Stillwater City Council sets date to tackle new oil & gas regulations

Yesterday evening the Stillwater City Council took another step closer to considering passage of an ordinance to update oil & gas drilling regulations which have not been changed since 1978. Over thirty people braved bad weather to attend as well.

Before voting on a motion for a date to have a public hearing concerning the new ordinance formulated and approved by the Stillwater Planning Commission, the City Council first heard a public comment from Ariel Ross representing the Stop Fracking Payne County citizens group who urged the council to set a date as soon as legally possible since it involves the health and well being of the city.  Another resident named Angel Bravo, formerly a resident of Denton, Texas, warned the City Council that even though Denton residents voted to pass stringent regulations, the oil & gas industry regularly violated those regulations. 

After a spirited debate among the councilors, a motion by Councilor Miguel Najera to move consideration of the new oil & gas ordinance to June 1 was defeated by a 2 to 3 vote. This led to further debate involving whether to delay until seeing if the state legislature would negate the ordinance with the passage of a new law to block municipalities from passing oil and gas regulations. The differences of opinion on the importance of this consideration were settled when Councilor Pat Darlington motioned for a vote on setting April 6 as the soonest date which passed with a 3 to 2 vote. 

Anyone wishing to view the City Council meeting can do so by going online to stillwater.org and then following the videos on-demand (two steps) icons to arrive at the 2/23/15 Stillwater City Council- Regular meeting. 

The Gayly – February 26, 2015 @ 11:55am.