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Railroad Commission

An Old Well Gushed Waste, Not Oil, in a Small West Texas Town

The Railroad Commission of Texas shut down injection wells to control a leak in a church parking lot. But 1.5 million gallons of toxic wastewater still spilled to the surface.

By Martha Pskowski

 A pit in the parking lot of the First Baptist Church in Grandfalls, Texas, where the Railroad Commission plugged a wellbore that was previously gushing thousands of gallons of wastewater a minute. Credit: Martha Pskowski/Inside Climate News
Jackie Chesnutt props up a sign next to a leaking oil well operated by CORE Petro on her property near Knickerbocker, Texas, on Nov. 18, 2025.

Low-Producing Oil Wells in Texas Cause Headaches for Landowners

Story by Martha Pskowski, photos by Paul Ratje
Contractors and attorneys for Chevron watch from above on April 10, 2024 as Hawk Dunlap, Daniel Charest and Sarah Stogner (from left) inspect an excavated well on April 10 at Antina Ranch in Crane County, Texas. Credit: Mitch Borden/Marfa Public Radio

New Lawsuit Claims ‘Catastrophic Impacts’ From Permian Basin Injection Wells

By Martha Pskowski
Jim Wright is one of three elected officials who lead the Railroad Commission of Texas. Credit: Jim Wright for Texas

A Rare Recusal by Texas Oil and Gas Regulator Up for Re-election

By Martha Pskowski
Employees of Bulldog Field Services work on plugging an orphan well for the Railroad Commission of Texas in Luling on March 27. Credit: Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images

Texas Legislature Increases Well Plugging Budget as Backlog Grows

By Martha Pskowski
Circle 6 Baptist Camp, bottom, and produced water ponds, constructed by Martin Water, top, in Lenorah on Feb. 24, 2024. The Railroad Commission approved the construction of the ponds, used to treat and recycle produced water from fracking, next to the Circle 6 Baptist Camp in the Permian Basin. Credit: Julian Mancha for The Texas Tribune/Inside Climate News

Railroad Commission Approves Toxic Waste Ponds Next to Baptist Camp

By Martha Pskowski
Storage tanks for wastewater and crude oil in Midland, Texas. Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Oil or Water? Midland Says Disposal Wells Could Threaten Water Supply

By Martha Pskowski
Excess natural gas is burned off in a process known as "flaring" an oil well where it is not economically feasible to capture the gas. Credit: (Photo by Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Corbis via Getty Images.

Texas Continues to Issue Thousands of Flaring Permits

By Martha Pskowski

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