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EPA Gives States Another Year to Meet New Ozone Standards
No word yet how this might affect the state of Oklahoma, but the EPA this week notified governors that it’s delaying for another year any decision on which areas of the U.S. don’t meet the 2015 ozone standards. Letters were sent to Gov. Mary Fallin and others from EPA Chief Scott Pruitt who said he needs …
Tulsa’s SemGroup Becomes Major Houston Terminal Owner With $2 billion Purchase
Tulsa-based SemGroup Corporation has announced a $2 billion acquisition of one of the largest oil terminals in the U.S. The company executed an agreement to buy Houston Fuel Oil Terminal Company from investment funds managed by Alinda Capital Partners. It’s a purchase that establishes SemGroup in the premier energy market—-the Houston Ship Channel. The terminal …
Pruitt Hit with Confrontational Interview on MSNBC
Things were so bumpy Tuesday for EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt during an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program, you couldn’t blame him to still be smarting over the appearance. He was repeatedly interrupted by the hosts including Joe Scarborough who demanded a ‘yes or no’ answer from Pruitt to the question whether he had discussed …
Democratic AGs Turn Table on EPA Chief Pruitt
Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt is beginning to get a taste of the kind of legal action he brought against the EPA when he was Oklahoma Attorney General. A coalition of seven Democratic attorneys general filed a legal challenge this week of the EPA’s decision to delay new safety rules on a common pesticide …
NextEra Energy Loses a 2nd Round in Wind Farm Battle at Hinton
Shot down again—-the largest wind development company in the U.S. as it seeks to expand wind farm operations in western Oklahoma. Oklahoma City U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton has ruled against NextEra Energy’s efforts to dismiss a ruling earlier this year against the company as it continues a fight with the City of Hinton …
Oklahoma Energy Firms Boost Revitalized Powder River Basin in Wyoming
Oklahoma City’s Devon Energy and Chesapeake Energy are among those firms credited with turning Wyoming’s Powder River Basin into the revitalized oil and gas region it is today. It’s a region that is seeing a revival in drilling operations. As Bloomberg News reported this week, the region will get $600 million in new wells from Chesapeake, …
States Ask Denver Federal Appeals Court to Hold Fracking Rules on Federal Lands
The states of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming are putting up a fight over those federal government fracking practices the Obama administration launched on federal and tribal lands. In a filing this week in the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, the states argued the Bureau of Land Management does not have the authority to issue …
Inhofe Stands With President in Pulling Out of Paris Climate Agreement
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe is defending the move by President Trump to pull out of the Paris Climate Accord. It’s what he said Monday afternoon in an interview on MSNBC. “If he didn’t do it, there would always be people out there, radicals, some of the far left groups, that would sue the United States, …
Electric Car Tax Now Law in Oklahoma
One of the measures quietly signed into law recently by Gov. Mary Fallin creates a tax on electric vehicles. HB 1449 calls for a $100 annual tax on electric vehicles and a $30 annual fee on hybrid electric vehicles. While it angered electric-car owners when the State House passed the measure on a 51-44 vote, …
ACOG’s Clean Cities Awards
Energy awards have gone to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and Heartland Energy Options for their work in encouraging alternative fuels and advanced technology vehicles in Central Oklahoma. The Association of Central Oklahoma Government said the two received the 2016 Zach D. Taylor, Jr. Clean Cities Vision Awards. The Wildlife Conservation Department converted 33 …