STATE OF OKLAHOMA

1st Session of the 53rd Legislature (2011)

HOUSE BILL 1931	By:	Lockhart

AS INTRODUCED

An Act relating to waters and water rights; requiring certain environmental agencies to assist the Oklahoma Water Resources Board in developing a strategic plan for the Lake Wister watershed; stating purpose of the plan; directing the Board to coordinate with certain environmental agencies on creating a restoration and protection strategy; requiring submission of the strategy by a certain date; specifying information and actions to be included in the strategy; requiring an annual progress report; requiring submission of the progress report; stating contents of the progress report; providing for codification; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1091 of Title 82, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A.  The Department of Environmental Quality, the Corporation Commission, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry, the Department of Wildlife Conservation and the Oklahoma Conservation Commission shall assist the Oklahoma Water Resources Board in developing a strategic plan for improving water quality and in preventing and eliminating the pollution of waters in Lake Wister and within the Lake Wister watershed.
B.  1.  The Oklahoma Water Resources Board shall coordinate with the appropriate state environmental agencies to create a coordinated watershed-based restoration and protection strategy for the Lake Wister watershed.  The strategy shall be submitted to the Governor, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by July 1, 2012.
2.  The coordinated watershed-based restoration and protection strategy shall include but not be limited to:
a.	identification of all permitted or registered water pollution sources,
b.	an overall pollutant-specific load reduction as identified in a developed total maximum daily load (TMDL), or as otherwise calculated in the absence of a developed total maximum daily load, to bring Lake Wister back into compliance with water quality standards,
c.	pollutant-specific load reduction goals for each state environmental agency to accomplish through its water quality protection programs,
d.	detailed compliance schedules indicating how much of the load reduction goal will be accomplished each year by each state environmental agency,
e.	industry-specific descriptions of how load reduction goals for each state environmental agency will be accomplished,
f.	an outline of innovative, cooperative intrastate and interstate strategies that will be pursued in order to expedite pollutant reductions, 
g.	a collection and review of testing data on the type and level of carcinogens, bacteria and other pathogenic organisms that are present in Lake Wister, and
h.	a description of pollution reduction efforts that will be pursued including but not limited to:
(1)	the construction and use of floating wetland, rip rap structures, and
(2)	the availability of a poultry litter subsurfacer machine for use by property owners within the watershed.
C.  1.  The Oklahoma Water Resources Board shall coordinate with the appropriate state environmental agencies to create an annual progress report.  The progress report shall be submitted to the Governor, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
2.  The annual progress report shall include any revisions and updates to the information provided in the original strategy.
SECTION 2.  It being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is hereby declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and be in full force from and after its passage and approval.

53-1-6529	KB	01/20/11