{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-27a-27a-1-1-202","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 27A, § 27A-1-1-202","heading":"State environmental agencies - Powers, duties and","body":"responsibilities.\n\nA. Each state environmental agency shall:\n\n1. Be responsible for fully implementing and enforcing the laws\n\nand rules within its jurisdictional areas of environmental\n\nresponsibility;\n\n2. Utilize and enforce the Oklahoma Water Quality Standards\n\nestablished by the Department of Environmental Quality;\n\n3. Seek to strengthen relationships between state, regional,\n\nlocal and federal environmental planning, development and management\n\nprograms;\n\n4. Specifically facilitate cooperation across jurisdictional\n\nlines of authority with other state environmental agencies regarding\n\nprograms to resolve environmental concerns;\n\n5. Cooperate with all state environmental agencies, other state\n\nagencies and local or federal governmental entities to protect,\n\nfoster, and promote the general welfare, and the environment and\n\nnatural resources of this state;\n\n6. Have the authority to engage in environmental and natural\n\nresource information dissemination and education activities within\n\ntheir respective areas of environmental jurisdiction; and\n\n7. Participate in every hearing conducted by the Department of\n\nEnvironmental Quality for the consideration, adoption or amendment\n\nof the classification of waters of the state and standards of purity\n\nand quality thereof, and shall have the opportunity to present\n\nwritten comment to the members of the Environmental Quality Board at\n\nthe same time staff recommendations are submitted to those members\n\nfor Board review and consideration.\n\nB. 1. In addition to the requirements of subsection A of this\n\nsection, each state environmental agency shall have promulgated by\n\nJuly 1, 2001, a Water Quality Standards Implementation Plan for its\n\njurisdictional areas of environmental responsibility in compliance\n\nwith the Administrative Procedures Act and pursuant to the\n\nprovisions of this section. Each agency shall review its plan at\n\nleast every three (3) years thereafter to determine whether\n\nrevisions to the plan are necessary.\n\n2. Upon the request of any state environmental agency, the\n\nDepartment of Environmental Quality shall provide consulting\n\nassistance to such agency in developing a Water Quality Standards\n\nImplementation Plan as required by this subsection.\n\n3. Each Water Quality Standards Implementation Plan shall:\n\na. describe, generally, the processes, procedures and\n\nmethodologies the state environmental agency will\n\nutilize to ensure that programs within its\n\njurisdictional areas of environmental responsibility\n\nwill comply with anti-degradation standards and lead\n\nto:\n\n(1) maintenance of water quality where beneficial\n\nuses are supported,\n\n(2) removal of threats to water quality where\n\nbeneficial uses are in danger of not being\n\nsupported, and\nrocedures and\n\nmethodologies the state environmental agency will\n\nutilize to ensure that programs within its\n\njurisdictional areas of environmental responsibility\n\nwill comply with anti-degradation standards and lead\n\nto:\n\n(1) maintenance of water quality where beneficial\n\nuses are supported,\n\n(2) removal of threats to water quality where\n\nbeneficial uses are in danger of not being\n\nsupported, and\n\n(3) restoration of water quality where beneficial\n\nuses are not being supported,\n\nb. include the procedures to be utilized in the\n\napplication of use support assessment protocols to\n\nmake impairment determinations,\n\nc. list and describe programs affecting water quality,\n\nd. include technical information and procedures to be\n\nutilized in implementing the Water Quality Standards\n\nImplementation Plan,\n\ne. describe the method by which the Water Quality\n\nStandards Implementation Plan will be integrated into\n\nthe water quality management activities within the\n\njurisdictional areas of environmental responsibility\n\nof the state environmental agency,\n\nf. detail the manner in which the agency will comply with\n\nmandated statewide requirements affecting water\n\nquality developed by other state environmental\n\nagencies including, but not limited to, total maximum\n\ndaily load development, water discharge permit\n\nactivities and nonpoint source pollution prevention\n\nprograms,\n\ng. include a brief summary of the written comments and\n\ntestimony received pursuant to all public meetings\n\nheld or sponsored by the state environmental agency\n\nfor the purpose of providing the public and other\n\nstate environmental agencies an opportunity to comment\n\non the plan, and\n\nh. describe objective methods and means to evaluate the\n\neffectiveness of activities conducted pursuant to the\n\nWater Quality Standards Implementation Plan to achieve\n\nOklahoma Water Quality Standards.\n\nC. 1. Each state environmental agency with groundwater\n\nprotection authority pursuant to Article III of the Oklahoma\n\nEnvironmental Quality Act shall be the groundwater protection agency\n\nfor activities within its jurisdictional areas of environmental\n\nresponsibility.\n\n2. The Department of Environmental Quality shall cooperate with\n\nother state environmental agencies, as appropriate and necessary, in\n\nthe protection of such unassigned activities.\n\n3. Groundwater regulatory agencies shall develop groundwater\n\nprotection practices to prevent groundwater contamination from\n\nactivities within their respective jurisdictional areas of\n\nenvironmental responsibility.\n\n4. Each groundwater protection agency shall promulgate such\n\nrules, and issue such permits, policies, directives or any other\n\nappropriate requirements, as necessary, to implement the\n\nrequirements of this subsection.\n\n5. Groundwater protection agencies shall take such action as\n\nmay be necessary to assure that activities within their respective\n\njurisdictional areas of environmental responsibility protect\n\ngroundwater quality to support the uses of the state's water\n\nquality.\n\n6. In addition, each groundwater protection agency with\n\nenforcement authority is hereby authorized to:\n\na. engage the voluntary cooperation of all persons in the\n\nmaintenance and protection of groundwater, and to\n\nadvise, consult and cooperate with all persons, all\n\nagencies of the state, universities and colleges, the\n\nfederal government or other states, and with\n\ninterstate agencies in the furtherance of the purposes\n\nof this subsection, and to this end and for the\n\npurposes of studies, scientific or other\n\ninvestigations, research, experiments and\n\ndemonstrations pertaining thereto, receive and spend\n\nfunds as appropriated by the Legislature, and from\n\nsuch agencies and other officers and persons on behalf\n\nof the state,\n\nb. encourage the formulation and execution of plans to\n\nmaintain and protect groundwater by cooperative groups\n\nor associations of municipal corporations, industries,\nfic or other\n\ninvestigations, research, experiments and\n\ndemonstrations pertaining thereto, receive and spend\n\nfunds as appropriated by the Legislature, and from\n\nsuch agencies and other officers and persons on behalf\n\nof the state,\n\nb. encourage the formulation and execution of plans to\n\nmaintain and protect groundwater by cooperative groups\n\nor associations of municipal corporations, industries,\n\nindustrial users and other users of groundwaters of\n\nthe state, who, jointly or severally, are or may be\n\nimpacting on the maintenance and protection of\n\ngroundwater,\n\nc. encourage, participate in or conduct or cause to be\n\nconducted studies, scientific or other investigations,\n\nresearch, experiments and demonstrations relating to\n\nthe maintenance and protection of groundwater, and to\n\ncollect data with respect thereto, all as may be\n\ndeemed advisable and necessary to carry out the\n\npurposes of this subsection, and to make reports and\n\nrecommendations with respect thereto,\n\nd. conduct groundwater sampling, data collection,\n\nanalyses and evaluations with sufficient frequency to\n\nascertain the characteristics and quality of\n\ngroundwater and the sufficiency of the groundwater\n\nprotection programs established pursuant to this\n\nsubsection, and\n\ne. develop a public education and promotion program to\n\naid and assist in publicizing the need of, and\n\nsecuring support for, the maintenance and protection\n\nof groundwater.\n\nD. Each state environmental agency and each state agency with\n\nlimited environmental responsibilities shall participate in the\n\ninformation management system developed by the Department of\n\nEnvironmental Quality, pursuant to Section 1-4-107 of this title,\n\nwith such information as the Department shall reasonably request.\n\nE. In each even-numbered year, in cooperation with other state\n\nenvironmental agencies participating in the monitoring of water\n\nresources, the Department of Environmental Quality shall provide a\n\nreport on the status of water quality monitoring to the Legislature\n\nfor review.","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":"51900f9fea8227cd923649db822e2958d2a5250bd35e64279eb6355a9f4b3430","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-27a-27a-1-1-201","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-27a-27a-1-1-203"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}