Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has yet to say whether the offer by Volkswage to pay more than $10 billion to settle claims in the emissions cheating scandal will apply to the lawsuit he recently filed in Oklahoma City federal court. A request by OK Energy Today for a comment from Pruitt’s spokesman was not …
Ruling Expected Soon in Williams and ETE Fight
A Delaware judge overseeing the legal fight between Williams Cos. of Tulsa and Energy Transfer Equity promises to have a ruling by Friday. The commitment came earlier this week from Judge Sam Glascock who’s been hearing arguments in the conflicts between the two companies that proposed a $38 billion merger last fall. The suit was …
Inhofe and Cole Applaud Judge’s Ruling on Fracking Regulations
“I’m glad to see energy production put back into the hands of hard-working Americans.” Rep. Tom Cole The Wyoming judge who ruled against the Obama administration’s fracking regulations gets strong support from two Oklahoma congressmen. ‘I applaud the federal judge who stood by the law and struck down this unnecessary, politically-motivated power grab,” …
Chicago Residents Say Koch Industries Settlement Not Enough
A few months after Wichita-based Koch Industries agreed to a tentative settlement in a 2013 class action lawsuit over its storage of oil refining byproducts in Chicago, homeowners are asking a federal judge to turn down the $1.4 million in settlements. In a filing this week, 20 of the plaintiffs who live in neighborhoods on …
Drought Not Quite Exists in the State
The latest Drought Monitor shows Oklahoma has yet to return to a drought but 17 percent of the state is listed as “abnormally dry.” The abnormally dry areas are in north central, north east and east central Oklahoma. “But the rainfall statistics over the last 60 days probably warrant drought designation justification,” said Gary McManus, …
Another Week—-Another Court Ruling Against Obama Administration’s Environmental Efforts
“Another week, another court ruling against the Obama administration,” is the reaction of U.S. Sen. James Lankford to a federal judge’s ruling this week that the federal government could not create rules banning fracking on federal and Indian lands. “This is something already regulated by the states,” said the Senator in an interview with OK …
Rep. Morrissette Bows Out of Oklahoma Corporation Commission Race
Term-limited state Rep. Richard Morrissette (D-Oklahoma City) announced on Wednesday that he is withdrawing as a candidate for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. The south Oklahoma City legislator and lawyer indicated his father’s recent death “had a bigger effect on my life than I thought it would,” according to an email statement issued by his campaign. …
President Signs First Major Environmental Reform in More than 25 Years
Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe calls the Toxic Substance Control Act long overdue and also the first major environmental reform to be enacted in over a quarter century. It is the Frank Lautenberg act nursed through committee by the Senator and others and was signed into law Wednesday by President Obama. It was January 9, 2015 when …
Oklahoma’s Hot Weather is Nothing Compared to 2011—–Remember?
The weather’s been brutal over the past few weeks in Oklahoma but we apparently have short memories. Just ask Gary McManus, State Climatologist with the Oklahoma Mesonet. He notes that Kingfisher leads the way so far in the past month with four days of 100-degree weather or higher. And most of that heat has been …
Fracking Rules of Obama Administration Struck Down by Wyoming Federal Judge
The same federal judge in Wyoming who last year blocked implementation of President Obama’s first attempts at controlling fracking on federal and Indian lands has now struck down those regulations. “The issue before this Court is not whether hydraulic fracturing is good or bad for the environment or the citizens of the United States,” …









