Railroad Commission Brownfields Response Program (BRP)

The Railroad Commission of Texas runs a Brownfields Response Program for properties contaminated by oil and gas related activities. The program was created in 2002, when the Commission was awarded federal brownfields grant funding. It provides free environmental site assessments and limited cleanups at brownfield sites for qualified entities. It is separate from the Brownfields Site Assessments Program of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

In a Phase I ESA

This is a second Texas brownfields list, so a brownfields search in Texas has two agencies to cover. The general reading of a brownfields listing is on the Brownfields page.

• A Phase I is the first step. After a site is accepted, the Commission has one of its contracted engineering firms conduct a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment, and gives the applicant a copy of the final report. A site that has moved past acceptance should have that report.
• More work may follow. Based on the Phase I, the Commission and the applicant discuss whether further investigation is needed. After a successful remediation the Commission issues a Certificate of Completion.
• Private landowners can qualify. The Commission lists as eligible: state, local and tribal governments; non-profit organizations; quasi-governmental agencies; private landowners with community-supported projects; universities and school districts; and economic development corporations.

The Commission reviews each application to decide whether both the site and the applicant are eligible, and issues an acceptance or rejection letter within 45 days of receiving a completed application.

Where to look a site up

• The Commission's List of Railroad Commission VCP and Brownfield Sites gives, for each site, the program, a site number, the county, the address, the size in acres, the status and the date closed.
• The program's page also links the Commission's imaged records for these two programs and its public map viewer.
• The program's page is RRC Brownfields Response Program.
• Questions go to SR-VCP-BRP@rrc.texas.gov or 512-595-2750.
• Records requests follow the Commission's Public Information Act page.

Sources

Railroad Commission of Texas pages, read September 30, 2026. The Commission's pages do not show a last-modified date.

• RRC Brownfields Response Program
• List of Railroad Commission VCP and Brownfield Sites
• Site Remediation
• The Public Information Act