{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-27a-27a-1-1-201","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 27A, § 27A-1-1-201","heading":"Definitions","body":"As used in the Oklahoma Environmental Quality Act:\n\n1. “Clean Water Act” means the federal Water Pollution Control\n\nAct, 33 U.S.C., Section 1251 et seq., as amended;\n\n2. “Discharge” includes but is not limited to a discharge of a\n\npollutant, and means any addition of any pollutant to waters of the\n\nstate from any point source;\n\n3. “Environment” includes the air, land, wildlife, and waters\n\nof the state;\n\n4. “Federal Safe Drinking Water Act” means the federal law at\n\n42 U.S.C., Section 300 et seq., as amended;\n\n5. “Groundwater protection agencies” include the:\n\na. Oklahoma Water Resources Board,\n\nb. Oklahoma Corporation Commission,\n\nc. State Department of Agriculture,\n\nd. Department of Environmental Quality,\n\ne. Conservation Commission, and\n\nf. Department of Mines;\n\n6. “Nonpoint source” means the contamination of the environment\n\nwith a pollutant for which the specific point of origin may not be\n\nwell defined and includes but is not limited to agricultural storm\n\nwater runoff and return flows from irrigated agriculture;\n\n7. “N.P.D.E.S.” or “National Pollutant Discharge Elimination\n\nSystem” means the system for the issuance of permits under the\n\nFederal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 U.S.C., Section 1251 et\n\nseq., as amended;\n\n8. “Point source” means any discernible, confined and discrete\n\nconveyance or outlet including but not limited to any pipe, ditch,\n\nchannel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure container, rolling\n\nstock or vessel or other floating craft from which pollutants are or\n\nmay be discharged into waters of the state. The term “point source”\n\nshall not include agricultural storm water runoff and return flows\n\nfrom irrigated agriculture;\n\n9. “Pollutant” includes but is not limited to dredged spoil,\n\nsolid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge,\n\nmunitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive\n\nmaterials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar\n\ndirt and industrial, municipal, and agribusiness waste;\n\n10. “Pollution” means the presence in the environment of any\n\nsubstance, contaminant or pollutant, or any other alteration of the\n\nphysical, chemical or biological properties of the environment or\n\nthe release of any liquid, gaseous or solid substance into the\n\nenvironment in quantities which are or will likely create a nuisance\n\nor which render or will likely render the environment harmful or\n\ndetrimental or injurious to public health, safety or welfare, or to\n\ndomestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, or\n\nother legitimate beneficial uses, or to livestock, wild animals,\n\nbirds, fish or other aquatic life, or to property;\n\n11. “Source” means any and all points of origin of any wastes,\n\npollutants or contaminants whether publicly or privately owned or\n\noperated;\n\n12. “State agencies with limited environmental\n\nresponsibilities” means:\n\na. the Department of Public Safety,\n\nb. the Department of Labor, and\n\nc. the Department of Civil Emergency Management;\n\n13. “State environmental agency” includes the:\n\na. Oklahoma Water Resources Board,\n\nb. Oklahoma Corporation Commission,\n\nc. State Department of Agriculture,\n\nd. Oklahoma Conservation Commission,\n\ne. Department of Wildlife Conservation,\n\nf. Department of Mines, and\n\ng. Department of Environmental Quality;\n\n14. “Storm water” means rain water runoff, snow melt runoff,\n\nand surface runoff and drainage;\n\n15. “Total maximum daily load” means the sum of individual\n\nwasteload allocations (W.L.A.) for point sources, safety, reserves,\n\nand loads from nonpoint sources and natural backgrounds;\n\n16. “Waste” means any liquid, gaseous or solid or semi-solid\n\nsubstance, or thermal component, whether domestic, municipal,\n\ncommercial, agricultural or industrial in origin, which may pollute\n\nor contaminate or tend to pollute or contaminate, any air, land or\nindividual\n\nwasteload allocations (W.L.A.) for point sources, safety, reserves,\n\nand loads from nonpoint sources and natural backgrounds;\n\n16. “Waste” means any liquid, gaseous or solid or semi-solid\n\nsubstance, or thermal component, whether domestic, municipal,\n\ncommercial, agricultural or industrial in origin, which may pollute\n\nor contaminate or tend to pollute or contaminate, any air, land or\n\nwaters of the state;\n\n17. “Wastewater” includes any substance, including sewage, that\n\ncontains any discharge from the bodies of human beings or animals,\n\nor pollutants or contaminating chemicals or other contaminating\n\nwastes from domestic, municipal, commercial, industrial,\n\nagricultural, manufacturing or other forms of industry;\n\n18. “Wastewater treatment” means any method, technique or\n\nprocess used to remove pollutants from wastewater or sludge to the\n\nextent that the wastewater or sludge may be reused, discharged into\n\nwaters of the state or otherwise disposed and includes, but is not\n\nlimited to, the utilization of mechanized works, surface\n\nimpoundments and lagoons, aeration, evaporation, best management\n\npractices (BMPs), buffer strips, crop removal or trapping,\n\nconstructed wetlands, digesters or other devices or methods.\n\n“Treatment” also means any method, technique or process used in the\n\npurification of drinking water;\n\n19. “Wastewater treatment system” means treatment works and all\n\nrelated pipelines or conduits, pumping stations and force mains, and\n\nall other appurtenances and devices used for collecting, treating,\n\nconducting or discharging wastewater;\n\n20. “Waters of the state” means all streams, lakes, ponds,\n\nmarshes, watercourses, waterways, wells, springs, irrigation\n\nsystems, drainage systems, storm sewers and all other bodies or\n\naccumulations of water, surface and underground, natural or\n\nartificial, public or private, which are contained within, flow\n\nthrough, or border upon this state or any portion thereof, and shall\n\ninclude under all circumstances the waters of the United States\n\nwhich are contained within the boundaries of, flow through or border\n\nupon this state or any portion thereof. Provided, waste treatment\n\nsystems, including treatment ponds or lagoons designed to meet\n\nfederal and state requirements other than cooling ponds as defined\n\nin the Clean Water Act or rules promulgated thereto and prior\n\nconverted cropland are not waters of the state; and\n\n21. “Wellhead protection area” means the surface and subsurface\n\narea surrounding a water well or wellfield supplying a public water\n\nsystem that defines the extent of the area from which water is\n\nsupplied to such water well or wellfield.","path":["OK Code","Title 27A"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os27A.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"292e6d0ff0902a05a5892c8230ad43671992d541cf2e169c69b101f55c6f9e85","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-27a-27a-1-1-102","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-27a-27a-1-1-202"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}