The Oklahoma Attorney General and the director of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s Public Utility Division stated in a regulatory filing late Monday they remain opposed to Public Service Co. of Oklahoma’s request to obtain preapproval to recover costs to build the Wind Catcher Connection project.

However, Attorney General Mike Hunter and Brandy Wreath, director of the utility division, did include a list of stipulations they could agree to as part of the filing, asking for the commission’s elected members to require those as part of any deal where the utility is granted the preapproval it seeks.

Hunter said his goal remains to guarantee Oklahomans are protected from potential financial harm.

“Our position has been clear from the beginning … this project does not meet the requirements for preapproval and cost recovery,” Hunter stated in a release issued by his office after the filing was made.

Read the complete story on NewsOK.com

The Empire State should keep its wrong-headed, draconian, expensive emissions cuts to itself. Not content with fouling up its own energy policy, New York — with some of the country’s highest electricity rates — wants to foul up Arkansas’s, Louisiana’s, and Oklahoma’s, too.

New York state’s government-employee pension fund, run by Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, owns a $100 million stake in American Electric Power (AEP), which provides electricity in the three other states mentioned above, our states. What the federal government wisely chooses not to do, activist shareholders like DiNapoli are trying to do instead.

DiNapoli drafted a shareholder resolution that would have compelled AEP to cut greenhouse-gas emissions in line with “reduction needs defined by the Paris Climate Agreement,” which President Trump has vowed to leave. But before this resolution was even brought to a vote, AEP caved to DiNapoli’s threat. So our electricity policy is now being set in deep-blue Albany.

Meeting DiNapoli’s demands won’t be easy. AEP has pledged to slash its greenhouse-gas emissions to 60 percent below 2000 levels by 2030 and 80 percent below the same levels by 2050. Emissions cuts of this magnitude are so steep that the parties to the Paris Agreement wouldn’t even agree to anything like them.

Read the complete story on NationalReview.com

Yesterday, the Oklahoma House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 888 which eliminates the ability for producers of wind energy to cash in unused subsidies. Gov. Frank Keating and Dr. Tom Coburn issued the following statements:

From Gov. Frank Keating:

“It’s time to end cash subsidies for wind production in Oklahoma. The wind production subsidy program has grown wildly beyond what was presented to me and lawmakers when we first approved the credits. As policymakers, when we realize that an act of government isn’t working or has gone way beyond what was intended, it is our duty to change it.” said former Gov. Frank Keating, who signed the first iteration of wind production tax credits when he served as the 25th Governor of Oklahoma.

“Protecting millions of Oklahomans from being forced to unjustly subsidize a wasteful and now unnecessary government program is far superior and morally right rather than adhering to a flawed scheme. The drafting of SB 888 treats refundable wind subsidies in a prospective manner, just as lawmakers have done with the constitutional elimination of the refundability of the Oklahoma Earned Income Tax Credit.”

From Dr. Tom Coburn:

“Since 2015, policymakers at the state Capitol have raised taxes and annual revenue on Oklahomans by $1.1 billion—even raising Oklahomans’ personal income taxes since 2016 by at least $185 million annually alone. Given how much in taxes have been raised on millions of Oklahomans who don’t have an army of well-paid lobbyists to represent them at the state Capitol, it’s unconscionable that Oklahoma would continue the kind of crony-capitalist policy that is a major part of state government’s over-spending addiction that got us into this problem in the first place,” said Dr. Tom Coburn, who served as a United States Senator for Oklahoma.

“I encourage Oklahoma State Senators to cut through the hyperbole and scare tactics presented by crony capitalists who want to continue to massively benefit at the expense of millions of Oklahoma taxpayers. A vote in favor of SB 888 is the exact kind of reform and oversight that lawmakers can support to keep their promise to voters to protect them from wasteful government spending. Wind production in Oklahoma is receiving more than $110 million a year in subsidies from state taxpayers. With some estimates showing state subsidies for one wind turbine exceed the starting salary of an Oklahoma teacher even after the legislatively enacted pay raise, this boondoggle must end.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  April 9, 2018

Attorney General Hunter Releases Tar Creek Audits

OKLAHOMA CITY – Attorney General Mike Hunter today requested and received approval from Judge Thomas Prince, who presides over the state’s Multicounty Grand Jury (MCGJ), to release the Lead Impacted Communities Relocation Assistance Trust (LICRAT) audits that were requested by the state’s previous attorney general in 2011.

With the audit, Attorney General Hunter released associated investigative files.

Attorney General Hunter said the release of the audits come at his discretion, as is the case with all investigatory audits presented to the multicounty grand jury unit.

“The politicization of this matter by an out of state special interest group is unnecessary and unwarranted,” Attorney General Hunter said. “The facts are clear:  The investigative audits looked into the bidding process for the removal of structures and to facilitate the removal of toxic debris, not the buyout and relocation of residents by the federal government. The matter which was the subject of the audits was reviewed by prosecutors in the Attorney General’s Office, the EPA under President Barack Obama and reexamined and scrutinized by newly hired, experienced criminal prosecutors in my office.  No one in the review chain described above found prosecutable evidence of criminal activity.

“My office continues to support transparency and remains committed to sharing information with Oklahomans in a manner consistent with the obligation to protect the rights of informants and individuals who are not charged with a crime. We will continue to defend the integrity of the multicounty grand jury process and those who appear before it.”

Since taking over as attorney general last February, Attorney General Hunter’s office has complied with 185 open records requests containing more than 95,000 pages.

Investigative Audits

The LICRAT audits are considered an 18f, or investigatory audit, which is requested by the attorney general to the state auditor when necessary to assist in investigations. Unlike other audits, an 18f is part of litigation and investigatory files of the Attorney General’s Office.

These files are kept confidential to preserve the integrity of the investigation. However, it is not uncommon to provide information within the investigative audit to the audited party after its completion to allow them to respond to or clarify information.

These files only become public at the discretion of the attorney general, or if criminal charges are filed and the documents become part of the court files.

No criminal charges were filed after the LICRAT audits were complete, therefore never making them an open document.

Additional Investigations

In 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Inspector General, under then – President Barack Obama’s EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, launched an investigation after receiving complaints similar to what led to the state’s audits.

The EPA investigation revealed no evidence to support any of the allegations. No further action was taken by the federal government.

Read the Tulsa World’s article on the 2013 EPA investigation, here: .

In 2017, after the lawsuit filed by the Washington, D.C. based special interest Campaign for Accountability, Attorney General Hunter tasked MCGJ Chief Joy Thorpe and Senior Deputy Attorney General Tom Gruber, both experienced prosecutors, with reassessing whether charges should have been or needed to be filed in the case.

Thorpe and Gruber both determined no larger investigation was necessary and that no criminal charges were warranted after review of the audits and MCGJ investigative files.

Responsive information was provided to the audits by the attorney for LICRAT Andy Lester.

Read Lester’s response to the audit, here: .

Two Audits

The original audit was conducted before civil litigation caused the project to be re-bid. The original audit regarding the initial bidding process can be found, here:.

Supporting documents can be found, here: .

The second audit is the subject of the current litigation and what was investigated by multiple agencies. Read the second audit, here: .

Supporting documents can be found, here: .

Supporting Material

Read Attorney General Hunter’s application to Judge Prince for the release of the audits, here: .

Read Judge Prince’s response, here:.

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While Security spending was somewhat more than his predecessor, Scott Pruitt has received death threats because of his bold actions at EPA. Record clean Air & Water while saving USA Billions of Dollars. Rent was about market rate, travel expenses OK. Scott is doing a great job!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2018

MARCH 17, 2018

WASHINGTON — The headline speakers at the Conservative Political Action Conference’s annual showcase, the Ronald Reagan Dinner, have historically been rising stars in the Republican Party — firebrand pundits, prominent activists, future presidential candidates.

Last month, it was Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

In the past year, Mr. Pruitt has emerged as a hero to President Trump’s supporters for his hand in rolling back environmental rules at an agency long disliked by farmers, the fossil fuel industry and the far right. And he has occasionally shocked his employees by criticizing the very agency he heads.

“It was an agency that was weaponized against certain sectors of the economy,” Mr. Pruitt said to applause at the Reagan dinner.

Now, people close to Mr. Pruitt say he is using his perch as Mr. Trump’s deregulatory czar to position himself for further political prominence — starting with a run for office in his home state of Oklahoma. He is widely viewed as a future candidate for senator or governor there, and Mr. Pruitt has made it known that if the president replaces his beleaguered attorney general, Jeff Sessions, he would be ready to step into the job.

Read the complete story on nytimes.com

Excavation of West Lake Landfill is not necessary. The state of Missouri and the federal government have deemed the site safe. Moving the process any further down the road is not a responsible use of Environmental Protection Agency resources.

With the low concentrations of Uranium-238, Thorium-230, and Thorium-226 in the buffer zone of the West Lake landfill there is no need for the EPA to remove the radiological waste since the concentrations were found to be at or slightly above background levels.

Environmentalists have long known that picketing, chanting and generally causing a ruckus is more than enough to help get their way at the EPA. Fear mongering should not be how we set policy.

The West Lake Landfill does not need to be moved. There are plenty of other sites across the United States that would be a better use of EPA resources.

I hope that Administrator Pruitt resists the urge to take the politically expedient path. The EPA should listen to its scientists on this one.

War on the EPA | FRONTLINE | PBS

FRONTLINE investigates how Scott Pruitt went from fighting the EPA to running the agency.

Critics and supporters of Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt have found common ground in their shared belief that the former Oklahoma attorney general is operating with an efficiency and zeal beyond that of his predecessors.

“There’s a tremendous amount of attention and a tremendous amount of focus that’s going into our agenda and the president has given us that charge,” Pruitt said during an interview Thursday.

In February, Pruitt took over a federal agency that had, in his words, “lost its moorings.” He has compared disdain of the EPA to that directed at the Internal Revenue Service and told a conservative gathering that critics of the agency were justified in their scorn.

“What people are justified feeling is the oppressiveness and the paternalism and the use of regulatory power to pick winners and losers,” Pruitt said Thursday.

Read the complete story on NewsOK.com

Washington (CNN) — The Trump administration is ending a program which subsidizes gym memberships for Environmental Protection Agency employees.

Republicans hammer Pruitt over proposed EPA budget cuts

“We have ended taxpayer-funded fitness centers at EPA; a program that was costing American taxpayers $900,000 per year,” EPA spokesperson Jahan Wilcox told CNN in a statement. “Disinvestment in using federal funds for EPA fitness centers will allow the agency to invest this money in core activities to protect the environment.”

An EPA official told CNN that the move came after EPA employees in Las Vegas billed the agency $15,000 worth of yearly gym memberships at the Las Vegas 24 Hour Fitness, even though they had free access to the University of Las Vegas gym. The 24 Hour Fitness chain has more than five locations in Las Vegas, which offer varying amenities like indoor lap pool, steam room, sauna, group exercise classes and a full-sized basketball court.

The memberships cost $399 each per year for 37 employees, according to an expense document obtained by CNN.

Read the complete story on CNN.com

Attorney General Hunter Calls on California Insurance Commissioner to Stop Threats to Insurance Companies or Risk Legal Action

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter has authored and sent a letter to California Insurance Commissioner David Jones requesting Commissioner Jones cease and desist from requiring insurance companies to publicly disclose investments in fossil fuels and urging companies to sign a “pledge” to divest from the coal industry.

Attorney General Hunter was joined in the letter by 11 other state attorneys general and one governor.

The commissioner is also requiring insurance companies to disclose investments in oil, gas and coal. The financial disclosures and decisions on whether to sign the “pledge” are then made public on the California Insurance Department’s website.

Attorney General Hunter said Jones’s initiatives are nothing more than ham-handed extremist environmental policy.

“One in every four Oklahomans works in the energy industry and the California Insurance Commissioner’s threats stand to harm families, businesses and insurance carriers in our state,” Attorney General Hunter said. “This misguided policy is negligent, politically driven, unrelated to insurance regulation and is risking a certain lawsuit.

“I will not stand by while Jones promotes his stance on a social issue totally unrelated to his job as an insurance regulator that will harm tens of thousands of Oklahoma businesses and citizens.”

Along with Attorney General Hunter, the attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming and the governor of Kentucky, signed the letter.

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The Oklahoma Energy Resources Board (OERB) has been repeatedly lauded for the work they do. The organization has become a staple in the state for using private money to restore old well sites and extensively fund education programs that help children in the classroom.

Despite that, NPR recently put out a piece that glosses over the facts about how OERB has helped the state in order to essentially accuse them of attempting to influence Oklahoma’s students by teaching them about the importance of energy in everyday life.

The story ignores the fact that OERB has reached an estimated 1.9 million Oklahoma students through energy education programs since its inception in 1996, and only mentions in passing that the board has spent “upwards of $40 million” of private money to fund education programs for kids across the state.

On top of that, the story does not mention that funding education programs is OERB’s second largest expenditure. The bulk of the group’s funding goes toward the important practice of restoring old well sites in the state, a task that they have been praised for undertaking.

In fact, a May 2017 editorial from The Oklahoman notes that residents are grateful for the oil and gas industry because of the word done by OERB. The piece reports that since 1993, “OERB has restored about 15,300 orphaned and abandoned well sites,” and they have spent “about $100 million on well site cleanup.” These restoration projects help keep and preserve important terrain across the state.

On top of that, a 2016 article indicated that OERB is doing such an efficient job cleaning up these old well sites that they may be running out of areas to restore. That article stated that OERB can refurbish 750 sites per year and re-iterated that the group had cleaned up more than 15,000 locations since it was started in the 1990s.

Instead of extolling the massive benefits that this group brings to the state, NPR wrote their story with the agenda of trying to attack this group because it’s funded by energy producers. Unfortunately, their piece did not even mention OERB’s clean-up priorities and ignored all the work that the group does to help the community.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt joined Brian Kilmeade to address the accusations by democrats that he is violating ethics rules by attending a GOP fundraiser. Pruitt also discussed pulling out of the Paris Climate accords, lifting the federal coal ban and America taking a leadership role in new technology.

(Kilmeade) “So real quick I know you’re in the news about possibly attending a GOP fundraiser which would be an ethics violation that Senator Sheldon Whitehouse brought up of Rhode Island, what could you tell us about that director?”

(PRUITT) “Well we were invited to attend and actually the ethics office at the EPA actually approved of my attendance. What happened was the folks that invited me sent out an invitation, post that approval, that didn’t comply with federal law and federal ethics law so we’re not going to be able to attend because of the invitation. It was sent out, but it was actually approved in advance by our EPA ethics office, but it was just what happened afterwards that prevented my attendance.”

Listen to the complete interview on foxnews.com

WASHINGTON — By most accounts, the Trump administration is running behind many of its predecessors in filling out its ranks. Under secretaries still need confirmation, staff members need to be hired and advisers named.

And yet, across the federal government, the middle tiers of the executive branch’s agencies, departments and White House offices — the people who will ultimately shape President Trump’s agenda — are beginning to come to life.

Here are a few of the less-than-boldface names among them who are likely to play an outsize role in accomplishing Mr. Trump’s highest-priority items.

Ryan T. Jackson, Chief of staff to the Environmental Protection Agency administrator

Since he started in politics at 18, Ryan T. Jackson had more or less worked for one man: James M. Inhofe, the powerful Oklahoma Republican who is one of the Senate’s most ardent skeptics of climate change.

Read the complete story on nytimes.com

In “Wind power key to state’s rural economy” (Point of View, March 4), Beaver County Commissioner Brad Raven outlined reasons he believed industrial wind was good for rural Oklahoma. I’d like to clear up a few misconceptions.

While the industry continues to claim that wind power is “cheap, clean and infinite” and provides discounted utility bills, it actually costs Oklahoma millions. Taxpayers heavily subsidize wind power to the tune of 2.3 cents per kilowatt hour by the federal government and .05 cents per kilowatt hour by the state. A consumer electing to use only wind energy is required to pay more, not less, for their electricity. Any “savings” reflected on utility bills are artificially inflated because we’re subsidizing every unit of power produced on the front end. We pay millions into industrial wind and they pay a net zero in taxes to Oklahoma.

Their so-called support of education through ad valorem taxes is what I find to be the most offensive and distorted fact. The wind industry, prior to Dec. 31, 2016, received an exemption from paying ad valorem taxes for five years. Instead, those taxes are paid by Oklahoma’s dwindling general revenue fund. A few schools hit a temporary jackpot, but the majority of schools suffer from a severe lack of funding. Taxpayers are currently paying ad valorem taxes for more than 90 percent of the turbines operating in Oklahoma. Give Oklahoma taxpayers a pat on the back for the additional funding of rural schools, but industrial wind owners shouldn’t get the credit.

Read the complete story on NewsOK.com

Republican presidents tend to nominate one of two types of administrator to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. The first is the centrist—think Christie Todd Whitman (2001-03)—who might be equally at home in a Democratic administration. The other is the fierce conservative—think Anne Gorsuch (1981-83)—who views the agency in a hostile light.

Scott Pruitt, whom the Senate confirmed Friday, 52-46, doesn’t fit either mold. His focus is neither expanding nor reducing regulation. “There is no reason why EPA’s role should ebb or flow based on a particular administration, or a particular administrator,” he says. “Agencies exist to administer the law. Congress passes statutes, and those statutes are very clear on the job EPA has to do. We’re going to do that job.” You might call him an EPA originalist.

Not that environmentalists and Democrats saw it that way. His was one of President Trump’s most contentious cabinet nominations. Opponents objected that as Oklahoma’s attorney general Mr. Pruitt had sued the EPA at least 14 times. Detractors labeled him a “climate denier” and an oil-and-gas shill, intent on gutting the agency and destroying the planet. For his confirmation hearing, Mr. Pruitt sat through six theatrical hours of questions and submitted more than 1,000 written responses.

Read the complete story on wsj.com

A longtime aide to Oklahoma Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe is expected to become the next chief of staff at U.S. EPA, according to sources close to the administration.

Ryan Jackson, who has climbed the ranks in Inhofe’s office for more than a decade and was staff director for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, is likely to become Scott Pruitt’s chief of staff if he wins confirmation as EPA’s next administrator, the sources said, although it’s unclear whether Jackson has formally been offered or accepted the position.

Jackson has been working on the team helping to guide Pruitt through the thorny Senate confirmation process. Senate Democrats and outside groups are fiercely opposed to Pruitt’s nomination, although he’s expected to ultimately win confirmation largely along partisan lines.

“Ryan’s focus is on assisting with Mr. Pruitt’s confirmation process and on his duties at the U.S. Senate,” said John Konkus, a member of Pruitt’s confirmation team, when asked about the chief of staff role.

Read the complete story on E&E News.