Kingfisher Country tried to ban produced water pipelines in county road easement; state high court ruled that state agency OCC has exclusive jurisdiction to regulate oil and gas operations in Oklahoma
From The Journal Record
OKLAHOMA CITY – A legal battle between the state’s oil and natural gas industry and local regulators came to a close Tuesday, when the Oklahoma Supreme Court decided the Oklahoma Corporation Commission has exclusive authority over oil and gas activities in the state.
The dispute started in August, when officials in Kingfisher County wanted to ban some types of temporary pipelines industry leaders said are needed to make drilling economically feasible. The Oklahoma Oil and Gas Association, also known as OKOGA, sued the county commissioners, asking the court to determine whether the ban was illegal. The court sided with the OKOGA in an order released Tuesday.
“The Kingfisher County Commissioners’ ban of temporary oil and gas lines carrying produced water within county road easements is contrary to (state law) … and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s exclusive jurisdiction to regulate oil and gas operations …,” the order reads in part.
It continues that a legal challenge to the reasonableness of local government’s rule or regulation regarding road use, traffic, noise and odors incidental to oil and gas operations is also subject to the commission’s exclusive jurisdiction.
Drillers use water that flows back after a hydraulic fracturing job, or flow-back water, to drill new wells. They gather that flow-back water or wastewater from a producing well, clean it and add more freshwater to it. That blended water is then pumped in a temporary pipeline to a well site to drill a new well or frack a well that’s just been drilled.
The Kingfisher County commissioners in April revised permits for county pipeline crossing permits. Officials decided not to allow permits for temporary pipelines transporting wastewater from oil and gas production. Specifically, the ordinance disallows so-called deleterious substances, which can include any chemical, saltwater, waste oil, sediment or other substances used in drilling and production. Temporary permits for pipelines transporting freshwater are still allowed. Kingfisher officials said at the time that their decision was to protect against potential long-term tax liability if wastewater spilled from those lines onto the land.
The trade group’s lawsuit requested the state supreme court to put a halt, which is also known as an injunction, on the new county regulations and consider whether they were legal. Its president, Chad Warmington, is quoted in a news release regarding the decision. He said the order will be beneficial to oil and gas producers across the state.
“A patchwork of local ordinances and regulations creates unnecessary confusion, thwarts innovative solutions, and threatens environmental protections and public health,” his quote reads in part.
