2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 82. Waters and Water Rights › §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;
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.