DALLAS - Oklahoma is outlawing local bans on oil and gas drilling in residential areas, despite official reports that the process causes earthquakes that can damage property values.
In the Oklahoma Legislature, Senate Bill 809 won approval by a two-to-one majority in the House after passage in the Senate. After final approval in the Senate, the bill goes to Gov. Mary Fallin, who is expected to sign it.
The bill allows local governments to make laws regarding road use, traffic, noise and odors, fencing and setbacks associated with oil and gas operations but may not prohibit or ban oil and gas operations.
The Texas Legislature is in the process of passing a similar measure, and lawmakers in both states cited the North Texas city of Denton's 2014 ban on hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" as a reason for the legislation.
"We've seen what happened in places like Denton, Texas, which enacted ordinances banning certain activities within city limits and sent the wrong message to a vital industry," said Arnella Karges, vice president of government affairs for the business lobby known as the State Chamber.
"This is a great example of all sides coming together to make sure that the needs of industry and the public are both addressed," Karges said in a prepared statement. "Enacting bans on drilling sends the wrong message, but we understand concerns about public safety and this bill helps all sides."
Carolyn Stager, executive director of the Oklahoma Municipal League, called the bill a "cookie cutter piece of legislation." Neither the OML nor the Texas Municipal League supported the measures.
House Democratic Leader Scott Inman cited the state's April 21 study that supported theories that hundreds of earthquakes in the state over the past five years were caused by injection wells used to dispose of fracking wastewater deep in the earth.
"The folks pushing this bill are the ones causing the earthquakes in our communities," Inman said.
As the study came out, the state launched a
"Oklahoma experienced 585 magnitude 3-plus earthquakes in 2014 compared to 109 events recorded in 2013," the site says. "This rise in seismic events has the attention of scientists, citizens, policymakers, media and industry."
