American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2015 - 30

the state could draft as much as 2.0 acrefeet a year, while a typical irrigation pivot uses 504.0 acre-feet annually.
The Division of Minerals estimates that
if the state experienced a boom in oil
drilling, defined as enough wells to main-

tain a 50,000 barrel a day production rate,
it would require drilling between 100 and
120 wells a year. If the horizontal or lateral components of those wells were fractured, each well's water use might rise to
5.0 acre-feet a year. The cumulative effect

of fracturing all those wells would require
500.0-600.0 acre feet, about the same as
one irrigation pivot used to grow a crop of
alfalfa, the division says.
❒

Texas Clarifies State, Local Authority
By Del Torkelson

AUSTIN, TX.-A pair of influential lobbies, each with a significant and direct impact on many Texans, were going to face
off over a question that seemed likely to
force an unusually large number of freshman legislators into the uncomfortable position of siding with either state or local authority. All the elements were in place for
a bitter and maybe intractable fight.
Except, instead of the legislative equivalent of trench warfare, Texas gets HB 40,
legislation that pre-empts local oil and gas
regulation and ensures that any local regulation of surface activity is commercially reasonable and does not effectively prohibit an
oil and gas operation. Governor Greg Abbott signed the bill in mid-May after it sailed
through both legislative chambers.
According to a statement from the governor's office, the legislation, which was
sponsored by Representative Drew Darby,
R-San Angelo, and Senator Troy Fraser, RHorseshoe Bay, upholds both local and state
oversight within their proper spheres. "HB

40 protects private property rights, ensures
that heavy-handed local regulation will not
deprive property owners of their rights, and
will help Texas avoid a patchwork quilt of
regulations that differ from region to region,
county to county or city to city," Abbott
says. "HB 40 strikes a meaningful and correct balance between local control and preserving the state's authority to ensure that
regulations are even-handed and do not
hamper job creation."
Oil and gas industry representatives are
lauding both the outcome and the leadership behind it. The elected officials receiving praise from Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association President Edwin Longanecker not only include
the governor and lawmakers, but also local government leaders. "HB 40 had
overwhelming bipartisan support in the
House and Senate because it was a balanced approach to addressing a growing
challenge from a regulatory perspective,"
he describes.
It cleared the House 122-18 and the
Senate 24-7, notes Texas Alliance of En-

Pausing at the signing ceremony for HB 40, Texas' oil and gas pre-emption bill, are Representative Drew Darby, R-San Angelo; Senator Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay; Representative Phil King, R-Weatherford; Representative Chris Paddie, R-Marshall; TIPRO President Edwin Longanecker and Texas Alliance of Energy Producers government affairs consultant Bill Stevens. The legislation, which garnered overwhelming majorities in both legislative chambers, limits local authorities' power over oil and gas operations to reasonable surface restrictions that govern matters such as noise, light, emergency response
and setbacks.

30 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

ergy Producers government affairs consultant Bill Stevens. A major reason for such
accord, he credits, lies with a paragraph of
negotiated language the bill gained in the
House Energy Resources Committee,
which Darby chairs.
"It delineates things under municipalities' purview," Stevens says. "They have
the power to regulate noise, light, emergency and fire response, and setbacks-as
opposed to the subsurface and operational aspects of oil and gas, which fall under state authority. It was at that point that
the Texas Municipal League, industry
representatives and Darby signed a threeway agreement to defend the bill from any
further amendments. That was the turning
point."

State Or Local
Since a November referendum in Denton, Tx., in which voters backed a ban on
hydraulic fracturing within city limits
(AOGR, Dec. 2014, pg. 47), TIPRO and the
Alliance say it was obvious that the proper level of authority for county and municipal governments would constitute the industry's dominant issue during 84th Texas
Legislature. "Local control was a prevalent
theme this session with 12 bills covering
some aspect of the issue," Longanecker relates. "Our top priority was HB 40 in the
local control category, but we supported all
related legislation this session."
He indicates that although HB 40 protects Texas localities' oversight over surface issues, it also makes sure that authority harmonizes with the state's, while
preventing confusion about oil and gas
companies' regulatory obligations as they
cross jurisdictional boundaries. Furthermore, he notes, the new law also strikes
back against regulations that are crafted intentionally to be so onerous that they prevent oil and gas development altogether.
"Anti-oil and gas organizations continue attempts to advance their ideology by
manipulating citizens and local drilling ordinances," Longanecker reflects. "This legislation was necessary to affirm the state's
exclusive jurisdiction over oil and natural
gas development, to protect private property rights, and to provide our industry with
regulatory certainty."
In January, Stevens recalls, Darby
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