Midwest City officials say 'their hands are tied' after concern is raised over a well site near a residential area
MIDWEST CITY, Okla. (KFOR) — A resident in Midwest City is sharing her concerns about a fracking site near her home and a state law that keeps the city from regulating where companies drill.
Aubrey Williams says she first noticed the noise about a month ago after returning from vacation.
"My husband started having some respiratory issues, and some of the people in our neighborhood started doing that as well. So that's when we knew something was up," Williams said.
The well site is located near Southeast 15th and Post Road.
Williams told us that when she reached out to City officials, she learned that a state law passed in 2015 prohibits cities from regulating where companies set up fracking sites.
"They can only put in protective measures such as building in fences that are sound barriers and a couple of other things, causing them to shut down at night for quiet hours," Williams said. "They have control over that, but that's about it.”
Don Maisch, the attorney for Midwest City, sent News 4 a statement.
In 2015, the Oklahoma Legislature passed a state law that preempts all local authority over oil and gas operations, with the exception of road use, traffic, noise and odors. Additionally, the state law as passed, allows municipalities to only adopt road use, traffic, noise and odor requirements that are reasonable. The Oklahoma Attorney General has determined that any attempts by municipalities to develop requirements eliminating oil and gas operations would be viewed as unreasonable. Essentially, we feel that are hands are tied as a municipality. All regulatory authority falls to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
Don Maisch, Attorney, Midwest City
A co-author of the bill that established these regulations, former State Representative Mark McBride, explained why this law was written in the first place.
"Cities and towns and counties were trying to regulate the oil and gas business, basically saying, you can't drill here. So, that caused the problem because the Corporation Commission is who all gas companies actually answer to," McBride said.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission says the company operating the site is fully compliant with all rules and requirements, and they anticipate that operations continue over the next eight and a half days.
"These oil companies, they own minerals underneath all of Oklahoma City, but if you say you can't drill, you strand an asset that has belonged to that oil company for some time," McBride said. "We still want to let cities and towns do reasonable things. But as far as the others, they answer to the corporation commission," he added.
McBride also says he doesn't anticipate this law changing any time soon.
After learning of this law, Williams wants others to be aware too, “This isn't just Midwest city that this could happen anywhere in the state. So, I need citizens to be aware as Oklahomans that this is this could come into your backyard at any moment."
News 4 reached out to the company that owns the well site for comment, but we have not received a response.