RRC vs TCEQ: High Noon at the Texas Hazardous Waste Corral!

"A Tantalizing Tangle of Texan Turbulence: No Tall-Tale, but a True (Near) Tussle!"

A Note to the Reader: If only … A part of me, the Texan part, wants to see every element of this story to be true. Given the storied history of the Texas Railroad Commission, established in 1891, the oldest regulatory agency in the state and the oldest of its kind in the nation, there’s a part of me that longs for the RRC to saddle up and set things straight with another state agency, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, that has interloped on its statutory powers. But alas, the RRC, instead of rearing up like a spooked bronco, seemed to tuck tail and mosey away, more like an old hound dog on a hot summer’s day, preferring the shade of quiet complacency to the scorching sun of confrontation.

Now for Our Tall-ish & True-ish Tale of Intrigue & Corruption

Once upon a time, in the expansive land of Texas, where the prairies rolled like seas, and the oil flowed like rivers, two stalwart agencies stood toe to toe, each fiercely protective of their respective dominions. These agencies were none other than the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) - the unwavering guardians of the oil and gas industry - and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), a body priding itself on stewardship of Texas' natural resources, though their motivations might be scrutinized.

As might befit a tale penned by Mark Twain himself, this was a modern saga of good ol' fashioned grit, of cowboy boots stomping down on legal documents instead of saloon floors. The white-hatted protagonists in our tale, the RRC, were the stewards of a particular kind of waste, the oil and gas NORM waste. A tough task, yes, but the RRC took it on with the determination of a Lone Star cowboy riding against the wind.

Then, as in every rip-roaring yarn spun around a campfire, there came the crux of our tale. The TCEQ, swelled with the audacity that could only be found in a blustering prairie storm, took to gifting a permit for the disposal of that very NORM waste. Now, here’s where the plot thickens, much like the gravy at a cowboy cookout.

They weren't spreading these permits far and wide, oh no. Instead, they extended this privilege to just one waste disposal facility. A facility that, mind you, had never before had its hands dirtied with the likes of this particular waste. It was like handing a greenhorn cowboy a bronco to break when he’d barely managed a mule. And this act, well, it was about as appropriate as a rattlesnake at a Sunday church service.

This action was as curious as a cat in a doghouse, akin to a barkeep pouring top-shelf whiskey for an ornery ol’ gunslinger, hoping to keep the peace rather than face a showdown. The TCEQ had side-stepped proper procedure and presented a ticket to the dance, bypassing the queue of waiting suitors, and all for a belle who had never before twirled on the dance floor. Quite the twist, wouldn’t you agree, dear reader?

The law was clear as the Texas sky on a summer's day: The RRC had the reins when it came to the disposal of this NORM waste. It was written plainly in Tex. Health & Safety Code § 401.415.

The TCEQ's claims were as empty as a gold miner's pan in a salted field.

Despite this, the TCEQ continued in their erroneous ways, like a stubborn mule refusing to budge. They even went so far as to convince folks that a TCEQ-permitted landfill was all that was needed to dispose of the waste. But this was akin to telling a cattle rustler he could roam free just because he found a new hat.

In reality, their actions risked the very balance of authority, like a rickety old bridge over the Rio Grande. For their misinterpretation of state laws put at risk the federal delegation of the RCRA hazardous waste program to Texas - akin to a fumbled hand-off of a hot potato, the potato being the hazardous waste program and the fumble risking the whole dang state of Texas.

In the end, the true meaning of the law emerged, as clear as the setting sun over the Rio Grande. The RRC, our faithful protagonists, held sole dominion over the oil and gas NORM waste. The TCEQ, those ambitious claim-jumpers, had overstepped their boundary, and the EPA's delegation of the RCRA hung in the balance, like a tumbleweed caught in a Texas gale.

This, my dear readers, is a tale of justice, of right and wrong, and of understanding the true spirit of the law, under the wide skies of our beloved Texas. For as the old saying goes, "Don't mess with Texas." And certainly, don't mess with the RRC.

End Note: This is an entertaining tale, but there is truth sprinkled throughout. The TCEQ did indeed wrest the statutory authority from the RRC to bestow a license on a Texas company to dispose of oil and gas NORM in a “mis-statement” of their authority. Thus far, the RRC, apparently embarrassed by the years of usurpation by their step-sister agency, have taken to naval-gazing vice proper corrective action and cessation of ill-gotten authorities.