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Newspaper Says OKC Should Pay for Northern Heartland Flyer Route
If Amtrak eventually decides to extend its Heartland Flyer route northward to Wichita, Kansas—–the Tulsa World says Oklahoma City should pay for it. It was last week when Amtrak made an experimental passenger run from Oklahoma City to Kansas City. In an editorial this week, the paper’s writers pointed out how the state made a …
Sen. Lankford Pushes for Congressional Control of Sanctions Against Iran
Any new sanctions against Iran could eventually affect the oil and gas industry—-good or bad, depending on how they’re handled. When President Obama lifted sanctions, it hurt oil prices. Now Sen. James Lankford wonders why a new sanctions bill aimed at Iran and Russia omits the power of congress. In remarks this week to the …
Oklahoma Ranked 19th for CO2 Emissions from Power Plants
Boston-based environmental group Ceres is out with a report detailing air emissions from the 100 largest U.S. electric power producers including those that operate in Oklahoma. The 2017 Benchmarking report had some good news, showing power plant sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide emissions in 2015 were 87 percent and 79 percent lower respectively compared to …
Rep. Cole says America Will Continue to Lead After Paris Climate Agreement
After Paris Climate Agreement, America Will Continue To Lead By: Congressman Tom Cole President Trump has come under fire recently because of his decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement. I believe he was right to do so. The agreement would have damaged the U.S. economy, eliminated millions of jobs, and …
Oil and Gas Tax Collections Up in May—-Others Were Down
With oil and gas production booming in Oklahoma’s STACK and SCOOP plays, gross production tax collections were up significantly in May as part of the General Revenue Fund Collections reported by Secretary of Finance Preston L. Doerflinger. However, overall general revenue fund collections missed the official monthly estimate by 1.5 percent, leaving the state with …
Kansas Army Post Getting $37 million Energy Conservation Upgrades
Construction started this week on a $37 million energy conservation plan at Fort Riley Army post in Kansas….home to the Big Red One and once home to Gen. George Armstrong Custer. It’s a plan that officials claim will result in $92 million in savings over the next 22 years. The project includes 15 energy conservation …
Rep. Mullin Says Pruitt’s Right in Delaying Obama-Era Chemical Information Rules
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s decision to delay implementation of some Obama administration Risk Management Programs under the Clean Air Act Rule is supported by Oklahoma U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin and Sen. Jim Inhofe. Pruitt is delaying the Accidental Release Prevention Requirements by 20 months, rules that apply to chemicals. The Obama administration proposed the public …
Nominees Supported by Sen. Inhofe
Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe openly supported the nominations of two women to serve on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency…..both who once worked for him when he chaired the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Annie Caputo is a nominee to serve on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Susan Bodine …
Environmental Council of States Urges More States Rights
Oklahoma and other members of the Environmental Council of the States say state flexibility is still the best way to achieve national standards for environmental protection. In an outline of its Cooperative Federal 2.0 approach with the EPA, leaders stated, “We are convinced a recalibration of state and federal roles can lead to more effective …
Hot Summer’s Here and It’s Not Even Summer
In the words of State Climatologist Gary McManus, “summer’s just getting started.” And it’s not officially here until June 21. This after temperatures soared to 104 degrees on Monday in Beaver in the Panhandle. It was six years ago Tuesday, June 13 when temperatures hit 110 degrees in Buffalo. As McManus noted, Beaver, Hooker and …