In a 6-3 ruling, the state’s highest court agreed the state has “exclusive authority” over produced water.

As earthquake activity spiked, U.S. Geological Survey scientists feared Oklahomans were getting inaccurate information from state officials and the oil and gas industry, according to internal USGS emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

The Sept. 3 earthquake near Pawnee, now considered Oklahoma’s strongest ever recorded, is the latest in a seismic surge researchers say has largely been fueled by the oil industry practice of pumping waste fluid into underground disposal wells.