Assessing an NGO’s Attempt to Use Federal Courts to Bypass Oklahoma’s State Legislative and Regulatory Authority Over Produced Water Policy

Collins, Gabriel2017-02-142017-02-142017Collins, Gabriel. "Assessing an NGO’s Attempt to Use Federal Courts to Bypass Oklahoma’s State Legislative and Regulatory Authority Over Produced Water Policy." <i>Issue Brief,</i> 01.23.17, (2017) James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy: <a href="http://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/how-novel-federal-claim-usurps-state-authority/">http://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/how-novel-federal-claim-usurps-state-authority/</a>.https://hdl.handle.net/1911/93931A spike in earthquakes in Oklahoma is likely linked to deep disposal wells used to store wastewater from oil and gas drilling. In a lawsuit against several oil & gas operators, the Sierra Club offers a novel interpretation of a federal regulation in its bid to curtail wastewater disposal operations. In this brief, fellow Gabriel Collins lays out the implications of the Sierra Club's strategy, arguing that state regulators and legislators — not federal courts — should get first crack at resolving problems arising from seismic activity related to wastewater injection.engAssessing an NGO’s Attempt to Use Federal Courts to Bypass Oklahoma’s State Legislative and Regulatory Authority Over Produced Water Policy