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Wednesday, March 26, 1997

State agencies squabble over who should clean up

AUSTIN (AP) - The Texas Railroad Commission and General Land Office are squabbling over which state agency should have the responsibility to clean up oil spills affecting the state.

A House subcommittee looking into the duplication of services by state agencies took testimony Tuesday on a bill that would put the Railroad Commission in charge of spills.

Currently, the two agencies share the duties, with the Railroad Commission in charge of oil and gas spills under 240 barrels and the Land Office handling spills over that amount.

"The vast majority of coastal oil and gas exploration and production facility oil spills are less than 240 barrels," said Railroad Commissioner Carole Keeton Rylander.

Mrs. Rylander said the U.S. Coast Guard reported that only two of approximately 1,100 coastal oil spills last year exceeded 240 barrels.

That was disputed by Greg Pollock, the associate deputy land commissioner in charge of oil spill prevention and response.

"We are responsible for 93 percent of all spills reported in coastal waters," Pollock said. "We handle such an overwhelmingly large percentage of spills, it makes more sense to transfer the 7 percent over here than break up our large program and send it over to the Railroad Commission."

Pollock said the Land Office would assume the additional responsibility without requiring additional money.

Mrs. Rylander said transferring the oil spill responsibilities to the Railroad Commission would result in a savings of more than $4 million per year over the next two-year budget cycle.

Rep. David Swinford, R-Dumas, and Sen. J.E. "Buster" Brown, R-Lake Jackson, are sponsoring different bills that would both transfer all oil spill responsibilities to the Railroad Commission.

Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, D-Austin, is sponsoring a bill that would put the Land Office in charge of the spills.

The Railroad Commission oil spill bills are HB3230 and SB1711. The Land Office oil spill bill is SB1908. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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