Texas

Railroad Commission Voluntary Cleanup Program

Agency Railroad Commission of Texas

Railroad Commission Voluntary Cleanup Program

The Railroad Commission of Texas runs its own Voluntary Cleanup Program for properties contaminated by oil and gas activities. It was created in 2002. It is separate from the Voluntary Cleanup Program of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and its sites are in the Railroad Commission's records.

In a Phase I ESA

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

Open only to parties that did not cause the contamination. The Commission says the program is open to all parties that did not cause or contribute to the contamination on the site.
The release reaches later parties. A successful cleanup gives the applicant, and future landowners, lenders, developers and operators, a release of liability to the state. When the cleanup is complete the Commission issues a Certificate of Completion that embodies the release.
A Phase I is part of the application. The Commission requires a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment at the time of application, with an application, an agreement, a $1,000 application fee and a $1,500 non-refundable surcharge. The file for a site in this program therefore starts with a Phase I.
The standard is the state cleanup rule. Staff oversee assessment and remediation to the standards in the Texas Risk Reduction Program, following the closure strategy the applicant chooses.

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 Voluntary Cleanup 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.