Brimer weighs in on Railroad Commission

State Sen. Kim Brimer, who's running for re-election in November, sent a letter urging the Senate Finance Committee to find more funding for the Railroad Commission, which has been under fire for its low inspection rate.

In the letter, first reported by the activist blog FWcando.org, Brimer, R-Fort Worth cites a report from the State Auditors Office and urges using money from the state's Oil Field Cleanup Fund. Those are both issues we've reported here at Blogging the Barnett Shale and in the Star-Telegram.

"While the commission is to be commended for the work accomplished with limited resources, it is our responsibility to dedicate funds necessary to guard against potential accidents," Brimer writes.

You can read Brimer's letter here: BrimerLetter5-07-08.pdf

Here's our story about the state audit: Audit_takes_commission_to_task_over_well_inspections.htm

And here's a follow-up showing the number of uninspected wells in Tarrant County (the percentage is right there in the headline, for you speed-readers): Many_wells_go_uninspected_30%_in_Tarrant_have_not_seen_state_scrutiny.htm\

And here's a nifty, clickable map that let's you check wells throughout Tarrant County and see which ones have been inspected: http://www.star-telegram.com/report/

-- Mike