If the Republican leadership in the Oklahoma legislature gets its way, motorists in Oklahoma will be paying higher motor fuel taxes. Rep. Steve Vaughan of Ponca City chairs the House Transportation Committee and wants the support of voters in raising the tax on gasoline and diesel fuel by 6 cents a gallon. “At 23 cents …
Still no deal in the Oklahoma legislature as the special session continues with legislative leaders and Gov. Mary Fallin in talks with hopes of reaching an agreement to resolve the $215 million budget hole. At last word, House Floor Leader Jon Echols indicated legislators were told to prepare to return for work on Oct. …
The Oklahoma City Airport Trust was recently awarded a $2 million public works grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, according to the bureau’s website. Governor Mary Fallin was present during the grant announcement. The airport trust believes this opportunity to complete the improvements will attract commercial aviation and additional defense industry to Oklahoma City. …
Following U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt’s highly publicized declaration that “the war on coal is over,” billionaire philanthropist Michael Bloomberg affirmed his “war on coal” by going to battle against the Trump Administration’s efforts to roll back the Clean Power Plan. During a meeting held on Wednesday at the Sierra Club’s Washington, D.C. …
Dallas-based Luminant, a subsidiary of Vistra Energy, announced Friday that it is permanently closing one of the Lone Star State’s largest coal-powered plants early next year, according to a company press release. The 1,800 megawatt Monticello power plant located in Titus County, Texas is the latest casualty in coal plant closures across the nation as …
Oklahoma’s U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe has weighed in following the Senate confirmation of Howard R. “Skip” Elliott as the federal Department of Transportation’s Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. “I’m pleased the Senate confirmed the nomination of Howard Elliott to be Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration,” said Inhofe. “With over …
The Volkswagen Settlement Agreement Environmental Mitigation Trust was approved on Monday, initiating the process where billions in trust money can be allocated to states for clean transportation efforts, according to a press release issued by the Sierra Club. Under the settlement, states must identify a lead agency to supervise the distribution of settlement money by …
Democrats in the Oklahoma House reportedly got part of their wish to raise the gross production tax on oil and gas and also eliminate a sales tax exemption for the wind industry. But Gov. Mary Fallin denies it and said so in a late Thursday afternoon announcement. “Let me just start out by stating bluntly—-there …
A study confirms that rising production costs as well as high prices for leases have led to a slowdown in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico. Writing this week, the Houston Chronicle found that while drillers spent $35 billion in West Texas over 9 months ending in the spring, the collective value of …
The story of vertical well drillers fighting Oklahoma’s larger horizontal well operations is getting some national play as Bloomberg News reported on the battle this week. Bloomberg told the story of one Oklahoma independent operator whose old vertical wells have been harmed by horizontal drilling. The news service also briefly revisited the OK Energy …