Damage totals are estimated at a range of $85 million to $200 million from the Grand River Dam Authority fire that occurred on July 1, according to the Tulsa World. The damaged area involves the main generating facility which will require replacement of the Chouteau facility’s largest coal-fired unit. “The turbine is the question,” said …
Rep. Russell’s Software Savings Bill Headed to White House
Congressman Steve Russell’s bill called the “Making Electronic Government Accountable by Yielding Tangible Efficiencies Act” was passed by the Senate and sent to the President’s desk. It’s a measure that Rep. Russell contends will save American taxpayers more than $4 billion a year. He and Pennsylvania Congressman Matt Cartwright (D) introduced the measure in June …
New York AG Defies US House Subpoena Over Climate Change Probes
Claims of constitutional challenges are emanating from both Texas U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith and New York attorney General Eric Schneiderman in their fight over the efforts of some attorneys general to carry out their own investigation of Exxon Mobil and its climate change research. Schneiderman responded after Rep. Smith and the U.S. House Science, Space and Technology …
Former Legislator Indicted Two Years After his Firing as CEO of Rural Electric Cooperative
Two years after former Rep. Terry J. Matlock was fired as CEO of Choctaw Electric Cooperative in southeast Oklahoma, he was indicted by a multi-county grand jury on charges of embezzlement. As OK Energy Today reported in September of 2015, Matlock came under investigation at the request of Gov. Mary Fallin. Matlock, a former Democrat …
Solar Panels to Make Up Mother Road Sidewalk in Missouri
Solar panels along the historic Route 66—the Mother Road— are coming, at least in the state of Missouri according to a re port by NBC News. Missouri’s Transportation Department says it will test a new type of pavement that also will help generate electricity through built-in solar panels. A company named Solar Roadways based in Idaho …
Arrest Warrant Issued for Choctaw Bookkeeper Accused of $7M Embezzlement
A Choctaw man charged with embezzlement is wanted after he skipped a federal plea hearing on Wednesday, according to a report in The Oklahoman. Rodney Alan Hager is accused of transferring over $7 million from his family’s business, J&B Pipe Supply Company, to Mall Concepts of Oklahoma, Inc. Hager is a former bookkeeper employed by …
Noted Oklahoma Oilman Dead at 92
Oklahoma oilman Robert L. Parker Sr. was buried this week. He died July 9 at the age of 92 and for many years, led the company known as Parker Drilling Co. Over the course of his career in energy, he was named by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 to be chairman of the U.S. Energy …
Chesapeake Reaches $51 million Settlement of Hundreds of Royalty Lawsuits in Fort Worth
Oklahoma City’s Chesapeake Energy has agreed to pay nearly $51 million to settle hundreds of lawsuits filed over royalty fights around Fort Worth, Texas. The company had been accused of cheating property owners out of millions of dollars in natural gas royalties. Attorneys at a Fort Worth law firm announced this week that 91 percent …
House Committee Follows through with Subpoena Threat of Attorneys General
A U.S. House Committee whose members include Oklahoma Congressmen Frank Lucas and Jim Bridenstine has followed through with a threat to subpoena attorneys general in two states and environmental groups in their climate change probe of Exxon. Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) issued the subpoenas to New York Attorney General Eric …
States Continue Challenge of EPA’s Clean Water Act
Oklahoma is among nearly 30 states urging the Denver Federal Appeals Court to revive the U.S. Chamber of Commerce challenge to the federal clean water rule. In filings, the states say the court is not bound by a Sixth Circuit ruling that circuit courts hold jurisdiction over the claims. The states also want the 10th …