The Texas Oil & Gas Association said its president, Todd Staples, supports landowner protections that the Public Utility Commission of Texas attached to its approval of two proposals for decision tied to the Permian Basin Reliability Plan.
Following the commission’s unanimous adoption of the two proposals, Staples issued a statement on behalf of the association, according to an Aug. 28 release posted by the trade group in Austin. The association said commissioners adopted the administrative law judges’ recommendations on the certificate of convenience and necessity with what it called important modifications directing landowner protections.
Staples framed the outcome as meeting two goals at once. “Energy security should be non-negotiable for all Texans. And picking the least impactful route when building critical infrastructure necessary to support modern life must be equally non-negotiable,” he said in the statement. “The PUC accomplished both objectives today by adopting the Administrative Law Judges’ proposals for decision on the CCN with important modifications that directed landowner protections.”
The association’s president also praised the routing standards regulators set. “The Commission took significant and meaningful steps to protect Texas landowners, adopting standards that transmission and distribution utilities must follow in routing these lines,” Staples said. “Landowners deserve a process that is fair, transparent and respectful, and the Commission’s unanimous action delivers that. When West Texas is strong, America is stronger.”
In background material accompanying the statement, the association said commissioners adopted the two proposals for decision with additional landowner protections as indicated by Chairman Gleeson in memorandums filed in the underlying dockets, which TXOGA identified as the Longshore and Dinosaur matters. The group pointed readers to those filings rather than summarizing the routing standards in detail.
TXOGA, founded in 1919, describes itself as the oldest and largest oil and natural gas trade association in Texas, representing every facet of the industry. The association’s statement reflects its own position on the commission’s action and did not address what further steps remain in the certification process or when work on the approved routes could begin.