Railroad Commission executive director to retire

Texas’ oil and gas regulator is losing one of its leaders.

Milton Rister, executive director of the Texas Railroad Commission, plans to leave the agency Aug. 31, according to a letter he sent to commissioners Wednesday.

The former Republican political operative and aide to then-Gov. Rick Perry will depart after nearly three years in the position.

The executive director oversees the day-to-day operations of the agency and works to implement the policies set by its three commissioners. The commissioners will eventually determine Rister’s replacement, agency spokeswoman Ramona Nye said.

Rister, who was not available for an interview, wrote that he will retire “with a great sense of accomplishment and achievement” after helping to address a wide range of challenges at the agency, which also regulates mining, pipelines and natural gas utilities.

The Railroad Commission has drawn criticism during his tenure, including from those who argue that regulators, struggling to balance their joint mission of industry watchdog and industry champion, should do more to address the effects of urban drilling and wastewater disposal wells. In 2014, Rister’s practice of vetoing all media requests to interview staff members raised concerns. The agency later overhauled its media policy and has since granted some interviews.

In his resignation letter, Rister wrote that the agency had seen a number of successes during his tenure, including modernizing woefully outdated technology, eliminating “crushing” permitting backlogs, hiring a staff seismologist and passing new rules addressing earthquakes linked to industry activity.

“Now is the appropriate time for me to step aside and give someone new an opportunity to build on the great accomplishments of this agency over the last two years,” the letter said.

Before joining the agency, Rister, who grew up on a farm near Walburg, worked in Perry’s office as director of administration. He also spent three years as executive director of the Texas Legislative Council and served as deputy director of Republican Clayton Williams’ unsuccessful 1990 bid for governor.

In the mid-1990s, he was chief of staff to state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound.

This story was originally published June 25, 2015 at 3:27 PM with the headline "Railroad Commission executive director to retire."