Latest news with #DrewDarby
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
After deadly floods, state and federal leaders look for answers
AUSTIN (KXAN) — In the aftermath of the Kerr County flooding, there are growing questions about how the response was handled as leaders at all levels continue looking for answers. 'I think there's certainly a lot of questions that need to be answered, you know, the how and the why are always something that we're going to look at in the wake of a tragedy,' said State Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso. 'And that's something we owe to the people of Texas, to those families who have suffered immensely, we owe that to them.' Federal leaders spar on NWS flood warning response, pose safety review after Texas disaster Moody wants to see long-term and immediate changes that could include funding for outdoor warning sirens. 'When we're talking about short-term solutions, like these flood warning systems,' Moody said. 'Those are things we can do right now.' On Tuesday, State Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, shared a letter he sent Gov. Greg Abbott on social media. Darby wants to see a failed bill co-authored by Moody, House Bill 13, resurface. KXAN first reported on the bill over the weekend. If passed, it would have developed a statewide strategic plan that included 'the use of outdoor warning sirens.' A newly formed council would have been asked to 'develop and implement, as advisable, emergency alert systems and incorporate as necessary communication technologies into the emergency communications network of this state.' 'While we cannot change the past, we must act now to better prepare our communities for future natural disasters and ensure our neighbors have the resources to rebuild,' Darby wrote on X. 'This includes, among other things, investing in a more robust and comprehensive alert system, as well as ensuring a coordinated, long-term recovery effort that leaves no community behind.' His letter asked the governor to urgently consider adding 'strengthening the ability of our state and local communities to prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural disasters' to the July 21 special session. On Tuesday, Abbott said 'at the top' of the agenda will be helping communities impacted. 'We're going to start a special session two Mondays from now. A special session that will have at the top of its agenda helping communities like in Kerr County, Kendall County, as well as in Central Texas and the Big Country — all areas affected by the floods of the past week — those issues are going to be on the agenda for the state to address, from top to bottom,' Abbott said. 'We want to make sure that when we end that session, we end it making sure these communities are better, more resilient and have the resources that they need for the next chapter of their lives.' 'You're going to see a bipartisan group of legislators lock arms and work on solutions to these problems,' Moody said. Following Texas floods, warning sirens get renewed attention READ: Congressman Doggett's letter to NOAA sent July 8Download On the federal level, elected leaders are looking for lessons. 'Most people at 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. are asleep,' said U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. 'And, so, I think we will have a reasonable conversation about A, are there any ways to have earlier detection?' On Monday, Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz told NBC News that flood sirens, and resources for smaller counties to respond and prepare for disasters, will likely be discussed at the federal level. 'Look, I think that's certainly a discussion that will flow in the weeks and months ahead,' Cruz said. 'I think we need to look at what happened, what transpired and how we could have moved more quickly to get people who are vulnerable out of harm's way in particular those kids in the cabins by the river.' 'How we make that happen, I think, is a very reasonable discussion,' he added. 'It should be a bipartisan discussion. And, I expect it to happen at the local level, the state level and the federal level.' A day after KXAN highlighted cities, like San Marcos, that have outdoor warning sirens, Congressman Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, said he is 'certainly in favor' of discussing the issue on a federal level. 'It's amazing that a county [Kerr County] that encourages people from all over the state and the country to come there for camping did not have sirens of the type we have in San Marcos,' Doggett said. In a letter sent Tuesday, first obtained by KXAN, Doggett asked the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to answer 14 questions. He is asking for details about any communication between the National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio office and Kerr County or camp leaders before the flooding began. Doggett also wants to know how staffing cuts have impacted operations. KXAN previously found six vacancies in the NWS Austin/San Antonio office, according to its online staff roster and the NWS Employees Organization. Those include three meteorologists, two technology staff members and a science officer. The office has 26 employees when fully staffed. 'I think we need that information,' Doggett said. 'We need to know the impact of these cutbacks and hiring freezes not just to find out the results of the disaster but to prevent other disasters from occurring.' The White House said the NWS 'did its job' and, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, joined Cruz in pushing back against the criticism. 'Based on the briefing I've received, all of these sort of political finger pointing and blame game is totally out of line,' Cornyn said. 'There was not shortage of resources available. Unfortunately, this was a 100-year flood in a very vulnerable area, with a very vulnerable population.' Cornyn said Congress will do 'everything we can to prevent tragedies like this from occurring in the future.' 'We would try to learn from this and say, 'What can we do to maybe prevent or mitigate something like this from happening?,'' he said. Over the weekend, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem visited the area along the Guadalupe River, calling the amount of rain in the flooding event 'unprecedented,' broadly referencing the administration's goal to 'fix' aging technology within NOAA – the parent agency to the NWS. 'I do carry your concerns back to the federal government and back to President Trump,' Noem said, acknowledging the need to upgrade 'ancient' technology so 'families have as much warning as possible.' On Tuesday, officials said the NWS 'fulfilled its public safety mission' by issuing more than 60 warnings before the flooding occurred. 'The simple fact is most government systems are antiquated and running on legacy technology — that's been the norm across nearly every agency, under both Republican and Democrat administrations, for decades,' a DHS spokesperson said. 'It's simply not realistic to overhaul every outdated system at once. That's why this administration is taking a hard look at these longstanding issues as part of our broader push to protect taxpayer dollars, strengthen accountability, and modernize where it makes the most sense.' Amid the state and national recoil, President Donald Trump plans to visit Texas Friday to see the damage firsthand. 'This is a 100-year catastrophe,' Trump said. 'And it's just so horrible to watch.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Texas creating task forces to target Permian Basin oil field thefts
ODESSA, Texas (AP) — At least three times a week, Darin Mitchell gets the call. Oil drums have been stolen. Copper wires were yanked. Other field equipment at an oil and gas facility was pilfered. The Winkler County Sheriff dispatches his officers to investigate, but they rarely catch the crime in the act or find the stolen product, worth tens of thousands of dollars. The West Texas county's ten deputies are overextended, policing 841 square miles, a combination of neighborhoods, a downtown area and the oil and gas facilities surrounding them. He doesn't have the manpower — or the money, he said — to investigate every instance. 'I don't have a dedicated person to just sit out there,' he said. 'The county can't afford just to hire somebody full-time to do oil field thefts.' The Texas Legislature has stepped in, passing a suite of bills that lawmakers, the sheriff, and oil and gas industry leaders said are crucial to combat what they say is a billion-dollar loss in oil field thefts in the Permian Basin, the state's largest oil field. Gov. Greg Abbott signed all three this month in Midland, saying in a statement that Texas is 'bringing the full weight of the law to crack down on oil theft in the Permian Basin to protect the critical role energy development plays in fueling our economy.' Written by state Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, and Sen. Kevin Sparks, R-Midland, the bills instruct the Department of Public Safety and the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the state's oil and gas industry, to create task forces that will investigate oil field robberies. The effort will cost taxpayers nearly $5 million. House Bill 48, by Darby, establishes a DPS-created oil field theft prevention unit. The members comprising it can enforce existing laws, in addition to providing training, resources and strategies specific to deterring such thefts. The task force is also charged with conducting public awareness campaigns. Every two years, the body must report back to the legislature. In a statement to The Texas Tribune, Darby called oil field theft 'a complex, highly coordinated criminal enterprise, often with direct connections to cartels. This escalating threat poses serious risks not only to the oil and gas industry — a cornerstone of our state's economy — but also to the safety of our communities and the survival of small, hardworking businesses.' He said his bills are meant to 'systematically take apart' criminal networks profiting from energy infrastructure. Senate Bill 494, authored by Sparks, directs the Railroad Commission to create a second task force to prevent the theft of petroleum products. This body must consist of proxies from the oil and gas industry, an oil and gas trade association and law enforcement agencies. They will conduct ongoing studies regarding theft, review the effectiveness of laws and analyze whether local and county governments are losing money in sales taxes as a result. Another Sparks bill, Senate Bill 1806, authorizes DPS to inspect oil field cargo tanks they suspect of being used to transport stolen oil, take samples from the vehicle and study them in a crime laboratory. The bill authorizes apprehending officers to return the product or sell it and reimburse the company from which it was stolen. The bill also increases the penalties for oil and gas theft. Transporting petroleum products to a waste disposal location is a felony with a penalty of at least $100,000; purchasing petroleum products without authorization from railroad commission can bring a penalty of up to $100,000; storing, purchasing or trading a petroleum product without authorization from the railroad commission can result in in a penalty of up to $10,000. Ed Longanecker, president of the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, a trade group, said the bills were their top priority. He said one of their largest members lost $1.1 million in crude oil and equipment theft and damages between 2023 and 2024. 'And, again, this is just one of thousands of operators in Texas that have been victims of these crimes,' Longanecker said. A task force led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, he said, estimated that operators in the Permian Basin lose up to $300,000 a month in stolen tools, pipes and valves. 'Considering more than 2 billion barrels of oil and condensate were produced in Texas in 2024, the loss is estimated to be in the billions of dollars annually,' he said. ___ This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is it safe? Plans to reuse fracking water amid growing water shortage move forward
MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- Amid the growing water shortage in West Texas, the Texas Legislature has given oil and gas companies the opportunity to reuse wastewater created during the oil fracking process. State Rep. Drew Darby's House Bill 49 is now on the way Gov. Greg Abbott's desk for a final signature. Research & Development Manager at Texas Pacific Water Resources, Adrianne Lopez, guarantees Texans the water is safe for reuse. 'The contaminants things that are like that are biological or heavy metals, those have all been removed,' she said. 'The things that would make a water be considered dangerous have been removed.' Her team has worked for years on several studies to ensure the water can be used for irrigation and building projects. Her team follows a six-step process, and other partners such as New Mexico University and Texas Tech University have also tested the water's safety. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oil companies win protections from Texas Legislature ahead of selling fracking water
The Texas Legislature has given oil and gas companies legal cover to sell wastewater to be treated and released into the state's rivers, lakes and streams. State Rep. Drew Darby's House Bill 49 — on its way to Gov. Greg Abbott — marks a step the oil and gas industry has said is a key barrier to expanding the treatment of the brine it generates, known as produced water, and making it available for reuse. The bill protects landowners, oil, treatment and transportation companies from liability should consequences arise after they sell or treat the liquid. In Texas, record oil and gas production is only outmatched by the backwash that surfaces with the fossil fuels. There are five barrels of produced water for every barrel of oil. Texas oil companies are increasingly using this liquid, which is trapped in the rock where drilling and fracking occur, to frack more. Now, companies believe the water can help replenish the state's water supply, which is under strain due to a larger population, withering infrastructure and climate change. Four treatment companies applied for state permission to release the water into the state's waterways. 'I think this will really free up some water transactions to start happening, where people will more freely exchange water,' said Laura Capper, a produced water expert and oil and gas consultant. [Can Texas clean up fracking water enough to use for farming? One company thinks so.] Under Darby's bill, companies that sell the water can't be held responsible for the consequences if someone else uses the water. Treatment and transportation companies and landowners also qualify for protection, including in cases of personal injury, death, or property damage. Companies and landowners can only be sued when they are grossly negligent, commit intentional, wrongful acts of omission, break state or federal laws, or fail to satisfy standards set by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which sets and enforces the state's environmental rules. The bill directs the environmental quality commission to write rules around produced water research and reuse. Darby's bill also prohibits courts from issuing what are known as exemplary damages, or additional punitive measures, to deter companies from committing the same mistake. Cyrus Reed, a legislative and conservation director for the Sierra Club, an environmental advocacy organization, said the state is moving too fast. He said scientists and regulators should continue experimenting with treatment methods until they can be sure the water can be treated continuously. In 2021, lawmakers began to fund treatment research, putting $10 million toward the effort, called the Texas Produced Water Consortium. The environmental quality commission has said the consortium's findings will help decide whether to let companies release water into the environment. But Reed said the consortium should spend more years on pilot projects, experimenting on soil, before laws are introduced, adding that the water, even when treated, could still contain contaminants the environmental quality commission has not accounted for. 'I understand why (lawmakers) want this,' Reed said. 'They're trying to make it work so that this water can be reused, but who's going to ultimately pay the price? It's going to be the public.' Capper, the water consultant, said the law places the responsibility on the state's regulatory agencies to make sure the water is safe, which also gives the industry security to sell it. She said there is enough research through Texas and New Mexico, which has also funded produced water treatment research, to make the water safe to discharge. 'We've studied this water to death,' she said. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oil companies want protection as Texas considers allowing treated fracking water released into rivers
ODESSA — Oil and gas companies are seeking legal shelter as Texas comes closer to using waste brine once considered too toxic for anything other than fracking to replenish Texas' water shortages. Legislation filed by state Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, could give them, transportation companies and landowners such protection. Darby told a Texas House panel in March his bill will give industries the certainty they need to ramp up treatment of the industrial waste, known as produced water. The full House approved the legislation earlier this year and it is awaiting a Senate debate. Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republican leaders have made water a priority issue this session. Several proposals aim to increase the state's water supply, which is under duress from a growing population, climate change and leaking infrastructure. Cleaning produced water is one of several ways lawmakers hope to boost supply. There is an extraordinary amount of backwash from oil production, which continues to break records, especially in West Texas. For every barrel of oil produced, as many as five barrels of water are captured, Darby told lawmakers on the committee on natural resources, where he introduced the bill. That water is either reused for fracking or stored underground. [Can Texas clean up fracking water enough to use for farming? One company thinks so.] However, industry and legislators have put millions of dollars toward researching treatment methods. And now, some companies say they have scrubbed out the toxic contaminants to help refill drying bodies of water in West Texas. But the oil and gas industry is hesitating to expand this effort unless it can be sure it is shielded from liability after it hands off the water. If legislators fail to assure the industry, companies might not want to treat the water and sell it, said Michael Lozano, who leads government affairs at the Permian Basin Petroleum Association. 'Without developing this field with legal certainty, Texas will miss out on millions of barrels of day of treated produced water that could benefit industrial and land application of water uses, which could continue to decrease reliance on fresh water in these sectors,' Lozano said. Darby's bill, House Bill 49, says that after an oil company agrees to sell the water for beneficial use by someone else, it is generally not liable if there are consequences later on. Neither are the companies treating the water. The bill also protects landowners who pay to treat the water and sell it, including in cases of personal injury, death, or property damage. Companies can be liable in some cases, including gross negligence, intentional, wrongful acts of omission, breaking state and federal treatment laws, or failing to meet standards under the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the state's environmental regulator. It also directs the commission to write more rules outlining how the water should be treated and used. In a statement to The Texas Tribune, Darby called liability a 'key barrier' to expanding produced water treatment, adding the bill 'does not shield bad actors — anyone who violates the law or their permit remains fully liable.' It's unclear when the state might begin allowing treated produced water into nature. Four treatment companies have applied for permits with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to discharge or dispose of produced water into the state's bodies of water. Darby's proposal has set off alarms among environmental policy experts who say that regulators authorizing companies to discharge produced water are not working with enough data to support their decisions. The commission, which oversees all discharges, including those from oil and gas, has said the agency follows state and federal guidelines. Regulators are also gathering information supplied by the Texas Produced Water Consortium, a research initiative consisting of five pilot projects established by lawmakers in 2021 to study treatment methods of produced water. The amount of chemicals in produced water varies by sample. Some estimates have detected hundreds, establishing the liquid as one of the most complicated to treat. Nichole Saunders, senior attorney at the Environmental Defense Fund, said she does not trust the permits to account for every chemical and toxic contaminant. She said the water could still contain dangerous contaminants that the permit does not account for. Regulators and scientists should continue to improve testing before issuing permits, she said. 'We're basing the responsibility for outcomes on the safety net of our regulatory system with this bill,' she said. 'Not on what outcomes might be possible in a best-case scenario.' Dan Mueller, an engineer and a produced water expert, agreed that there is not enough data to issue permits. Mueller raised concerns about the capability of the treatment technologies, saying the five pilot projects have not been running long enough to ensure they clean the water reliably. And if the treated water causes environmental or human harm, he said, there are no assurances that the companies that discharge the water can afford to remediate all issues. He says the bill and permits should include financial mechanisms that can cover environmental problems, should they occur. Without these assurances, 'the responsibility to clean up any contamination that might occur is going to fall to the state, and ultimately that falls to the taxpayer, who will have to foot the bill,' he said. 'That's just not right.' Lozano, with the industry trade group, said there are no existing protections for oil and gas companies that treat and sell the water, adding that treatment gives them another alternative for the excess. 'If this segment of the industry cannot develop and mature, it could impact the record production that has occurred in the Permian Basin,' he said. Disclosure: Environmental Defense Fund and Permian Basin Petroleum Association have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
