If you ever have a conversation with your higher power, today would be a good time to bend his/her ear. Today, Calvin Tillman, Mayor of DISH, Texas, will address the Texas Railroad Commissioner on our behalf.
Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams is unsure of his authority so he asked the Attorney General for an opinion on a drilling moratorium
Tillman makes some excellent points in today’s Denton Record Chronicle article:
Tillman to address state on drilling
07:16 AM, Tuesday, January 12, 2010
By Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe
Many critics have called Williams’ proposal a stalling tactic, including Burnam and Tillman.
Officeholders should know the scope of their authority going into the job, especially one with the extensive legal staff such as the Railroad Commission, Tillman said.
“If you cannot prevent someone from having a permit, then what’s the point?” he said.
Commissioner Williams claims he doesn’t have the authority to declare a moratorium but Representative Lon Burnam doesn’t buy that.
Burnam disagreed, saying he couldn’t come up with any plausible reason for the Railroad Commission to punt the matter to the attorney general.
“On its face, that assessment of the agency is pretty bizarre,” Burnam said. “If they are not there to regulate the public interest for health and safety issues, what are they there for?”
Without regulating health and safety issues, he questioned whether the railroad commissioners were “simply a tool for the industry.”
BINGO! The Texas Railroad Commission is a taxpayer funded tool for industry and the commissioner job is a stepping stone to higher office so they need those industry contributions. Williams’ take so far: $1,641,750.00.
About Sharon Wilson
Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.
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Wow! That's a big take!!!
This post is DEAD ON about the RRC. It's (the RRC) nothing but an industry LAP DOG of the first magnitude. Make no mistake it about it. Our tax money is being wasted in Austin. They will fool you and tell you all kinds of stuff to convince you that they are good public servents; but, just the opposite is true and don't be fooled.