Oklahoma’s oil industry pays into a voluntary fund to clean up oil wells, but many drillers opt out. The money that has been refunded to these companies in recent years could have restored an estimated 1,500 orphan well sites.
U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin argues that the cost of land buyouts could be passed on to many Native American, rural and poor Grand River Dam Authority ratepayers and that the federal government should pay instead.
Town leaders say it’s a win in a decades-long battle with state officials over floods that have repeatedly ravaged the area.
The state-owned power generator is turning to natural gas as regulatory requirements on coal-fired plants grow, driving up costs.
Under Oklahoma’s Energy Discrimination Elimination Act, public retirement systems are banned from doing business with companies on a state blacklist for those accused of boycotting the fossil fuel industry.
The Frontier found the Oklahoma State Treasurer’s office applied criteria for blacklisting companies inconsistently, leaving some firms claiming they have been arbitrarily and wrongly banned from doing business with the state. The blacklist could have far-reaching effects on everything from financing for public works projects to how state payroll checks are processed.
The state now has no enforceable limits on many common man-made chemicals, which have been linked to several types of cancers, developmental problems in children and other negative health effects.
The railroad company involved in the toxic crash was in the process of hauling contaminated soil to a storage facility in western Oklahoma.
