Relating to the rights and liabilities of the owner of the surface estate of the tract of land on which a well to be plugged or replugged by the Railroad Commission of Texas is located.
ModeratePlan for compliance
Low Cost
Effective:2025-06-20
Enforcing Agencies
Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC)
01
Compliance Analysis
Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation
Implementation Timeline
Effective Date:June 20, 2025 (Immediate effect due to supermajority passage).
Compliance Deadline:June 20, 2025. Any well plugging operation concluding on or after this date triggers the restoration mandate.
Agency Rulemaking: The RRC must adopt rules to define technical standards for "contouring" and "natural revegetation." Expect a Regulatory Gray Zone between June 2025 and early 2026 where the statutory mandate exists without specific technical guidance.
Immediate Action Plan
1.Landowners: Immediately inventory any orphaned wells on your property. If RRC plugging is imminent, decide now if you want the pad removed or retained.
2.Operators: Audit current SUA templates to explicitly limit restoration obligations, preempting landowners from importing HB3619 standards into private contracts.
3.Contractors: Update bid calculators for RRC packages to account for mandatory contouring and seeding; review insurance policies regarding the new access requirements.
4.General Counsel: Monitor the Texas Register for RRC proposed rules regarding "revegetation standards" and submit comments to prevent cost-prohibitive requirements.
Operational Changes Required
Contracts
Surface Use Agreements (Private Operators): Legal teams must update standard SUA templates immediately. Landowners will likely demand HB3619's "natural revegetation" standard for *private* wells. Insert specific language defining "commercial reasonableness" to prevent this statutory standard from becoming the default contractual expectation.
RRC Vendor Bids: Service companies bidding on state plugging packages must revise cost models to include heavy equipment time for fine grading and costs for seed/revegetation. "Rough grading" is no longer contractually sufficient.
Hiring/Training
Field Personnel: Crews must be trained on the new statutory prohibition against blocking surface owner access. Gates and roads must remain passable unless an immediate health threat exists.
Specialized Subcontractors: RRC prime contractors may need to retain environmental specialists for reseeding and erosion control to meet the "natural revegetation" requirement.
Reporting & Record-Keeping
Restoration Waiver: Surface owners wishing to retain a well pad (e.g., for use as a feed lot or barn foundation) must execute a formal Notice of Decline. Do not rely on verbal agreements with RRC field agents.
Pre-Work Documentation: Surface owners must capture drone footage or dated photography of the site *before* RRC rigs arrive to establish the baseline for "pre-existing topography."
Fees & Costs
State Fund Impact: The Legislative Budget Board estimates RRC plugging costs will rise by $5,000–$10,000 per well.
Industry Impact: While there are no direct fee increases in this bill, the accelerated depletion of the Oil and Gas Regulation and Cleanup Fund will likely trigger fee increases or surcharges on active operators in the 2026–2027 legislative cycle.
Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations
"Natural Revegetation": The statute does not define this term. It is unclear if the RRC will require expensive native seed blends or if standard pasture grass will suffice. This will be the primary point of contention during rulemaking.
Scope of "Lease Roads": The Fiscal Note suggests restoration may extend to miles of lease roads leading to the well. The RRC's interpretation of where the "well site" ends and the "road" begins will significantly impact project scope.
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The bill author has informed the committee that the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) is not held liable for damages during its plugging of an abandoned well, which can result in property damage, livestock loss from broken fences, and potential lawsuits from contractor injuries, leaving the landowner responsible for liability claims and damages. The bill author has further informed the committee that in some cases contractors hired by the RRC have filed lawsuits against landowners for injuries that occur on their property despite the landowner being unaware of the contractor's presence. H.B. 3619 seeks to address this issue by providing certain landowner protections in order to offer landowners greater legal protection with respect to abandoned well plugging operations.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
H.B. 3619 amends the Natural Resources Code to do the following with respect to statutory provisions relating to abandoned wells:
·exempt the owner of the surface estate of the tract of land on which a well is located from liability for any damages that may occur as a result of acts done or omitted to be done in carrying out such provisions by the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC), an RRC employee or agent, or any other person authorized under those provisions to enter the land;
·prohibit a person authorized to enter land for the purpose of plugging or replugging a well that has not been properly plugged, except as necessary to prevent injury to the public health, from taking an action that would prevent the owner of the surface estate of the land from accessing the land; and
·require the RRC, if it plugs or replugs a well under applicable state law, to restore the surface of the tract of land on which the well is located to the condition in which it existed before the plugging or replugging operations began.
This requirement for the RRC applies only to a well that is plugged or replugged on or after the bill's effective date.
Honorable Drew Darby, Chair, House Committee on Energy Resources
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB3619 by Dean (Relating to the rights and liabilities of the owner of the surface estate of the tract of land on which a well to be plugged or replugged by the Railroad Commission of Texas is located.), As Introduced
The fiscal implications of the bill cannot be determined because the number of well plugging sites that would require re-vegetation, and the level of re-vegetation that would be required, to return each site to the condition in which it existed before any plugging or re-plugging operations beganare unknown.
The bill would amend the Natural Resources Code to require the Railroad Commission (RRC) to restore the surface of the tract of land on which a well is located that has been plugged or re-plugged by the commission to the condition in which it existed before the plugging or re-plugging operations began.
The RRC assumes well plugging costs would increase by an amount ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 for each well requiring re-vegetation of native grasses and trees to attain the condition prior to any well plugging or re-plugging. According to the RRC, this would primarily include replacing trees and re-seeding grasses on lease roads, which could extend for miles prior to reaching the well pad. Where re-vegetation would not be required, there would be no cost increase.
The RRC reported plugging 1,256 orphaned wells with state managed funds in fiscal year 2024; 1,750 wells in fiscal year 2023; 1,068 wells in fiscal year 2022; 1,453 wells in fiscal year 2021; and 1,477 wells in fiscal year 2020. Using the average number of wells plugged over the prior five fiscal years totaling 1,401and RRC's anticipated cost increases for the purposes of analysis, estimated cost increases could range from $0 to $14,010,000 each fiscal year if RRC were to plug the same number of wells.
The fiscal implications of the bill cannot be determined because the number of well plugging sites that would require re-vegetation, and the level of re-vegetation that would be required, to return each site to the condition in which it existed before any plugging or re-plugging operations beganare unknown.
Local Government Impact
No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
455 Railroad Commission
LBB Staff:
JMc, RStu, MW, JOc
Related Legislation
Explore more bills from this author and on related topics
HB3619 fundamentally alters the "exit strategy" for state-funded well plugging, mandating that the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) restore surface land to its pre-operation topography and granting surface owners statutory immunity from liability during these operations. While this law directly regulates RRC-managed plugging, it establishes a new "Gold Standard" for surface restoration that landowners will leverage in private Surface Use Agreement (SUA) negotiations. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: June 20, 2025 (Immediate effect due to supermajority passage).
Q
Who authored HB3619?
HB3619 was authored by Texas Representative Jay Dean during the Regular Session.
Q
When was HB3619 signed into law?
HB3619 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.
Q
Which agencies enforce HB3619?
HB3619 is enforced by Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC).
Q
How urgent is compliance with HB3619?
The compliance urgency for HB3619 is rated as "moderate". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.
Q
What is the cost impact of HB3619?
The cost impact of HB3619 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.
Q
What topics does HB3619 address?
HB3619 addresses topics including civil remedies & liabilities, environment, environment--water, oil & gas and railroad commission.
Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025
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