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Gaylord News is a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication

Gaylord News

Gaylord News is a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication

Gaylord News

Gaylord News is a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication

Gaylord News

The Environmental Defense Fund has mapped orphaned wells in Oklahoma. There are at least 15,965 orphaned wells throughout the state, not including those located within the boundaries of the Osage Nation. Copyright © 2024 Environmental Defense Fund. Used by permission. The original material is available at http://edf.org.

Two Indigenous Nations in Oklahoma to receive funds for orphaned wells

Kevin Eagleson September 9, 2024

The Biden-Harris administration recently announced over $12 million in grant funding will be distributed to Indigenous nations, including two nations in Oklahoma, to clean up legacy pollution through the...

From left,  Siyu Zhu, Codie Horse-Topetchy, Sebastian C. Ferraro and Haifan Xiao accept first- place honors at the University of Oklahoma’s Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Research and Activity Day on March 1 for their poster over the study. (Photo courtesy of Siyu Zhu)

Study finds climate change intensifies hazard risk for Okahoma’s Native Americans

Kayden Anderson June 24, 2024

NORMAN, Okla. - A recent study by University of Oklahoma researchers concludes that climate change is likely to intensify hazard risk and social injustice for Native Americans, who make up the most vulnerable...

A stream flows slowly on a fall afternoon in Oklahoma's Wichita Mountains wildlife refuge and wilderness area. (Photo by Julia Manipella/Gaylord News)

‘Congress really needs to step in’: Oklahoma farmers, others say they’re still in limbo after years of shifting Waters of the U.S. rules

Maddy Keyes September 8, 2023

WASHINGTON – For decades, the definition of "waters of the United States" has been a contentious issue, with multiple administrations trying and failing to settle which waters fall under federal jurisdiction. Last...

A funnel cloud hovers over OU’s campus. It never touched down on campus and provided evidence for a historical myth. (Gaylord News photo/Michael Buchanan)

Storm that killed 3 came closest in years to proving existence of 125-year-old myth about OU

Kayden Anderson April 27, 2023

NORMAN, Oklahoma – Storms that ripped through central Oklahoma April 19 came the closest in years to proving a myth that Native American beliefs may have protected the University of Oklahoma for more...

A creek near Cushing, Oklahoma, will remain under state environmental jurisdiction as long as the WOTUS rule is suspended.  (Gaylord News Photo/Brooklyn Wayland)

Federal judge pauses Biden’s WOTUS in 26 states pending high court decision

Noah Mack April 14, 2023

WASHINGTON - Oklahoma has joined over half of the country in halting a Biden administration rule that would expand federal environmental regulations over the nation’s water bodies, throwing the state’s...

Oil and natural gas wells require concrete to seal the area between the well casing and the surrounding borehole. (MIT photo)

First steps taken to address Oklahoma’s long standing orphaned well problem

Beck Connelley September 26, 2022

WASHINGTON – Oklahoma is set to receive a federal grant to begin addressing an orphaned well problem that has plagued the state for decades. Since the discovery of oil in the late 1800s, an estimated...

Mining debris is all that remains more than a decade after Picher, Oklahoma, was declared unlivable and evacuated by the U.S. EPA.  (Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality)

Quapaw Tribe awaits action on bill to settle environmental damages

Nancy Marie Spears October 6, 2021

WASHINGTON -- Members of the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma are awaiting action on legislation that would authorize $137.5 million in payments to conclude a 17-year dispute over the federal government’s mismanagement...

Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., speaking in Congress about the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in spring 2020. Haaland is the first Native American selected to run a Cabinet agency after the Senate confirmation of her nomination to be the next secretary of Interior. Photo courtesy House of Representatives

Senate makes history with confirmation of Deb Haaland as Interior secretary

Sarah Oven, Reporter March 15, 2021

WASHINGTON – The Senate made history Monday with its confirmation of New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland as the next Interior secretary, making her the first Native American to head a Cabinet agency. The...

Jimmy Kinder’s farm in Walters. Kinder said if water from his ponds were to spill into Deep Red Creek, then Cache Creek and into the Red River, he could be subject to federal regulation under the Obama-era ruling. Photo provided by Jimmy Kinder.

Oklahoma farmers relieved following upholding of water rule

Joseph Tomlinson, Reporter February 9, 2021

WASHINGTON — Oklahoma farmers expressed optimism about the Senate’s 51-49 vote to uphold the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which replaced an Obama-era regulation farmers...

Close congressional race feeds off negative energy

Jessie Christopher Smith and Emma Sears October 30, 2020

WASHINGTON — The financial windfall for Oklahoma City television stations is about to end.  For many viewers it can’t come soon enough. Perhaps Democratic incumbent Kendra Horn and her challenger...

The Radar Operations Center, located at the National Weather Center (pictured) in Norman, Okla., coordinates meteorological and engineering support for 122 weather forecasting offices across the US. Photo courtesy University of Oklahoma

Oklahoma technicians key to fixing D.C. radar

Jessie Christopher Smith, Reporter October 5, 2020

WASHINGTON -- A team of six technicians from Oklahoma’s Radar Operations Center arrived Saturday in Virginia to repair the main Doppler weather radar for the U.S. capital. The National Weather Service’s...

Babbling creek runs through property in Cushing Oklahoma.

Final steps taken to replace Obama-era WOTUS rule

KaraLee Langford April 22, 2020

The Trump Administration took a crucial step to complete a years-long process to replace the 2015 Obama-era Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule that Oklahoma farmers criticized as a disastrous land...

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