Dont ComplyAccording to ProPublica and The Frontier, staff at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission's oil division spent over a year building a case against Citation Oil & Gas after toxic wastewater surfaced in the Bayou oil field near Ardmore in 2023. State investigators blamed the company's injection wells, and the agency shut down the field's 22 injection wells. The outlets report that agency leaders, including then-oil division Director Robyn Strickland, declined to pursue punishment through the commission's administrative court. In April 2024 they allowed seven of 19 Citation wells to restart at pressures higher than consultants recommended. The commission has no record of ever fining Citation or completing an enforcement case against it. A commission spokesperson declined to answer questions, citing possible future proceedings. Citation declined to comment, and Strickland did not respond. Citation has argued the pollution stems from historic drilling and rainfall.
Why it matters
ProPublica reports that the commission has no record of fining or completing an enforcement case against the company named most often in its database of pollution reports and violations, and that less than a third of the oil division's enforcement cases since 2023 resulted in punishment. Federal officials had warned of potential endangerment to underground drinking water sources in the area.
These are unproven claims, and everyone named is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Researched with AI assistance from the sources listed here and reviewed under our methodology.