Sierra Club v. Chesapeake Operating, LLC et al.
United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
248 F. Supp.3d 1194 (2017)
The Sierra Club (plaintiff) sued oil and gas producers including Chesapeake Operating (defendants) under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, alleging their wastewater-injection wells caused a significant increase in earthquakes and seeking court orders to reduce injection activities, reinforce vulnerable structures, and establish an earthquake monitoring center; the producers moved to dismiss, arguing the court should defer to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, which had exclusive statutory jurisdiction over injection wells and had already adopted a federally-recommended wastewater management system, daily recording and integrity-test requirements, and directives reducing injection-well use, alongside a governor-formed coordinating council.
Whether an administrative agency should retain primary jurisdiction over an issue if the agency is better equipped than the court to resolve the issue.