A company that wants to build an oil dump in East Texas has donated $53,750 to regulators for the campaign.

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A company seeking to build an oilfield waste dump near wells and waterways in East Texas has showered regulators with more than $50,000 in political donations since 2019.

Texas Ethics Commission documents reviewed by Inside Climate News show that McBride Operating LLC donated $10,000 to Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Christie Craddick on November 28. Fifteen days later, Craddick joined fellow commissioners Jim Wright and Wayne Christian in giving the company another opportunity to resolve the issues. about his controversial bid to build an oilfield waste landfill in the city of Paxton.

While Commissioners must recuse themselves in cases in which they have a “personal or private interest”, these rules do not apply to cases involving political donors. The protracted debate over permitting the Paxton landfill raises questions about whether Texas’s campaign finance and ethics rules allow regulators to be influenced, environmental and corporate responsibility advocates say.

[In East Texas, a town fights to keep an oilfield waste dump from opening near wetlands and water wells]

These supporters have long called for reforms to curb the influence of the oil and gas companies on the Railway Commission.

“Railroad commissioners are personally responsible for devaluing and tarnishing their office while continuing to receive significant amounts of money from parties with cases,” said Andrew Wheat, director of research at Texans for Public Justice and co-author of Captive Industry. report with Virginia Palacios of the non-profit commission Shift.

McBride and Craddick denied that campaign contributions had any effect on their actions regarding McBride’s proposed landfill.

“Chairman Craddick only considers facts and merit,” said Mia Hutchence Hale, director of communications for Craddick. “Maintaining public trust is paramount and she operates with complete transparency.”

McBride’s lawyer, John Hicks, defended his client’s participation in a “constitutionally protected democratic process.”

“Mr. McBride feels it’s important that experienced and intelligent people be elected and then re-elected to lead the Texas Railroad Commission, and he will proudly continue to support candidates he believes will do what’s best for Texas.” Hicks said.

None of the current commissioners will be re-elected until 2024.

“Nice stack of money”

In a report from Paxton, Inside Climate News spoke to residents who have struggled for years with the McBride oilfield waste dump permit. They fear that the landfill will pollute their wells and local streams that flow into the Sabina River. The commission’s technical permit department administratively denied the permit, but the commissioners gave McBride several opportunities to change the application.

“No matter how hard they fight, no matter how protracted the struggle they get into, there must be a considerable amount of money,” said Eric Garrett, president of the nonprofit Paxton Water Supply Corp. and pastor of the local Pentecostal church.

Texas Ethics Commission campaign documents show that McBride was a frequent sponsor of commission members tasked with regulating the oil field waste industry. Craddick, Wright and Christian received a total of $53,750 in political campaign contributions from McBride Operating LLC and Joseph McBride between January 2019 and December 2022.

McBride contributed $12,500 two weeks before the December commission meeting that discussed the company’s bid: $10,000 to Craddick and $2,500 to Wright, who has active interests in 18 oil and gas companies.

Hicks said his client has donated to numerous political campaigns, from the president to the Texas Supreme Court. But Texas Ethics Commission records show that the majority of McBride’s donations go to Railroad Commission regulators.

“More than three-quarters of that money went to three commissioners,” Whit of Texans for Public Justice said. “He is very focused and focused on those people who make decisions about [Paxton permit] case.”

Commission members are elected statewide for six-year terms in a staggered manner. Christian was re-elected in 2022. Wright took office in 2021 and Craddick in 2012. Wright’s and Christian’s offices did not respond to questions about potential conflicts of interest in the Paxton case.

Commissioners may accept unlimited contributions for a six-year term, except for a six-month legislative session held every two years, when state officials cannot accept contributions. The Captive Agency report, co-authored with Whit, recommends that parties with pending hearings in contested cases not be allowed to contribute to campaign commissions, and that contributions should be capped at $5,000 per election cycle.

A 2013 report by the Texas Decline Advisory Commission, which evaluates state agencies, raised concerns about conflicts of interest as railroad commissioners rely on the oil and gas industry for campaign contributions.

Residents of Paxton and elsewhere challenging permit applications face companies that often have close ties to regulators.

“[Community members] go ahead of these commissioners who seem to have serious conflicts of interest. It doesn’t feel like a fair fight,” Whit said. “It’s hard to get a fair shake under these conditions.”

This story is published in partnership with Inside Climate News, a non-profit independent news organization covering climate, energy and environmental issues. Subscribe to the ICN newsletter here.