The commission may plug or replug certain wells, but it must give notice in delinquent inactive well cases and must restore the surface after plugging unless the surface owner declines.
Sec. 89.043. PLUGGING BY COMMISSION. (a) If the commission determines at a hearing under Section 89.041 of this code that a well has not been properly plugged or needs replugging, the commission, through its employees or through a person acting as agent for the commission, may plug or replug the well if: (1) the well was properly plugged according to rules in effect at the time the well was abandoned or ceased to be operated; or (2) neither the operator nor nonoperator properly plugged the well, and (A) neither the operator nor nonoperator can be found; or (B) neither the operator nor nonoperator has assets with which to properly plug the well. (b) If a well is leaking salt water, oil, or gas or is likely to leak salt water, oil, or gas, and the leakage will cause or is likely to cause a serious threat of pollution or injury to the public health, the commission, through its employees or agents, may direct the operator to take remedial action or to plug the well or may plug or replug the well without holding a hearing under Section 89.041 of this code or giving notice under Subsection (c) of this section. (c) Not later than the 30th day before the date the commission enters into a contract to plug a delinquent inactive well, the commission shall send a notice by certified mail to the operator of the well at the address last reported to the commission as required by Section 91.142 and commission rules. The notice shall direct the operator to plug the well and shall state that: (1) the commission may plug the well and foreclose its statutory lien under Section 89.083 unless the operator requests a hearing not later than the 10th day after the date the operator receives the notice; (2) if the commission forecloses its statutory lien under Section 89.083, all well-site equipment will be presumed to have been abandoned and the commission may dispose of the equipment and hydrocarbons from the well as provided by Section 89.085; (3) if the commission plugs the well, the commission: (A) by order may require the operator to reimburse the commission for the plugging costs; or (B) may request the attorney general to file suit against the operator to recover those costs; (4) the commission has a statutory lien on all well-site equipment under Section 89.083; and (5) the lien described by Subdivision (4) is foreclosed by operation of law if the commission does not receive a valid and timely request for a hearing before the 15th day after the date the notice is mailed. (d) The operator of a well made the subject of a prior commission final order directing that it be plugged is not entitled to a second hearing under this section. (e) The commission shall file for record a copy of the notice in the office of the county clerk of the county in which the well is located. The notice filed with the county need not be acknowledged. The copy of the notice filed in the office of the county clerk must contain the section, block, survey, and abstract number, when available to the commission, of the land on which the well is located. The clerk shall record the notice in the real property records of the county. The commission shall not be charged a fee for the filing or recording of the notice. The commission shall furnish a copy of the notice to a holder of a lien on the well or a nonoperator on that person's request. For purposes of title insurance policies issued under authority of Title 11, Insurance Code, this notice is not a notice of enforcement or violation of law, ordinance, or governmental regulation unless the notice contains a legally sufficient description of the specific land on which the well is located. (f) At the request of the commission, the attorney general may file suit to enforce an order issued by the commission under Subsection (c)(3)(A). (g) If the commission plugs or replugs a well under this section, the commission shall, unless the owner of the surface estate of the tract of land declines to have the surface restored, restore the surface of the tract of land on which the well is located by contouring the surface to the topography that existed before the plugging or replugging operations began in a manner intended to promote the natural revegetation of the tract and in accordance with applicable commission rules. Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2554, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977. Amended by Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 5256, ch. 967, Sec. 5, eff. Sept. 1, 1983; Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 5407, ch. 1002, Sec. 2, eff. Aug. 29, 1983; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 515, Sec. 2, eff. Jan. 1, 1994; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 928, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 28, 1995; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 29, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 30, 1999; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 57, Sec. 1, eff. May 10, 1999; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1233, Sec. 13, eff. Sept. 1, 2001. Amended by: Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 728 (H.B. 2018), Sec. 11.147, eff. September 1, 2005. Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 754 (H.B. 3619), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2025.