Oil company agrees to $850k settlement for 2016 Oklahoma earthquake damages
Residents around Pawnee and Cushing are one step closer to winning a class-action settlement involving earthquake damage. The lawsuit was filed following two 2016 earthquakes — one of whichset a state record for the largest magnitude ever recorded.
The wastewater disposal well operator Eagle Road Oil LLC agreed to pay $850,000 to settle its portion of the lawsuit, which a judge will consider at a Sept. 15 fairness hearing. The suit was filed in November 2016 after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit Pawnee and a 5.0 quake struck near Cushing — both of which caused significant damage to homes and buildings.
After the Pawnee quake, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency shut down 32 disposal wells and restricted another 35 wells. The settlement covers two years of earthquake damage from quakes that occurred within 50 miles of Pawnee between 2014 to 2016. Eagle Road denies allegations that it played a role in the quakes.
Pawnee resident Sherri Lairdspoke to StateImpact after the 2016 earthquake. She said the quake cracked her chimney and broke a neighbor’s sewer line. She was in bed when it hit.
“My husband and I had to hold onto the bedposts, it was so bad,” Laird said.
Eagle Road wasn’t the only defendant in the suit — litigation will continue against Cummings Oil Co., Territory Resources LLC and EnerVest Operating LLC.
If you sustained damage from these quakes, you can join the lawsuit bysubmitting a claim here before Dec. 29. More information on the settlement can be found by calling 1-888-890-6717.
Tribal nations participate in World Breastfeeding Week
This week is World Breastfeeding week, an event promoted by the world health organization and UNICEF to encourage and remove the stigmas around breastfeeding. Here in Oklahoma, tribal nations are also participating in the event.
Breastfeeding week is celebrating its 30th year with the theme "Step up to breastfeeding".
This week, the Chickasaw Nation and the Osage Nation's Women Infant and Children Supplemental Nutrition program or WIC held events with mothers and nutritionists to provide support, education and gift bags to help those who are breastfeeding.
Chickasaw Nation's WIC programs provide breastfeeding clients with registered lactation consultants and a 24-hour breastfeeding help line.
Manon Taylor is the director of the Osage Nation's WIC department-they did outreach all week where they gave out bras that make it easier for moms to breastfeed.
"Breastfeeding is so much more convenient. It's not for everyone... in today's world, there's not as much stigma around it," said Taylor.
For WIC participants living within the Chickasaw nation, breastpumps are made available at all clinics.
11th monkeypox case confirmed in Oklahoma
Another case of monkeypox has been confirmed in Oklahoma.
A spokesperson with the Oklahoma State Department of Health confirmed that eleven cases have now been identified in the state.
Four of the cases are in northeast Oklahoma, while the other seven are located in the central part of the state.
This comes after the White House Thursday declared monkeypox a public health emergency. According to the CDC, there have been more than 7,000 cases detected in the U.S.
State and local tax revenue from oil and gas production set new records last month
As drivers across the country paid more at the gas pump, some of that money went to Oklahoma’s state treasury.
Oil and gas taxes brought in over $187 million to the state treasury in July, breaking the previous record set in June by $16 million.
This comes as overall revenue to the treasury has increased in the past year, with gross revenue up 18% since last summer.
State Treasurer Randy McDaniel says despite this growth in revenue and recent decrease in gas prices, inflation is still a concern.
While oil and gas tax revenue is up, motor vehicle revenue for this month is slightly down.
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