Author's posts
Earthquake Lawsuit Returned to Pawnee County District Court From Federal Court
Another earthquake lawsuit blaming two oil and gas companies for earthquakes in the state has been tossed out of a federal court in Oklahoma and remanded to a District court. It’s a lawsuit prompted by last fall’s 5.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Pawnee, the state’s largest recorded quake on record. Tulsa U.S. District Judge Claire …
$30 million Oil Scam in Texas
Then there are the two men in Austin, Texas who recently pleaded guilty in a $30 million scam involving bogus oil and gas investments. One’s an attorney. The other is his business associate. Robert Helms and Janniece Kaelin ran a Ponzi scheme, defrauding clients between 2010 and 2013, using energy-related investments for their personal expenses. …
EPA Short 350 Employees Due to Hiring Freeze
As Scott Pruitt pushes ahead at the Environmental Protection Agency, he’s doing it with more than 350 unfilled positions. And the list includes more than 100 scientists who specialize in environmental science, life science and physical science. The list was revealed in a Freedom of Information Act request made by the Sierra Club and reviewed …
Pruitt Declares ‘War on Coal’ is Done
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt was met with whoops, shouts and cheers at a Pennsylvania coal mine when he boldly declared, “The war on coal is done!” It was at the Harvey Mine in Sycamore, Pennsylvania where he met with the miners and declared an end to the regulatory assault carried out by the Obama administration …
Speaker Awaits Governor’s Action on Early-End to Wind Tax Credits
Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall has good reason to be slightly anxious about the bill passed by the Senate in recent days and sent to Gov. Mary Fallin. He is the author of House Bill 2298, the one that ends income tax credits for wind production more than three years ago. At an end-of-the week …
Opening the Door to Classroom Challenge of Science
Science educators and their organizations are gearing up for a continued fight this week against a State Senator’s bill that could allow public school teachers to discuss evolution and question climate change. They tried to stop a House committee from approving SB 393 by Sen. Josh Brecheen but the committee voted 4-3 on Thursday to …
State House Committee Approves Controversial Science Education Bill
An education bill that attracted national attention and opposition from environmentalists and science groups was passed Thursday out of an Oklahoma House committee and sent to the full House. SB 393 is one that opponents contend will remove local control of what is taught in classrooms, especially science classes where politics could enter a discussion …
State Senate to get Corporation Commission Task Force Bill
The State Senate is the next stop for a bill creating a task force to study the effectiveness of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. House Bill 1377, already passed in the State House won approval in a Senate Committee. As OK Energy Today reported last month, the House gave unanimous approval to the bill that would …
State Auditor Says Every Tax Credit Review Should be Public
In making a call this week for a 5% gross production tax on oil and gas and wind, State Auditor Gary Jones also said the law should include more transparency. He says every tax credit issued by the state should under what he calls a “legitimacy review” to ensure each is worthy of taxpayer dollars. …
Changes Discovered in Earthquake Numbers in Southern Kansas
Like Oklahoma, the state of Kansas is also experiencing a drop in earthquakes linked to wastewater injection wells. But as The Hutchinson News reported recently, geologists and experts in Kansas also note some other changes about the quakes. They have found there are more earthquakes located away from the wastewater injection wells and there is …