2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 27A. Environment and Natural Resources › §27A-1-1-202. State environmental agencies - Powers, duties and responsibilities.

A. Each state environmental agency shall:
1. Be responsible for fully implementing and enforcing the laws and rules within its jurisdictional areas of environmental responsibility;
2. Utilize and enforce the Oklahoma Water Quality Standards established by the Department of Environmental Quality;
3. Seek to strengthen relationships between state, regional, local and federal environmental planning, development and management programs;
4. Specifically facilitate cooperation across jurisdictional lines of authority with other state environmental agencies regarding programs to resolve environmental concerns;
5. Cooperate with all state environmental agencies, other state agencies and local or federal governmental entities to protect, foster, and promote the general welfare, and the environment and natural resources of this state;
6. Have the authority to engage in environmental and natural resource information dissemination and education activities within their respective areas of environmental jurisdiction; and
7. Participate in every hearing conducted by the Department of Environmental Quality for the consideration, adoption or amendment of the classification of waters of the state and standards of purity and quality thereof, and shall have the opportunity to present written comment to the members of the Environmental Quality Board at the same time staff recommendations are submitted to those members for Board review and consideration.
B. 1. In addition to the requirements of subsection A of this section, each state environmental agency shall have promulgated by July 1, 2001, a Water Quality Standards Implementation Plan for its jurisdictional areas of environmental responsibility in compliance with the Administrative Procedures Act and pursuant to the provisions of this section. Each agency shall review its plan at least every three (3) years thereafter to determine whether revisions to the plan are necessary.
2. Upon the request of any state environmental agency, the Department of Environmental Quality shall provide consulting assistance to such agency in developing a Water Quality Standards Implementation Plan as required by this subsection.
3. Each Water Quality Standards Implementation Plan shall:
a.
describe, generally, the processes, procedures and methodologies the state environmental agency will utilize to ensure that programs within its jurisdictional areas of environmental responsibility will comply with anti-degradation standards and lead to:
(1)
maintenance of water quality where beneficial uses are supported,
(2)
removal of threats to water quality where beneficial uses are in danger of not being supported, and
(3)
restoration of water quality where beneficial uses are not being supported,
b.
include the procedures to be utilized in the application of use support assessment protocols to make impairment determinations,
c.
list and describe programs affecting water quality,
d.
include technical information and procedures to be utilized in implementing the Water Quality Standards Implementation Plan,
e.
describe the method by which the Water Quality Standards Implementation Plan will be integrated into the water quality management activities within the jurisdictional areas of environmental responsibility of the state environmental agency,
f.
detail the manner in which the agency will comply with mandated statewide requirements affecting water quality developed by other state environmental agencies including, but not limited to, total maximum daily load development, water discharge permit activities and nonpoint source pollution prevention programs,
g.
include a brief summary of the written comments and testimony received pursuant to all public meetings held or sponsored by the state environmental agency for the purpose of providing the public and other state environmental agencies an opportunity to comment on the plan, and
h.
describe objective methods and means to evaluate the effectiveness of activities conducted pursuant to the Water Quality Standards Implementation Plan to achieve Oklahoma Water Quality Standards.
C. 1. Each state environmental agency with groundwater protection authority pursuant to Article III of the Oklahoma Environmental Quality Act shall be the groundwater protection agency for activities within its jurisdictional areas of environmental responsibility.
2. The Department of Environmental Quality shall cooperate with other state environmental agencies, as appropriate and necessary, in the protection of such unassigned activities.
3. Groundwater regulatory agencies shall develop groundwater protection practices to prevent groundwater contamination from activities within their respective jurisdictional areas of environmental responsibility.
4. Each groundwater protection agency shall promulgate such rules, and issue such permits, policies, directives or any other appropriate requirements, as necessary, to implement the requirements of this subsection.
5. Groundwater protection agencies shall take such action as may be necessary to assure that activities within their respective jurisdictional areas of environmental responsibility protect groundwater quality to support the uses of the state's water quality.
6. In addition, each groundwater protection agency with enforcement authority is hereby authorized to:
a.
engage the voluntary cooperation of all persons in the maintenance and protection of groundwater, and to advise, consult and cooperate with all persons, all agencies of the state, universities and colleges, the federal government or other states, and with interstate agencies in the furtherance of the purposes of this subsection, and to this end and for the purposes of studies, scientific or other investigations, research, experiments and demonstrations pertaining thereto, receive and spend funds as appropriated by the Legislature, and from such agencies and other officers and persons on behalf of the state,
b.
encourage the formulation and execution of plans to maintain and protect groundwater by cooperative groups or associations of municipal corporations, industries, industrial users and other users of groundwaters of the state, who, jointly or severally, are or may be impacting on the maintenance and protection of groundwater,
c.
encourage, participate in or conduct or cause to be conducted studies, scientific or other investigations, research, experiments and demonstrations relating to the maintenance and protection of groundwater, and to collect data with respect thereto, all as may be deemed advisable and necessary to carry out the purposes of this subsection, and to make reports and recommendations with respect thereto,
d.
conduct groundwater sampling, data collection, analyses and evaluations with sufficient frequency to ascertain the characteristics and quality of groundwater and the sufficiency of the groundwater protection programs established pursuant to this subsection, and
e.
develop a public education and promotion program to aid and assist in publicizing the need of, and securing support for, the maintenance and protection of groundwater.
D. Each state environmental agency and each state agency with limited environmental responsibilities shall participate in the information management system developed by the Department of Environmental Quality, pursuant to Section 1-4-107 of this title, with such information as the Department shall reasonably request.
E. In each even-numbered year, in cooperation with other state environmental agencies participating in the monitoring of water resources, the Department of Environmental Quality shall provide a report on the status of water quality monitoring to the Legislature for review.
Added by Laws 1993, c. 145, § 4, eff. July 1, 1993. Amended by Laws 1993, c. 324, § 1, eff. July 1, 1993; Laws 1999, c. 413, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 1999; Laws 2013, c. 227, § 5, eff. Nov. 1, 2013; Laws 2022, c. 185, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2022; Laws 2023, c. 164, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2023.