AUSTIN

The Texas Senate on passed a bill by Sen. Carlos Uresti that would provide some much-needed help for county roads that are being severely damaged by oil and gas production activity.   SB 1747, sent to the House on a vote of 30-1, would create County Energy Transportation Reinvestment Zones and establish criteria for counties to access funds for road maintenance and repair.   "Advancements in drilling technology have generated an unprecedented resurgence in oil and gas production, but it has come with a price," Uresti said. "Simply put, county roads weren't designed to handle the oil boom that Texas is enjoying."   The Texas Department of Transportation estimates that a county road used for drilling just one oil and gas well will endure the equivalent of 8 million passenger vehicles. In the Eagle Ford Shale region alone, 5,400 wells have been permitted by the Texas Railroad Commission. And according to a recent study by the University of Texas at San Antonio, a total of 24,000 wells can be expected in the region by 2022.   "It is clear that both short-term and long-term solutions are needed for this problem," Uresti said. "If we allow these roads to continue to deteriorate, we could kill the goose that lays the golden egg. The oil boom cannot be sustained if we don't give counties a way to maintain these roads."   Under current law, counties are primarily responsible for the repair and maintenance of county roads. Uresti said energy-producing counties deserve financial help for their roads because the entire state is benefiting from the upsurge in oil and gas production in the Eagle Ford Shale region and the Permian Basin.   SB 1747 would allow counties to create County Energy Transportation Reinvestment Zones — designated areas where county roads have been damaged by oil and gas production activity. A county could apply for road repair funds based on its number of well completions, the number of weight tolerance permits, and the amount of severance taxes collected. A county would also have to provide its county roads report for the past two years and contribute a match of up to 10 percent for each repair or maintenance project.   The bill was the result of numerous meetings with county officials, the oil and gas industry, state transportation officials, and other stakeholders.

Sen. Uresti represents Senate District 19, which covers more than 35,000 square miles and contains all or part of 17 counties, two international ports of entry, ten state parks, 51 school districts, almost 9,000 miles of highways and county roads, and more than 29,000 producing oil and gas wells. The district is larger than 11 states and 124 Nations, and contains almost 400 miles of the Texas-Mexico border.