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Senate Subcommittee Puts EPA in the Spotlight Again
Some U.S. Senators plan to put the Environmental Protection Agency in the spotlight again Tuesday by holding a subcommittee hearing on recommendations from the Inspector general and the Government Accountability Office. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) will chair the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management and Regulatory Oversight on Tuesday at …
Legislator Wants Interim Study of Oil and Gas Drilling Setback Requirements
State legislators could be making another study and examination of oil and gas drilling in relation to homes and businesses and the rights of those property owners. First, the State House Speaker has to approve the request for an interim study proposal that was made by Rep. Steve Kouplen, (D-Beggs) who submitted it prior to …
Osage Nation Pays $74 million for Ted Turner’s Osage County Ranch
Media mogul Ted Turner has sold his 43,000 acre Bluestem Ranch in Osage County to the Osage Nation. It was a reported $74 million-purchase by the tribe, making the tribe one of the biggest landowners in the county. Turner, the man behind CNN and Turner Broadcasting bought the ranch in 2001 and raised buffalo. The …
Mexico Gets First Non-Pemex Gas Stations in 80 Years
After nearly 80 years, Mexico is getting its first gas station that isn’t owned or operated by the government-owned Pemex corporation. Two companies recently opened three gas stations under their brands, a result of energy reforms passed two years ago by the federal government. The company, Hidrosina opened one in Mexico City while the …
Colorado has 40 Times more Natural Gas Than First Believed?
The U.S. Geological Survey now says Western Colorado has far, far more natural gas than previously thought…maybe 40 times more. It’s what government and industry experts recently said in Denver, explain the Mancos Shale formation in the state’s Piceance Basin holds an estimated 66.3 trillion cubic feet of gas. That’s a huge increase from …
FTC Forces Williams Companies and ETE to Divest Pipeline Ownership in Florida
In order to settle a Federal Trade Commission complaint that a merger of Williams Companies with Energy Transfer Equity would harm competition in Florida, the two companies have agreed to dump Williams’ interest in an interstate natural gas pipeline. The FTC made the announcement, indicating the proposed consent agreement “preserves competition between Florida Gas Transmission …
Small Mining Towns Challenged by Tax Credit Cut
Cut the tax credits to the Oklahoma coal-mining industry and you cut money from small communities in the state. It’s the message from not only coal industry officials but from Mary Ann Pritchard, director of the Oklahoma Mining Department. “People don’t realize the coal industry affects small communities,” she said recently in an interview with …
Catch 22 Results in Opposition to EPA’s Clean Power Plan
At least one electric cooperative serving some Midwestern states makes it clear, it doesn’t think the Environmental Protection Agency’s controversial Cean Power Plan is the way to go. And it’s almost as thought a government “catch 22” forced it to use coal to generate electricity. It’s what Michael McInness, CEO of Tri-State Generation and Transmission …
State Probes NEO A and M Over Oil Dumped Into Tar Creek
The State Department of Environmental Quality is investigating Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College for allegedly dumping oil into a storm drain that feeds the Tar Creek in Miami. Skylar McElhaney, a spokeswoman at the DEQ indicated two complaints were received this month, alleging the college siphoned oil from a vehicle barn and used a hose to …
Inhofe Singles out EPA’s Clean Power Plan in Senate Committee Hearing
Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe used a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing Thursday to again condemn the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan, the one put on hold by the U.S. Supreme Court. “The stakes are high when it comes to the Power Plan,” said the Senator in his opening comment as Chairman …