03/09/2020
Update on Senate Bill 1742
I wanted to take a moment to reach out and make sure everyone is aware of a bill that is making its way through the Oklahoma Legislature and assure you that CPASA is in communication with our legislative leaders on our concerns with this bill.
Many of you have probably been reading the various news reports over the past couple of weeks regarding Senate Bill 1742 by Senator Kim David and Representative Harold Wright, which is seeking to expedite the Oklahoma Water Resources Board’s groundwater permitting process. We’ve been told that this bill was filed in response to frustrations expressed to both of the authors over the OWRB’s continuing backlog and delay in processing groundwater permit applications. Unfortunately, while we certainly share these concerns about the agency’s inaction, the “solutions” proposed by this legislation are simply unacceptable.
SB1742 seeks to expedite the permitting process by limiting the ability of concerned citizens to protest a groundwater permit application. It would also shift the responsibility of approving groundwater permits from the full membership of the OWRB and allowing the Executive Director of the agency to approve these permits administratively, without the oversight of the members of the full Board, with whom the statutory responsibility for the protection and oversight of Oklahoma’s water resources currently rests.
Let me assure you that we are in constant communication with Senator Frank Simpson, State Senator David Bullard,
Senator Greg McCortney, Speaker Charles McCall, and Representative Dustin Roberts, and have been since this bill was initially filed prior to the Legislature convening. They are all well-aware of our concerns and are working to do what they can to prevent this bill from moving forward.
SB1742 was passed out of the Senate Energy Committee on February 20th and is currently awaiting action by the full Senate. This Thursday, March 12th, is the deadline by which the bill must be passed by the Senate in order to proceed to consideration by the House of Representatives. With that in mind, we are keeping a very close eye on this and will keep you updated on any new developments, as well as alerting you if action by CPASA members becomes necessary to stop this.
As always, we appreciate all the work you do to help us protect our precious water resources. We couldn't do what we do without everyone's support.
Amy Anne Ford, CPASA President
Amy Waller Ford
