Published August 3, 2011 by Houston Chronicle

The excitement across Texas about possibilities for new natural gas and oil plays is palpable, particularly across South Texas, site of the rich Eagle Ford Shale formation.

Like most Texans, we're supporters of responsible, environmentally sensitive development of these resources that can help bring well-paying jobs to Texas, greatly increased revenues to the state and greater energy and economic security to the country as well.

For those and other reasons we're pleased to see the Texas Railroad Commission take a pro-active position in overseeing safe and responsible development of the area's resources.

Commissioner David Porter has created an Eagle Ford Task Force to head off the kind of public backlash that has troubled the Barnett Shale area in North Texas.

Porter is on target with his diagnosis of what went wrong in North Texas: too little information about the development process, which has been near populated areas, and a perception that the energy companies doing the work were calling the shots while the Railroad Commission was largely AWOL or doing the minimum to direct the process to ensure that public and environmental interests were protected.

To his credit, Porter is trying to avoid a repeat of that situation in South Texas and the public backlash that could hinder development of the region's immense resources. He has assembled a group of 22 stakeholders that includes representatives of drilling, pipeline and trucking companies, green energy experts and environmentalists, county and economic development officials, landowners and those who represent landowners, according a report by Vicki Vaughan of the San Antonio Express-News that ran in last Thursday's Chronicle ("Eagle Ford advisers ready to tackle goals," Page D3, July 28).

The significance of this work was probably best summed up by an Eagle Ford landowner and member of the Sierra Club: "We're on a world stage," said Teresa Carrillo. While noting the "fantastic" economic opportunity presented by the drilling, Carrillo also focused on the challenge to do it right.

Others have emphasized the opportunity that Eagle Ford offers the industry to "do it right and establish best practices" that can be used in other areas going forward.

This attitude is imperative, we would argue, and appears to be gaining traction across the industry, judging by the remarks of visitors from the industry meeting with the Chronicle's editorial board recently.

We detect a consensus that when it comes to caring for the environment, the entire industry must be cleaner than clean — more rigorous than the regulators.

We hope that mind-set prevails and believe the Railroad Commission is setting the proper tone in its approach toward development in the Eagle Ford Shale area.