---|
District 1 | San Antonio | Texas Hill Country |
District 2 | San Antonio | Greater Golden Crescent Region |
District 3 | Houston | Southeast Texas + Greater Houston |
District 4 | Corpus Christi | Refugio County
|
District 5 | Kilgore | west half of Northeast Texas |
District 6 | Kilgore | east half of Northeast Texas |
District 7B | Abilene | West Central Texas |
District 7C | San Angelo | Concho Valley |
District 8 | Midland | Trans-Pecos + Midland and surrounding counties |
District 8A | Lubbock | South Plains |
District 9 | Wichita Falls | Northern Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and North |
District 10 | Pampa | Texas Panhandle
|
See also
Bibliography
- Childs, William R. The Texas Railroad Commission: Understanding Regulation in America to the Mid-Twentieth Century. (2005). 323 pp. the standard history; online review
- Childs, William R. "Origins of the Texas Railroad Commission's Power to Control Production of Petroleum: Regulatory Strategies in the 1920s." Journal of Policy History 1990 2(4): 353–387. ISSN 0898-0306
- De Chazeau, Melvin G., and Alfred E. Kahn. Integration and Competition in the Petroleum Industry (1959) online edition
- Green, George N. "Thompson, Ernest Othmer," The Handbook of Texas Online (2008)
- Norvell, James R. "The Railroad Commission of Texas: its Origin and History." Southwestern Historical Quarterly 1965 68(4): 465–480. ISSN 0038-478X online edition
- Prindle, David F. Petroleum Politics and the Texas Railroad Commission. (1981). 230 pp., focuses on relations with independent oilmen
- David F. Prindle, "Railroad Commission," Handbook of Texas Online (2008)
- Procter, Ben H. Not Without Honor: The Life of John H. Reagan (1962).
- Procter, Ben H. Reagan, John Henninger," Handbook of Texas Online (2008)
- Splawn, W. M. W. "Valuation and Rate Regulation by the Railroad Commission of Texas," Journal of Political Economy Vol. 31, No. 5 (Oct., 1923), pp. 675–707 in JSTOR
References
- ^ a b Who regulates railroads in Texas? ...Don't let our name throw you off track., RRC, Railroad Commission of Texas, 2010, retrieved 2015-09-28
- ^ Prindle, David F. "Railroad Commission," Handbook of Texas Online (2008)
- ^ Railroad Commission: An Informal History Compiled for Its Centennial (April 1991), RRC, Railroad Commission of Texas, 1991, archived from the original on November 25, 2020, retrieved September 28, 2015
- ^ "Railroad Commissioners Past through Present". Texas Railroad Commission. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
- ^ "Commissioners". Texas Railroad Commission. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
- ^ a b "History of the Railroad Commission of Texas". Railroad Commission of Texas. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
- ^ See for quote
- LCCN 58-59849– via Google Books.
- ^ Panus, Stephanie A. "Foster, Lafayette Lumpkin (1851-1901)". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- ^ Harper Jr., Cecil. "McLean, William Pinckney". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
- ISSN 0038-478X
- ^ a b Childs, (1990)
- ^ Who has jurisdiction over natural gas rates (Texas Natural Gas Rates Frequently Asked Questions), RRC, Railroad Commission of Texas, retrieved 2013-03-31[permanent dead link]
- ^ Green, George N. "Thompson, Ernest Othmer," The Handbook of Texas Online (2008)
- ^ Childs, (2005)
- San Antonio Business Journal. San Antonio. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
- ^ The "maximum efficient rate" is an engineering determination of the theoretical optimum rate of flow of crude oil from each well in a pool that will not endanger ultimate recovery from the pool by a too rapid release of underground pressures. MER depends on the character of the oil-bearing structure and the nature of the natural drive – whether water pressure, a gas cap, or gas in solution in the crude oil. Engineers look at indices like the pressure at the bottom of the well ("bottom-hole pressure") or the ratio of gas to oil in the crude produced. Childs, (2005)
- ^ Title 30 of the Code of Federal Regulations of the United States of America — Mineral Resources. Chapter II — Minerals Management Service, Dept. of the Interior. § 250.170 Definitions for production rates, Office of the Federal Register, July 1, 1989, p. 254, retrieved 2013-03-31,
Maximum Efficient Rate (MER) means the maximum sustainable daily oil or gas withdrawal rate from a reservoir which will permit economic development and depletion of that reservoir without detriment to ultimate recovery.
- ^ Beveridge & Diamond PC (May 1, 2013). "New Hydraulic Fracturing Water Recycling Rules Published in Texas Register". The National Law Review. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
- ^ "Texas RRC – Commissioners" Railroad Commission of Texas. January 3, 2017. Retrieved on June 30, 2017.
- ^ "[1]" Railroad Commission of Texas - Christian Elected as Chairman of Railroad Commission. June 18, 2019. Retrieved on April 28, 2020.
- ^ "[2]" Texas Secretary of State 2018 election results. November 6, 2018. Retrieved on May 16, 2019.
- ^ Sparber, Sami (November 4, 2020). "Jim Wright wins Texas Railroad Commission race, extending decades of Republican dominance on the oil and gas regulating board". The Texas Tribune.
- ^ "House Bill 2702 — Enrolled Bill Summary". Texas Legislature Online. 14 June 2005. Archived from the original on 18 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- ^ "Texas Legislature Online - 79(R) Text for HB 2702". Texas Legislature Online. Archived from the original on 18 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- ^ "RRC and Railroads". Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ "Railroad Commissioners Past through Present". www.rrc.texas.gov. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
- ^ "Contact Us". Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ "Oil & Gas Locations". Retrieved 16 March 2022.
External links
- Railroad Commission of Texas official website
- Railroad Commission from the Handbook of Texas Online
- "Hazardous Business: Industry, Regulation, and the Texas Railroad Commission" from Texas State Library and Archives Commission
- Conversion of EBCDIC files