Chloe Bennett-Steele

1 week ago | kosu.org | Chloe Bennett-Steele |Chloe Bennett

The Oklahoma City Council approved a $500,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in June to remediate properties with environmental contaminants like asbestos or mold. The project will last four years. Brownfields are typically more challenging to develop than other sites because of the contaminants, requiring extra care and oversight.

1 week ago | kosu.org | Chloe Bennett-Steele |Chloe Bennett

During its June 18 meeting, Corporation Commissioners heard energy demand projections and updates from representatives of the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), which supplies power to Oklahoma and 13 other states, and utilities PSO and OG&E. The multi-hour series of presentations delivered similar messages: the state, like the rest of the country, will see significant energy demand that is likely to outgrow its current supply.

3 weeks ago | kosu.org | Logan Layden |Beth Wallis |Jillian Taylor |Chloe Bennett-Steele

Oklahoma lawmakers spent much of their time this session crafting an income tax cut and pushing it through to the governor. They spent another large chunk of the session playing Whac-A-Mole with problems at the state mental health department, holding committee hearings to investigate a $30 million budget hole and ultimately removing department leadership in the final hours of the legislative session.

1 month ago | kosu.org | Chloe Bennett-Steele |Chloe Bennett

The legislation was written by Senators Todd Gollihare (R-Kellyville) and Grant Green (R-Wellston) with Rep. Trey Caldwell (R-Faxon) serving as the House author. The bill requires the OCC to permit utilities to charge customers for the construction costs of new or expanded facilities, as long as they use natural gas. The construction-work-in-progress expense recovery is not new, but is usually given to companies on a case-by-case basis.