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Our mission is to serve Texas by our stewardship of natural resources and the environment, our concern for person
and community safety, and our support of enhanced development and economic vitality for the benefit of Texans.
RRC Releases 2020 Year in Revi
Unprecedented. That's the word that best describes the challenges faced by RRC
and Texas' energy industry in 2020. While the energy industry endured exceptional
volatility, RRC moved quickly to change processes and procedures to ensure consistent,
reliable regulation and protection of public health, safety, and the environment. RRC's
2020 Year in Review describes the agency's accomplishments in the face of unprece-
dented challenges.
Year in Review Highlights
In response to the social-distancing needs of the pandemic, RRC launched multiple
on-line resources for the energy industry and public. In March, RRC released RRC
CASES, an online portal for agency hearings documents. Throughout the summer,
the agency hosted the first online Oil and Gas Regulatory Webinar series on a
variety of topics. In addition, RRC's Alternative Fuels Department initiated training
webinars for LPG (propane) dispenser operators to receive continuing education
needed for certification.
The State Managed Plugging Program plugged 1,477 abandoned wells across
Texas, exceeding the legislative performance target of 1,400. The agency also
cleaned-up 258 abandoned oilfield sites, more than expected by the legislature's
performance measure.
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2020 i
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The Pipeline Safety Division timely adopted rules implementing legislation prohibiting natural gas distribution oper-
ators from installing underground cast iron, wrought iron, or bare steel pipelines, and to replace any known cast iron
pipes by the end of 2021. The Division's 70 inspectors performed over 5,500 pipeline safety inspections to ensure
compliance with state and federal safety requirements.
Oil and Gas Division inspectors performed 347,617 inspections of oil and gas facilities. Each inspector averaged
2,107 inspections, 895 more than the goal of 1,199 inspections per inspector.
RRC's Surface Mining and Reclamation Division completed 417 inspections of coal and uranium mine sites, exceeding
the legislative performance goal for the first time in five years.
Taking advantage of 21st century technology, RRC launched a statewide drone inspection team to help agency insp
tors quickly respond to and inspect sites that are unsafe or inaccessible during emergencies. RRC's drone team flew
missions in FY 2020.
In an effort to provide the public with better access to agency data, RRC released eight interactive maps describing
energy production and agency remediation activities across Texas. Since their release, the interactive maps garnere
nearly 8,000 unique page views for oil and gas production data, and nearly 1,400 unique page views for the aba
doned well plugging data.
COMING SOON! Throughout 2020 RRC's Communications Division has worked on the design of the agency's website
The new and enhanced agency website will feature improved access to agency data and program information, and
will be released in early 2021.
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