Oil Companies Contaminated a Family Farm. The Courts and Regulators Let the Drillers Walk Away.
Oil Companies Contaminated a Family Farm. The Courts and Regulators Let the Drillers Walk Away.
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Oil Companies Contaminated a Family Farm. The Courts and Regulators Let the Drillers Walk Away.
"We’ve gone out and made our living and done what we were supposed to do, and we wanted to have a relaxed, peaceful life,” Steve said. “And it has been anything but that."
Landowner said this and I can't tell if he's being ironic or not. This is the biggest problem in the world today. People go out and get theirs without consideration for anyone else and then boo hoos when they eventually are left holding the bag. Sucks to suck but that's the society you supported your entire life.
Did you even read the article? Due to the way Oklahoma law works the family owns the land and farm, but the oil companies have the "mineral rights" underneath which obligates the family to let them drill even after they tried in the courts to stop it.
Oklahoma law allows the oil companies to drill an unlimited number of wells on only a $25,000 bond. So they just don't clean up the wells and let the state have the bond because it's cheaper.
The problem is the state, not the family. Nowhere does it mention the family selling their rights to the minerals underneath or anything like that.
I fail to see how the family is supporting the oil industry.
I actually did read the article, including where the guys parents allowed the companies to drill on their property multiple times and were even paid by the oil company for a small part of what was taken from their land. That's my point. It was fine before the consequences, but now that the consequences have arrived, it's some form of tragedy. No. It isn't. You and your parents were paid for the risk. You don't get to plead austerity when you salted your own fields with greed decades ago.
This guy and his parents got theirs for over 100 years out of this land and are now crying because their decisions allowed them to destroy it. We need another flood for people like this.