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Federal Judge in New Mexico Asked to Keep Environmentalists Out of Lawsuit Against BLM
A lawsuit filed by an oil and gas industry group against the Bureau of Land Management for failing to hold oil and gas lease auctions has taken another turn in New Mexico. The Western Energy Alliance has asked a federal judge to keep nine environmental groups out of the lawsuit, contending groups such as the …
EPA Sued Over Air Pollution from Cattle and Hog Feedlots
The latest lawsuit filed against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency comes from a coalition of environmental, animal rights and citizen action groups who contend the federal government has failed to address air pollution from large-scale livestock farms. Seven environmental groups field suit in the District of Columbia, demanding the EPA respond within 90 days. The …
Pipeline Protesters Want Developer Removed from Texas Commission
Those protesters fighting the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota took their aim recently at the chief executive of the company. They demonstrated outside a meeting of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission where Kelcy Warren, CEO of Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners is a commissioner. Nearly 100 people protested, demanding he resign as commissioner. …
Wind Tax Credit Fight Underway
Oklahoma’s Incentive Evaluation Commission will resume consideration this week of recommendations to cut tax credits to the wind industry sooner than planned. The Commission received recommendations from consultant, Public Financial Management which urged an end to wind tax credits by 2018, rather than Jan. 1, 2021 as the state originally intended. The recommendation is part …
Rig Counts Up in Oklahoma and the U.S.
Rig counts in Oklahoma and across the U.S. rose in the past week with Oklahoma adding 3 more to reach a total of 76 working rigs. Nationally, the count reached 569 with an additional 12 rigs, according to numbers from Houston, Texas-based Baker Hughes. However, the numbers vary greatly since Baker Hughes reports no …
Great Plains Reports Earnings After Westar Acquisition
Kansas City, Missouri-based Great Plains Energy reported third quarter earnings of nearly $133 million or $0.86 per share of average common stock outstanding. The $132.7 million in earnings compared to the $126.4 million in the third quarter of 2015 when they were also $0.82 per share. For the first nine months of 2016, the …
Man Gets Time for Forcing Evacuation of Port of Catoosa Business
A man whose telephoned bomb threat forced the evacuation of a company at Tulsa’s Port of Catoosa is headed to prison for the next four years. Robert Dwayne Perry of Muskogee was sentenced Thursday in Rogers County District Court for making the threat to the Linde Corporation on Jan. 30, 2015. He called 911 and …
PSO Renews Economic Development Plan
Tulsa-based Public Service Company of Oklahoma has announced the renewal of a partnership to promote regional economic development and one that provides financing to fund PSO’s ongoing capital needs. PSO has teamed up with regional and local banks to renew its senior unsecured three-year term loan providing $125 million in financing for PSO’s electric system …
Critic Wonders Why Satellites Aren’t Used in Fighting State Earthquakes
Engineer Bob Jackman admits it. He’s a long time critic of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and the office of governor Mary Fallin over their handling of the state’s response to injection wells and earthquakes. Now he’s raising the question why the state is not employing satellites in monitoring any pattern changes of earth, especially …
State and Feds Take More Action on Injection Wells Following Pawnee Earthquake
Two days after a 4.5 magnitude earthquake struck near Pawnee, state and federal officials targeted more wastewater disposal wells, ordering some to be shutdown and others to see reduced volumes. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency took the action in northeastern Oklahoma and the affected wells are in Creek, Pawnee, Payne and …