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Judge dismisses Oklahoma earthquakes lawsuit against oil and natural gas producers

Posted at 11:10 AM, Apr 05, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-05 21:01:14-04

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A judge has dismissed a lawsuit against three oil and natural gas producers over Oklahoma's ongoing earthquake swarm.

The Oklahoman reports a lawsuit filed last year on behalf of Sierra Club Oklahoma asked for a reduction of production waste from companies, including Devon Energy Corp., Chesapeake Energy Corp., and New Dominion LLC.

The group wants an independent earthquake monitoring and prediction center to analyze the wastewater volumes and connections to induced seismicity.

But Judge Stephen P. Friot ruled Tuesday that the Oklahoma Corporation commission is the best to determine the "highly complex and technical issue" of how much disposed wastewater is acceptable to avoid seismic activity.

Sierra Club Oklahoma Director Johnson Bridgwater says Oklahoma's actions to address the earthquakes haven't gone far enough.

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