{"id":22955,"date":"2015-02-19T06:15:37","date_gmt":"2015-02-19T12:15:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=22955"},"modified":"2015-02-25T20:56:33","modified_gmt":"2015-02-26T02:56:33","slug":"as-cities-consider-tougher-drilling-rules-oklahoma-lawmakers-eye-limits-on-local-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2015\/02\/19\/as-cities-consider-tougher-drilling-rules-oklahoma-lawmakers-eye-limits-on-local-control\/","title":{"rendered":"As Cities Consider Tougher Drilling Rules, Oklahoma Lawmakers Eye Limits on \u2018Local Control\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_22344\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-22344\" alt=\"Protestors outside the meeting held signs and chanted &quot;Stop fracking now&quot; and &quot;No more drilling.&quot;\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2014\/12\/20141218-hefner-frack-meeting006_WEB.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2014\/12\/20141218-hefner-frack-meeting006_WEB.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2014\/12\/20141218-hefner-frack-meeting006_WEB-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2014\/12\/20141218-hefner-frack-meeting006_WEB-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2014\/12\/20141218-hefner-frack-meeting006_WEB-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Joe Wertz \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Protestors outside a public meeting in Oklahoma City about an oil company&#39;s proposal to drill near Lake Hefner held signs and chanted &quot;Stop fracking now&quot; and &quot;No more drilling.&quot;<\/p>\n<\/div><p>When New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2014%2F12%2F18%2Fnyregion%2Fcuomo-to-ban-fracking-in-new-york-state-citing-health-risks.html&ei=KovlVOOpJ8aYgwSAs4DgAw&usg=AFQjCNE0dBzJeGZhLDel8gM5cSilbtg9HA&sig2=XyVJsTfs5oB6OCPaBHWgUA\">announced a statewide ban<\/a> on fracking in 2014, Oklahoma Rep. Casey Murdock took notice. After voters in the city of Denton, Texas \u2014 just 40 miles south of the Oklahoma state line \u2014 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2014\/12\/15\/dissecting-denton-how-texas-city-baned-fracking\/\">approved a fracking ban<\/a> in the Nov. 4 election, the Republican representative from Felt took action.<\/p><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/191890945%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-Z7FHs&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=false\" height=\"150\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p><p><!--more-->\u201cThere is your anti-oil group,\u201d the freshman lawmaker says. \u201cWe have activists outside the state that have come in and they\u2019re pushing in these college cities.\u201d<\/p><p>Murdock\u2019s measure, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.oklegislature.gov\/BillInfo.aspx?Bill=HB1395&Tab=0\">House Bill 1395<\/a>, is one of at least eight \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.tulsaworld.com\/news\/capitol_report\/bill-to-prohibit-municipal-drilling-ordinances-advances-in-oklahoma-house\/article_986d23f4-b6f3-5df4-9e77-b086575d2420.html\">local control<\/a>\u201d bills under consideration by the 2015 Legislature. The bills differ in the details, but they all limit, in some way, the power municipalities have to regulate oil and gas drilling or related activities, like fracking.<\/p><p>Murdock says he\u2019s responding to calls from mineral owners eager to protect their oil and gas interests in the lawmaker\u2019s three-county district in the Oklahoma Panhandle.<\/p><p>\u201cThe mineral owners own that mineral underneath there,\u201d he says. \u201c You can say it\u2019s a property right, too. They should be able to go after and get the minerals that they own.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Municipal scrutiny<\/h3><p>Residents concerned about water use, water contamination, air pollution and <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/topic\/earthquakes-2\/\">earthquakes<\/a> have called for stricter oil and gas rules or outright bans on drilling activities in cities and towns throughout the state \u2014 and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dispatch.com\/content\/stories\/local\/2015\/02\/17\/Supreme-Court-rules-fracking.html\">across the country<\/a>.<\/p><p>Norman residents have questioned whether oil companies should be allowed to use <a href=\"http:\/\/newsok.com\/norman-residents-question-drilling-companys-use-of-drinking-water\/article\/3954031\">drinking water for drilling<\/a>, and activists there are <a href=\"http:\/\/newsok.com\/oklahoma-group-plans-peaceful-protest-in-norman-over-environmental-concerns-about-water-oil-and-natural-gas-drilling\/article\/5376294\">pushing for tougher municipal rules<\/a> for the oil and gas industry.<\/p><p>In Oklahoma City, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fstateimpact.npr.org%2Foklahoma%2F2014%2F12%2F19%2Foklahoma-city-residents-question-lake-hefner-drilling-plan-at-contentious-public-meeting%2F&ei=IonlVL_kE4r9gwSVuIH4Cg&usg=AFQjCNFgpHm9CdSLSUQdQiihXjV-RjQAFw&sig2=uKXiO21SL_Yhz7v--7Ngvw\">public fury<\/a> over an energy company\u2019s proposal to drill near Lake Hefner, a city water supply, pushed the company to withdraw its application.<\/p><p>The city of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.news9.com\/story\/28122148\/stillwater-considers-drilling-regulations\">Stillwater is considering tougher rules<\/a> for oil and gas operations within the city limits. Stillwater city Councilor Gina Noble says municipal government is the proper venue for such debates.<\/p><p>\u201dMunicipalities are still the best level of government that can address local zoning matters, and that\u2019s what this is really about to us \u2014 zoning,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<h3>\u2018Reasonable\u2019 rules<\/h3><p>While it\u2019s too early to know if any of the proposals will make it through Oklahoma\u2019s four-month legislative session, a version written by House Speaker Jeff Hickman, R-Fairview, sailed through a hearing of the the House Environmental Law subcommittee and is up for consideration by the full House.<\/p><p>Speaker Hickman\u2019s office didn\u2019t grant StateImpact\u2019s request for an interview. But, in the subcommittee hearing, he insisted <a href=\"http:\/\/www.oklegislature.gov\/BillInfo.aspx?Bill=HB2178&Session=1500\">HB 2178<\/a> preserves local governments\u2019 zoning authority in establishing setbacks and regulating things like noise, odor and traffic \u2014 provided those rules are \u201creasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content alignright\">\n<h4 class=\"related-header\">Related<\/h4>\n<div class=\"links\">\n<h5>Posts<\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2015\/02\/11\/mapped-traffic-light-wells-in-oklahomas-earthquake-country\/\">Mapped: &#8216;Traffic Light&#8217; Wells in Oklahoma&#8217;s Earthquake Country<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2015\/02\/16\/frequent-small-earthquakes-raise-risk-of-bigger-ones-in-oklahoma-study-suggests\/\">Frequent Small Earthquakes Raise Risk of Bigger Ones in Oklahoma, Study Suggests<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"topics\">\n<h5>Topics<\/h5>\n<p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2011\/12\/energy-state-60x60.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/topic\/energy-industry\/\">What Oil and Natural Gas Mean to Big-Energy Oklahoma<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><p>The definition of \u201creasonable\u201d is open for interpretation, Rep. Cory Williams pointed out in the subcommittee hearing. Williams, D-Stillwater, was the only lawmaker who questioned the bill during the hearing, and he was the only one to vote against it.<\/p><p>Williams also questioned why state lawmakers would consider overruling local government officials while simultaneously decrying federal overreach into state government affairs.<\/p><p>Hickman responded, saying oil and gas royalties are statewide assets that should be regulated by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, the oil and gas regulators that are elected by voters statewide.<\/p>\n<h3>Limited government?<\/h3><p>The final language in HB 2178 could be changed during the session, or the measure could stall out. Or one of the other bills addressing similar issues could gain momentum. There is a lot of money at stake. Mineral owners\u2019 groups and the oil industry, which spends a lot of money in Oklahoma politics, say the state should have the final say in energy industry rules and regulations.<\/p><p>Noble, the Stillwater city councilor, worries that state legislation limiting the authority of cities and towns will make it harder for everyday residents to have a voice on local issues, like the oil well next door. She says lawmakers at the state Capitol should practice what they always preach.<\/p><p>\u201cOur state is very fond of limited government, and I just see anything that adds more government, especially to a municipality \u2014 does it really gel with our wishes for limited government?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a statewide ban on fracking in 2014, Oklahoma Rep. Casey Murdock took notice. After voters in the city of Denton, Texas \u2014 just 40 miles south of the Oklahoma state line \u2014 approved a fracking ban in the Nov. 4 election, the Republican representative from Felt took action.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[490],"tags":[630,238,270,632,631],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22955"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22955"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22955\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23019,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22955\/revisions\/23019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}