Joe Wertz
Joe was a founding reporter for StateImpact Oklahoma (2011-2019) covering the intersection of economic policy, energy and environment, and the residents of the state. He previously served as Managing Editor of Urban Tulsa Weekly, as the Arts & Entertainment Editor at Oklahoma Gazette and worked as a Staff Writer for The Oklahoman. Joe was a weekly arts and entertainment correspondent for KGOU from 2007-2010. He grew up in Bartlesville, Okla. and studied journalism at the University of Central Oklahoma.
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Superfund was initially paid for by taxes on crude oil, chemicals and the companies that created the toxic waste sites. But those taxes expired in 1995, leaving states strapped to find the money. -
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt wants to clean up toxic Superfund sites faster. Cleanup in some places has dragged on for decades.
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As wind farms expand across the country some are facing new opposition. Military bases complain the tall turbines interfere with their training flights and safety of their pilots. -
Oklahoma's oil industry is spending millions on science lessons for public schools. But environmentalists say omitting climate change leaves students unprepared. -
Republican lawmakers in Oklahoma and other states plagued by budget shortfalls are doing something they swore they would never do: voting to raise taxes.
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Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has sparked controversy for his denial of climate science and his ties to fossil-fuel interests. Here's what to expect in Wednesday's confirmation hearing.
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This year could see a wave of state tax hikes on gasoline and diesel. Oklahoma is one of about a dozen states seriously considering increases.
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An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 hit Oklahoma on Saturday morning. StateImpact Oklahoma reporter Joe Wertz talks about earthquakes and their connections to oil and gas production.
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National parks are a big source of local pride, but about half the U.S. states don't have one. Oklahoma is among the park-less, but it wasn't always that way.
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In 2014, after disastrous spills and opposition from environmentalists, the EPA imposed new rules on the storage of coal ash. Two towns are pushing back against different ways of storing the ash.
