In the last Big Bend Sierran, we talked about Sunset Review, the legislative process of reviewing of each state agency to reduce inefficiency and streamline government processes. The agency charged with regulating the oil and gas industry, the Railroad Commission, is undergoing Sunset Review, which is an opportunity to improve oversight of industries in sore need of better regulation. Since our last update, the Sunset staff published their report, which included several recommendations. You can read their full report here. While we are generally supportive of their recommendations, which included improving oil and gas monitoring and enforcement as well as changing their name to something more representative of what they actually do (and many others), the recommendations did not go far enough and ignored many issues of concern to Texans for an agency that too often has represented industry’s interests and not the public’s. We were hoping for more, and while we are appreciative of the hard work of the Sunset staff, we feel like their recommendations fall short. The penalties for violations, for example, are still far too low to make a difference. Read our take on the Sunset staff recommendations here. The Sierra Club has submitted both initial and final comments on the draft Sunset report and is now meeting with legislators that sit on the Sunset Commission. We are also planning community meetings with our allies in North and South Texas before the Sunset public hearing on August 22 in Austin. Stay tuned.

In other news, our water team has published two terrific resources for everyone interested in water conservation. Along with our partners on the Texas Living Waters Project (National Wildlife Federation and Galveston Bay Foundation), we published the Texas Water Conservation Scorecard, a review and ranking of more than 300 water utilities’ efforts to conserve water. Who came out on top? How did your water utility score? Check out the interactive website here. In addition, the Lone Star Chapter also published the second edition of the Facts About Texas Water, an easy to digest introductory brochure on water basics. Curious about where the water from your tap comes from? Not sure what the difference is between surface water and groundwater? This pamphlet lays it out for you… in English and Spanish!

Photo: albradenphoto.com