Oklahoma § 82-1020.15 - Waste prohibited - Enforcement

§ 82-1020.15. Waste prohibited - Enforcement

A. The Oklahoma Water Resources Board shall not permit any

groundwater user to commit waste by:

1. Drilling a well, taking, or using groundwater without a

permit, except for domestic use;

2. Taking more groundwater than is authorized by the permit;

3. Taking or using groundwater in any manner so that the water

is lost for beneficial use;

4. Transporting groundwater from a well to the place of use in

such a manner that there is an excessive loss in transit;

5. Using groundwater in such an inefficient manner that

excessive losses occur;

6. Allowing any groundwater to reach a pervious stratum and be

lost into cavernous or otherwise pervious materials encountered in a

well;

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 82. Waters and Water Rights

7. Permitting or causing the pollution of a fresh water strata

or basin through any act which will permit fresh groundwater

polluted by minerals or other waste to filter or otherwise intrude

into such a basin or subbasin. The Board shall be precluded from

determining whether waste by pollution will occur pursuant to the

provisions of this paragraph if the activity for which the applicant

or water user intends to or has used the water as specified under

Section 1020.9 of this title is required to comply with rules and

requirements of or is within the jurisdictional areas of

environmental responsibility of the Department of Environmental

Quality or the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and

Forestry;

8. Drilling wells and producing groundwater therefrom except in

accordance with the well spacing previously determined by the Board;

9. Using groundwater for air conditioning or cooling purposes

without providing facilities to aerate and reuse such water; or

10. Failure to properly plug abandoned water wells in

accordance with rules of the Board and file reports thereof.

B. Except as otherwise provided by paragraph 7 of subsection A

of this section, any employee of the Board having evidence that an

act of waste is being committed in his or her presence, or after

investigation of a complaint filed by another individual, shall take

steps to assure that the waste ceases. Such steps shall include but

shall not be limited to pursuing voluntary compliance, obtaining the

issuance of a cease and desist order by the Executive Director,

instituting action in a court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin

the waste, pursuing a suspension of any permit or other

administrative remedies by the Board, and filing a complaint in the

district court of the county wherein such violation has occurred,

and it shall be the duty of the district attorney of said county to

prosecute such complaint.

C. In cases of waste by pollution pursuant to paragraph 7 of

subsection A of this section, any complaint or investigation, or any

enforcement matter other than an individual proceeding involving the

suspension of an Oklahoma Water Resources Board permit shall be

referred to and subject to the jurisdiction of the Department of

Environmental Quality or other appropriate state environmental

agency or state agency with limited environmental responsibility.

Added by Laws 1972, c. 248, § 15, eff. July 1, 1973. Amended by

Laws 1993, c. 145, § 322, eff. July 1, 1993; Laws 2001, c. 330, § 2,

emerg. eff. June 1, 2001; Laws 2006, c. 184, § 1, emerg. eff. May

23, 2006; Laws 2019, c. 508, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2019.