“The subsurface pressures from that injected waste have caused a wave of disposal-induced earthquakes in northern Oklahoma,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also claims the federal government did not conduct a proper environmental impact analysis when it approved the diversion of water from the Cimarron River for drilling operations in the area.

The lawsuit describes Echo-Hawk as living on a Pawnee Indian allotment along the Cimarron River, downstream from leases challenged in the case.

Echo-Hawk is also a partial owner of two Indian allotments affected by oil and gas leases approved by the federal government that “threaten Mr. Echo-Hawk’s health and well-being, affect his enjoyment of his home, the river, and his community, and impact the value of his property,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims the BIA approved at least 17 oil and gas leases on Pawnee tribal allotments in 2013, all without going through proper environmental studies required by the National Environmental Policy Act.

“Because BIA failed to analyze the leases under NEPA, it never considered the reasonably foreseeable impacts of developing those leases, such as the effects of hydraulic fracturing and wastewater disposal,” according to the lawsuit.

In addition to violating the NEPA, the lawsuit claims the federal agencies have approved drilling permits that failed to follow the Administrative Procedures Act, American Indian Agricultural Resource Management Act of 1993, National Historic Preservation Act and an executive order regarding development in a floodplain.

Curtis Killman 918-581-8471 curtis.killman@tulsaworld.com Twitter: @loucardfan61

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