The Sierra Club’s lawsuit accusing Chesapeake Energy, Devon Energy, SandRidge Exploration and New Dominion of causing earthquakes in the state through their use of extensive wastewater disposal wells remains active in Oklahoma City Federal Court.
The most recent filing in the case (CIV-16-00134) was Oct. 3 in which attorneys for the four companies responded to an attempt by the Sierra Club to shore up its opposition to their motions to have the lawsuit dismissed before Federal Judge Stephen P. Friot.
Responding to the Sierra Club motion for “supplemental authority,” the defendants maintained the case still should be dismissed and left in the hands of the state, not the U.S. District Courts. They contend state interests outweigh federal interest based on the circumstances of each case.
The energy firms made the appeal to Judge Friot that, “This case presents extraordinarily compelling state interests. Plaintiff’s RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) claims involve not a single site but rather hundreds of different wells covering thousands of square miles across the State of Oklahoma. They are an indirect challenge to a comprehensive regulatory system covering this crucial part of the state’s economy.”
The oil and gas companies contend “Oklahoma is taking immediate proactive and comprehensive steps, such as actively modifying disposal well permits of Defendants and other operators, to address through a uniform and coherent approach the precise seismicity concerns raised in Plaintiff’s complaint.”
The activity was some of the first in recent months after SandRidge Energy filed bankruptcy May 16, a move that delayed some court movement until SandRidge finally emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this month.