Railroad Commission formally rejects oil spill rule

Proposed rule required producers to input details of spills into a computer program, producers would then receive a computer-generated plan or set of options for remediation

by The Associated Press

On Aug. 21 the Texas Railroad Commission formally voted 2-1 to end consideration on a proposal that would have told oil producers how to respond to oil spills in sensitive areas.

Chairman Michael Williams and Commissioner Charles Matthews voted to stop consideration, with Commissioner Tony Garza voting to continue the discussion period. Garza also failed in his attempt to get the commissioners to extend the formal and informal comment period.

The rule, called Risk Based Decision Making or Risk Based Corrective Action, also dubbed “Rebecca,” would have required producers who have a spill to input the details of the spill into a computer program. The producers then would have received a computer-generated plan or set of options for remediating the environment.

Under present rules, oil producers must hire a consultant to devise a cleanup plan that then must be approved by the Railroad Commission.

Williams earlier had released a statement saying he reached his decision to vote to end consideration of the proposal after listening to and talking with oil industry members and other interested people.