The power of local communities to regulate oil and natural gas activities inside their city limits could be curtailed under several bills introduced at the Oklahoma Legislature.

At least eight bills have been filed that would stop cities and counties from banning drilling operations, including proposals from top leaders in the House and Senate.

The measures come as some residents in Norman and Stillwater call for limits or bans on drilling and hydraulic fracturing.

Stillwater’s city council last week rejected a ban on drilling on zoned agricultural land, but it directed city attorneys to come up with a new proposal on setbacks from well sites. Norman residents have held several forums on how the city might limit oil and gas development, although nothing concrete has been considered by city officials.