HB 2895

Contact: State Rep. Debbie Blackburn
Capitol: (405) 557-7396
Oklahoma City: (405) 525-0656
Source: Oklahoma House of Representatives Media Division

OKLAHOMA CITY (March 7) -- A second measure to restrict the out-of-state sale of Oklahoma water floated through the House of Representatives on Thursday.

House Bill 2895 by Rep. Debbie Blackburn, D-Oklahoma City, was approved 95-0 by the House and was referred to the Senate, where it is sponsored by Sen. Kevin Easley, D-Broken Arrow.

It offers an alternative to House Joint Resolution 1038 by Rep. Mike Mass, D-Higgins, a constitutional amendment that would require a statewide vote of the people before any large volume of water from anywhere in Oklahoma could be sold or exported out-of-state. The House endorsed HJR 1038 on Wednesday, by a vote of 93-4.

Among its key provisions, HB 2895 would impose a five-year moratorium on out-of-state bulk sales of Oklahoma water. No state agency, board, commission, committee, department, or other political subdivision such as a municipality or county, could sell or export Oklahoma water without the consent of the Legislature.

The out-of-state sale or exportation of bottled water “for human consumption or for other consumer uses” would be exempt from the requirement.

So would the out-of-state sale or exportation of eight million gallons of water or less per month (approximately one-quarter-million gallons per day) by any single private water owner, such as a rural water district. But prior approval from the Legislature would be required to sell or export out-of-state more than eight millions gallons of water per month.

HB 2895 would mandate an analysis of the quality and quantity of water supplies in Oklahoma. It also would create an ad hoc panel to make recommendations about the conservation, protection, development, management, and sustainability of Oklahoma’s water resources.

All residents of Oklahoma have an inherent interest in the “orderly and coordinated control, protection, management, conservation, development and utilization of the water resources of the state,” HB 2895 declares. Oklahomans who live in areas where waters originate “benefit from the optimum development and utilization of water within the area of origin,” while residents in water deficient areas of Oklahoma “may benefit by being able to use excess and surplus waters.”

In HB 2895 the Legislature acknowledges that the conservation and beneficial use of the water resources of Oklahoma are of “paramount importance to the continued growth and prosperity of agriculture, industry, municipalities, recreational activities and the general welfare...”

The measure also declares that it is necessary to “revitalize Oklahoma’s comprehensive state water plan for the prudent utilization” of the natural resource.

Accordingly, HB 2895 would create a 21-member “blue ribbon water study and planning panel” known as the Statewide Water Policy Planning Commission.

The purpose of the commission would be “to study, investigate, examine and analyze issues relating to a comprehensive statewide water study and plan...” The commission would be directed to “consider and make recommendations regarding”:

“the existing situation” concerning water and its myriad uses in Oklahoma;

infrastructure needs of Oklahoma communities;

the ability to sustain Oklahoma’s water supply over a lengthy period;

methods for developing, managing, protecting and conserving water resources of the entire state while enabling economic growth and development to proceed;

guidance principles for beneficial uses of water “which reflect the public interest of the entire state”;

state and federal laws that might affect the disposition of waters in this state;

various water management strategies, including improved conservation, recycling and management of existing water supplies, preparation for and response to drought conditions “in order that sufficient water at the highest quality possible will be available at a reasonable cost to ensure public health, safety and welfare, further economic development, and to protect the agricultural, recreational and natural resources”;

out-of-basin water sales and/or transfers;

defining and determining “excess and surplus” water.

The state’s Administrative Code defines excess or surplus water as “that amount of water which is greater than the present or reasonably foreseeable future water requirements needed to satisfy all beneficial uses within an area of origin.” The term “reasonably foreseeable” is considered to be 50 years because it represents the outer limits of reliable population and water requirement forecasting, and it represents the minimum life span of most major water supply projects in Oklahoma.

Members of the Statewide Water Policy Planning Commission would include representatives of the Oklahoma Rural Water Association, an irrigation association, an agricultural organization, a wildlife organization, an environmental group, the independent oil and gas industry, the electricity generation industry, “private industry in this state,” the Association of County Commissioners of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Municipal League, the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts, the Association of Regional Councils, four members of the state Legislature, a resident of the Panhandle, one from northwestern Oklahoma and another from southwestern Oklahoma, one from the southeastern quadrant of the state and one from northeastern Oklahoma.

The commission would be expected to submit interim reports to the Legislature and the Governor by Jan. 1 each year, and a final report by Jan. 1, 2005.

House Bill 2895 decrees that until recommendations of the Water Policy Planning Commission result in adoption of legislation, it would be the policy of this state to:

encourage the use in Oklahoma of this state’s surplus and excess water;

maximize the alternatives available for the use and benefit of all Oklahoma citizens and Oklahoma water-user entities;

store water during periods of surplus supply, for use during periods of short supply, and store that water “in the area of usage”;

develop water use within Oklahoma “to the maximum extent feasible for the benefit of Oklahoma residents,” so that out-of-state downstream users will not acquire vested rights to that water “to the detriment of residents of this state”.