RRC Assesses More than $10.7 Million in Fines in 2019

AUSTIN – The Railroad Commission of Texas assessed $10,799,103 in fines on 4,232 enforcement dockets involving the state’s oil and gas industry and intrastate pipeline safety for calendar year 2019. These include: 

• $50,000 in fines assessed in protested dockets that went to hearing and related to pipeline damage or oil and gas violations;
• $2,951,268 in penalties for Master Default Orders;
• $1,360,010 in fines for Master Agreed Orders; and;
• $6,437,825 for Pipeline Damage Prevention penalties.

Totals include the Commission’s final enforcement actions for 2019, taken Tuesday during the last Commissioners’ conference of the year. On Tuesday, 24 dockets involved$183,382 in penalties after operators failed to appear at Commission enforcement proceedings.
Details on this Master Default Order can be found on the RRC website here

Operators were ordered to come into compliance with Commission rules and assessed $44,143 for oil and gas, LP-Gas or pipeline safety rule violations. Pipeline operators and excavators were assessed $741,575 for violations of the Commission’s Pipeline Damage Prevention rules. Details on all these Master Agreed Orders can be found on the RRC website here.

In the absence of timely motions for rehearing, decisions are final as stated in these final orders.