Proposed Rules, Regulations Could Shake Up Oklahoma Oil Industry

Emergency groups from around the state said they haven't received any reports of damage from the earthquake that startled a lot of people out of their sleep early Monday morning.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake that struck at 3:50 a.m. has been upgraded to a 4.7 magnitude.

It was centered near Medford, Oklahoma, and some of our Facebook users said they felt it as far as Joplin, about 200 miles away.

The USGS initially set a magnitude of 4.5 but revised it.

The earthquake is just one of the latest that has federal regulators shaken up about oil producers and their practices, and why they want to tighten the rules.

Monday, oil producers in Osage County made their case to government officials for why things should stay the same.

It was a heated meeting that lasted roughly three hours as, one by one, local oil producers told members of the federal government to leave the current rules and regulations alone.

A single document, written by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, sparked outrage from hundreds of oil industry workers in Osage County.

Read The Full Document

The document is an Environmental Impact Statement. It outlines a slew of proposed rules, meant to protect the landscape and wildlife from destruction.

Rules like, no drilling within 500 feet of a stream and no pump jacks on top of hills.

Oil producers like Shane Matson said, if the proposals pass, they'll devastate their businesses.

"They don't come back. It would be the end of the industry and further depress the economy of the county," Matson said.

The majority of the comments sided with him, as workers in the industry said they're already fighting low oil prices and don't need more hoops to jump through.

But, land owners like Malinda Friend said the federal rules would protect them, finally giving them a voice against irresponsible oil producers.

Friend said, "I think that's the only voice we have at this point, so I support it. I wish it didn't have to go that extreme, but it's the only avenue we have right now."

Both sides said the future is at stake; for one, it's the future of the industry. For the other, it's the future of their environment.

"Our daughter, our granddaughter, her children, are gonna live with these wells, this destruction, sitting in their backyard for the rest of their lives," Friend said.

The Osage County Oil Producers Association has filed two lawsuits against the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the past. It mentioned the possibility of filing another.

The BIA is also accepting comments by email at osagecountyoilandgaseis@bia.gov. They ask all comments be submitted by December 21, 2015.