Texas Administrative Code › Title 16 - ECONOMIC REGULATION › Part 1 - RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS › Chapter 2 - INFORMAL COMPLAINT PROCEDURE › Section 2.7 - Administrative Penalties for Failure to Participate

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) This section implements the authority
				delegated to the Commission by Texas Natural Resources Code, §
									RSA
				81.058<subdiv>(c)</subdiv>, which
				provides that the Commission, after notice and opportunity for hearing, may
				impose an administrative penalty against a purchaser, transporter, gatherer,
				shipper, or seller of natural gas who is a party to an informal complaint
				resolution proceeding and is determined by the Commission to have failed to
				participate in the proceeding or failed to provide information requested by a
				mediator in the proceeding. This section applies to informal complaint
				resolutions proceedings filed pursuant to §
									RSA
				2.1 of this title (relating to Informal
				Complaint Procedure), and §
									RSA
				2.5 of this title (relating to Informal
				Complaint Process Regarding Loss of or Inability to Account for Gas.
(b) Failure to participate in an informal
				complaint resolution proceeding may include:
(1) a person who gathers or transports gas
				not providing, by the 30th day after the date the person receives a request
				from a producer, a written explanation of any loss of or inability to account
				for the gas tendered to the person by the producer;
(2) a respondent not replying in writing to
				both the monitor and the complainant within 14 calendar days from the date of
				the monitor's notification letter that a complaint has been filed at the
				Commission;
(3) a respondent's
				written reply that does not address the substance of the complaint;
(4) a respondent's written reply that does
				not either propose a solution or explain why the complaint is
				incorrect;
(5) a person who gathers
				or transports gas not providing, by the 14th day after the date a complaint is
				filed at the Commission, the producer and the Commission an accounting of the
				gas tendered to the person by the producer for gathering or transport during
				the production period covered by the complaint;
(6) if the Commission has granted an
				extension of time to the person who gathered or transported the gas to provide
				the accounting required by §
										RSA
				2.5<subdiv>(e)(3)</subdiv> of
				this title, the failure of the person to respond by the deadline;
(7) if the person who gathered or transported
				the gas does not have the information necessary to provide the accounting
				required by §
										RSA
				2.5<subdiv>(e)(3)</subdiv> of
				this title, the failure of the person to provide to the producer and to the
				Commission a written explanation of the reason the person does not have the
				information;
(8) the person who
				gathered or transported the gas not providing either the accounting required by
				§
										RSA
				2.5<subdiv>(e)(3)</subdiv> of
				this title or the explanation required by §
										RSA
				2.5<subdiv>(e)(5)</subdiv> of
				this title;
(9) a complainant or a
				respondent not communicating with the other during the 14 calendar days from
				the date of the respondent's reply to attempt resolve the complaint without the
				participation of a mediator;
(10) a
				complainant or a respondent not advising the Commission monitor within seven
				days after expiration of the period allowed for informal resolution whether the
				person wants the matter referred to a Commission or non-Commission
				mediator;
(11) in the event the
				complainant and respondent desire to use a non-Commission employee mediator and
				are unable to agree upon the selection of a non-Commission employee mediator,
				failure of a complainant or a respondent to submit the name of a preferred
				mediator to work with the other's preferred mediator to choose a third mediator
				who will preside over the process;
(12) a complainant or respondent not
				providing documents or information the mediator considers necessary in
				evaluating the complaint and has requested;
(13) a complainant or respondent not
				attending a scheduled mediation meeting, absent good cause and prior notice to
				all participants;
(14) a
				complainant or respondent not participating in the mediation meeting or not
				undertaking in good faith to settle all issues raised in the complaint;
				or
(15) a complainant or respondent
				not making available during the mediation meeting, in person, representatives
				who are empowered to make decisions on their behalf.