At Wednesday morning’s press conference and open forum held by State Rep. Richard Morrissette at the Oklahoma State Capitol, Jackie Dill voiced her distress about the recent succession of earthquakes and the lack of leadership and resources required to address her concerns. Dill says she has experienced significant damage including broken water pipes, roof damage and numerous cracks in the foundation and walls of her Logan County home in Coyle, which is located 20 miles southwest of Stillwater.
“I have nothing to live in,” said Dill. “Where is the governor? Where is the legislature? I feel like I’ve been abandoned. Where’s the government for the people of Oklahoma — not the industry — the people?”
No longer apprehensive to sounding off about the damage done, Dill traveled to the State Capitol on Wednesday morning to let her voice be heard loud and clear.
“Our state government has turned a blind eye to us,” said Dill. “Oil and gas has turned a blind eye to us. They act like we do not exist. I want them to know we do exist, we are out here.”
Dill and other stakeholders joined Rep. Morrissette in calling for immediate policy changes to address the frequency of seismic activities, state preparedness and the lengthy delays frustrating property owners who have yet to receive assistance due to earthquake damage.
The south Oklahoma City legislator firmly believes that wastewater injection in the fracking process is the underlying cause of the temblors. Morrissette wants to incentivize the oil and gas industry by recycling the wastewater.
Morrissette proposed a special permit for companies drilling in the Mississippi Lime formation. The permit fee would be used to fund recycling efforts.
“The permit should also come with restrictions making recycling a portion of the brine mandatory,” said Morrissette.
He also recommended establishing a new public-private partnership to assist with the wastewater recycling costs.
“It shouldn’t be the responsibility of oil and gas alone to cover all of the costs for recycling,” said Morrissette. “We can divide these costs among all of those who benefit.”
Morrissette called for the creation of a bipartisan task force to design a state plan for wastewater recycling.
He also recommended that a reparation fund should be established by oil and gas companies to help citizens who need assistance after experiencing related property damage.
