Oklahoma Bill Would Confirm Oil & Gas Regulators’ Authority

A proposal that would confirm state regulators’ authority to bind companies to their directives has passed the state House and heads to the Senate.

The state House of Representatives passed the bill that would explicitly confirm the Oklahoma Corporation Commission has an authority that House Speaker Jeff Hickman says it already possesses: the power to make binding emergency orders and agreements with companies within the commission’s jurisdiction.

Hickman says the idea for his bill came from an incident last year when a company challenged the commission’s decision to impose wastewater-disposal restrictions in response to a spike in earthquake activity.

The bill received unanimous support in the House despite questions from Rep. Richard Morrissette suggesting the bill’s language might be redundant.

Related:

• Earthquake Response/Wastewater Reduction Plan for Central Oklahoma Unveiled
• Earthquake Response Legislation Passes Oklahoma House Panel
• Oklahoma Orders Reduction in Wastewater Disposal after Quakes

Topics Energy Oil Gas Oklahoma