Railroad Commission Seeks $6.95 Million from Disposal Well Operator for Alleged Induced Blowout at Legacy Well

The Texas Railroad Commission is seeking $6.95 million—230 times the average well plugging cost—from WaterBridge Operating LLC following a September 2024 Ward County disposal well blowout that released toxic wastewater from a 1950s-era legacy well. The administrative proceeding tests whether operators of permitted disposal wells operating within regulatory injection pressure limits can be held financially liable for blowouts at improperly plugged offset wells allegedly induced by subsurface pressure migration.