From Fox News The Trump administration has issued a presidential permit to pipeline builder TransCanada to build the Keystone XL pipeline. White House press secretary Sean Spicer tweeted that President Donald Trump would discuss the pipeline later Friday morning. The State Department says that it determined that building Keystone serves the U.S. national interest. …
Oklahoma Drinking Water Improvement Projects
The Washington D.C.-based Environmental Council of the States is out with a list of nearly $15 billion dollar waster and wastewater projects it describes as “ready to go.” Oklahoma has 20 of the projects with a total of $642,185,000 in funding this year. Eleven are for drinking water projects and 9 are for wastewater improvements. …
Keystone XL Permit to be Signed by Monday
What the Obama administration refused to do, the Trump administration will do—approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline and do it by Monday, according to a report by Politico. “Undersecretary for political affairs Tom Shannon plans to sign the pipeline’s cross-border permit on or before Monday, the last day for the 60-day timeline that President Donald …
Vandalism Against Dakota Access Pipeline Confirmed in South Dakota and Iowa
The Texas developer of the Dakota Access Pipeline is taking its sabotage claims against the line seriously enough it’s asking a court against releasing spill response plans for fear it could be used by activists and terrorists. Energy Transfer Partners made the revalation of “recent coordinate physical attacks” in the court filing in North Dakota. …
Energy Task Force to Include Closed-Door Meetings in House-Approved Bill
A bill creating another new energy-related state task force has won approval in the State House but it would also be exempt from the Oklahoma Public Meeting law. House Bill 2151 by Tulsa Rep. Weldon Watson was approved on a 68-20 vote despite opposition from Stillwater Rep. Cory Williams. He argued if state funds …
Senate Committee Approves Nuclear Power Bill with Inhofe’s Support
Keeping you up to date on what the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is doing, it has passed a Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act. Called NEIMA, it improves the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s fee structure and lets it regulate and approve advanced reactor designs. The EPW committee, with the support of Oklahoma U.S. …
Bridenstine Successful in New NASA Funding Law
It wasn’t that we intentionally omitted Rep. Jim Bridenstine from a story this week about a White House signing ceremony for funding of NASA programs. We just weren’t aware of it until his office released an announcement indicating the Tulsa Republican Congressman watched as President trump signed S.442, a measure that included some of …
Spring Storms Set to Develop in Oklahoma—-Could Produce a Tornado Threat for SE
Spring’s here and that means the first severe weather of the season is developing in Oklahoma. David Payne, News 9’s Chief Meteorologist says at least four storms could occur in the next 9 days, bringing rain and of course, the threat of maybe a tornado. “Powerful storm systems are lined up about every three …
Chaparral Energy Exits Bankruptcy Protection
Oklahoma City-based Chaparral Energy announced it has completed its financial restructuring and emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company’s reorganization plan was recognized and approved by the U.S. District Bankruptcy Court of Delaware on March 10. It allowed conversion of $1.2 billion of pre-petition debt to equity and elimination of nearly $100 million in …
Legislators Want Credit for Funding Education
Maybe Andy Griffith on TV’s Mayberry said it best. “You can change the name of a rose but you can’t do anything about the smell.” Members of the Oklahoma State House apparently don’t think they’re getting enough credit for funding education. They voted this week in support of a bill that opponents called a “slight …