Relating to the rights and liabilities of the owner of the surface estate of the tract of land on which a well to be plugged or replugged by the Railroad Commission of Texas is located.

Contracts

• Surface Use Agreements (Private Operators): Legal teams must update standard SUA templates immediately. Landowners will likely demand HB3619's "natural revegetation" standard for *private* wells. Insert specific language defining "commercial reasonableness" to prevent this statutory standard from becoming the default contractual expectation.
• RRC Vendor Bids: Service companies bidding on state plugging packages must revise cost models to include heavy equipment time for fine grading and costs for seed/revegetation. "Rough grading" is no longer contractually sufficient.

Hiring/Training

• Field Personnel: Crews must be trained on the new statutory prohibition against blocking surface owner access. Gates and roads must remain passable unless an immediate health threat exists.
• Specialized Subcontractors: RRC prime contractors may need to retain environmental specialists for reseeding and erosion control to meet the "natural revegetation" requirement.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

• Restoration Waiver: Surface owners wishing to retain a well pad (e.g., for use as a feed lot or barn foundation) must execute a formal Notice of Decline. Do not rely on verbal agreements with RRC field agents.
• Pre-Work Documentation: Surface owners must capture drone footage or dated photography of the site *before* RRC rigs arrive to establish the baseline for "pre-existing topography."

Fees & Costs

• State Fund Impact: The Legislative Budget Board estimates RRC plugging costs will rise by $5,000–$10,000 per well.
• Industry Impact: While there are no direct fee increases in this bill, the accelerated depletion of the Oil and Gas Regulation and Cleanup Fund will likely trigger fee increases or surcharges on active operators in the 2026–2027 legislative cycle.