{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-52-52-139","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 52, § 52-139","heading":"Jurisdiction, powers and authority of Corporation","body":"Commission and Department of Environmental Quality.\n\nA. The Corporation Commission is vested with exclusive\n\njurisdiction, power and authority, and it shall be its duty, to make\n\nand enforce such rules and orders governing and regulating the\n\nhandling, storage and disposition of saltwater, mineral brines,\n\nwaste oil and other deleterious substances produced from or obtained\n\nor used in connection with the drilling, development, producing, and\n\noperating of oil and gas wells and brine wells within this state as\n\nare reasonable and necessary for the purpose of preventing the\n\npollution of the surface and subsurface waters in the state, and to\n\notherwise carry out the purpose of this section and Sections 140,\n\n141, 142, 143, and 144 of this title.\n\nB. 1. Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, the\n\nCorporation Commission is hereby vested with exclusive jurisdiction,\n\npower and authority, and it shall be its duty to promulgate and\n\nenforce rules, and issue and enforce orders governing and\n\nregulating:\n\na. the conservation of oil and gas,\n\nb. field operations for geologic and geophysical\n\nexploration for oil, gas and brine, including seismic\n\nsurvey wells, stratigraphic test wells and core test\n\nwells,\n\nc. the exploration, drilling, development, producing or\n\nprocessing for oil and gas on the lease site,\n\nd. the exploration, drilling, development, production and\n\noperation of wells used in connection with the\n\nrecovery, injection or disposal of mineral brines,\n\ne. reclaiming facilities only for the processing of salt\n\nwater, crude oil, natural gas condensate and tank\n\nbottoms or basic sediment from crude oil tanks,\n\npipelines, pits and equipment associated with the\n\nexploration, drilling, development, producing or\n\ntransportation of oil or gas,\n\nf. underground injection control pursuant to the federal\n\nSafe Drinking Water Act and 40 C.F.R., Parts 144\n\nthrough 148, including:\n\n(1) Class II injection wells,\n\n(2) Class V injection wells utilized in the\n\nremediation of groundwater associated with\n\nunderground or aboveground storage tanks\n\nregulated by the Corporation Commission,\n\n(3) those wells used for the recovery, injection, or\n\ndisposal of mineral brines as defined in the\n\nOklahoma Brine Development Act, and\n\n(4) any aspect of a CO2 sequestration facility or CO2\n\nstorage unit as part of a CO2 sequestration\n\nfacility, including associated Class VI CO2\n\ninjection wells, pursuant to the Oklahoma Carbon\n\nCapture and Geologic Sequestration Act,\n\ng. tank farms for storage of crude oil and petroleum\n\nproducts which are located outside the boundaries of\n\nthe refineries, petrochemical manufacturing plants,\n\nnatural gas liquid extraction plants, or other\n\nfacilities which are subject to the jurisdiction of\n\nthe Department of Environmental Quality with regard to\n\npoint source discharges,\n\nh. the construction and operation of pipelines and\n\nassociated rights-of-way, equipment, facilities or\n\nbuildings used in the transportation of oil, gas,\n\npetroleum, petroleum products, anhydrous ammonia or\n\nmineral brine, or in the treatment of oil, gas or\n\nmineral brine during the course of transportation but\n\nnot including line pipes associated with processing at\n\nor in any:\n\n(1) natural gas liquids extraction plant,\n\n(2) refinery,\n\n(3) reclaiming facility other than for those\n\nspecified within subparagraph e of this\n\nparagraph,\n\n(4) mineral brine processing plant, and\n\n(5) petrochemical manufacturing plant,\n\ni. the handling, transportation, storage and disposition\n\nof saltwater, mineral brines, waste oil and other\n\ndeleterious substances produced from or obtained or\n\nused in connection with the drilling, development,\n\nproducing and operating of oil and gas wells, at:\n\n(1) any facility or activity specifically listed in\n\nthis paragraph and paragraph 2 of this subsection\n\nas being subject to the jurisdiction of the\n\nCommission, and\nrines, waste oil and other\n\ndeleterious substances produced from or obtained or\n\nused in connection with the drilling, development,\n\nproducing and operating of oil and gas wells, at:\n\n(1) any facility or activity specifically listed in\n\nthis paragraph and paragraph 2 of this subsection\n\nas being subject to the jurisdiction of the\n\nCommission, and\n\n(2) other oil and gas extraction facilities and\n\nactivities,\n\nj. spills of deleterious substances associated with\n\nfacilities and activities specified in this paragraph\n\nor associated with other oil and gas extraction\n\nfacilities and activities, and\n\nk. subsurface storage of oil, natural gas and liquefied\n\npetroleum gas in geologic strata.\n\n2. The exclusive jurisdiction, power and authority of the\n\nCorporation Commission shall also extend to the construction,\n\noperation, maintenance, site remediation, closure and abandonment of\n\nthe facilities and activities described in paragraph 1 of this\n\nsubsection.\n\n3. When a deleterious substance from a Commission-regulated\n\nfacility or activity enters a point source discharge of pollutants\n\nor storm water from a facility or activity regulated by the\n\nDepartment of Environmental Quality, the Department shall have sole\n\njurisdiction over the point source discharge of the commingled\n\npollutants and storm water from the two facilities or activities\n\ninsofar as Department-regulated facilities and activities are\n\nconcerned.\n\n4. For purposes of the federal Clean Water Act, any facility or\n\nactivity which is subject to the jurisdiction of the Corporation\n\nCommission pursuant to paragraph 1 of this subsection and any other\n\noil and gas extraction facility or activity which requires a permit\n\nfor the discharge of a pollutant or storm water to waters of the\n\nUnited States shall be subject to the direct jurisdiction of the\n\nUnited States Environmental Protection Agency and shall not be\n\nrequired to be permitted by the Department of Environmental Quality\n\nor the Corporation Commission for such discharge.\n\n5. The Corporation Commission shall have jurisdiction over:\n\na. underground storage tanks that contain antifreeze,\n\nmotor oil, motor fuel, gasoline, kerosene, diesel, or\n\naviation fuel and that are not located at refineries\n\nor at upstream or intermediate shipment points of\n\npipeline operations, including, but not limited to,\n\ntanks from which these materials are dispensed into\n\nvehicles, or tanks used in wholesale or bulk\n\ndistribution activities, as well as leaks from pumps,\n\nhoses, dispensers, and other ancillary equipment\n\nassociated with the tanks, whether above the ground or\n\nbelow; provided, that any point source discharge of a\n\npollutant to waters of the United States during site\n\nremediation or the off-site disposal of contaminated\n\nsoil, media, or debris shall be regulated by the\n\nDepartment of Environmental Quality,\n\nb. aboveground storage tanks that contain antifreeze,\n\nmotor oil, motor fuel, gasoline, kerosene, diesel, or\n\naviation fuel and that are not located at refineries\n\nor at upstream or intermediate shipment points of\n\npipeline operations, including, but not limited to,\n\ntanks from which these materials are dispensed into\n\nvehicles, or tanks used in wholesale or bulk\n\ndistribution activities, as well as leaks from pumps,\n\nhoses, dispensers, and other ancillary equipment\n\nassociated with the tanks, whether above the ground or\n\nbelow; provided, that any point source discharge of a\n\npollutant to waters of the United States during site\n\nremediation or the off-site disposal of contaminated\n\nsoil, media, or debris shall be regulated by the\n\nDepartment of Environmental Quality, and\n\nc. the Petroleum Storage Tank Release Environmental\n\nCleanup Indemnity Fund and Program and the Oklahoma\n\nLeaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund.\n\n6. The Department of Environmental Quality shall have sole\nto waters of the United States during site\n\nremediation or the off-site disposal of contaminated\n\nsoil, media, or debris shall be regulated by the\n\nDepartment of Environmental Quality, and\n\nc. the Petroleum Storage Tank Release Environmental\n\nCleanup Indemnity Fund and Program and the Oklahoma\n\nLeaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund.\n\n6. The Department of Environmental Quality shall have sole\n\njurisdiction to regulate the transportation, discharge or release of\n\ndeleterious substances or hazardous or solid waste or other\n\npollutants from rolling stock and rail facilities. The Department\n\nof Environmental Quality shall not have any jurisdiction with\n\nrespect to pipeline transportation of carbon dioxide.\n\n7. The Department of Environmental Quality shall have sole\n\nenvironmental jurisdiction for point and nonpoint source discharges\n\nof pollutants and storm water to waters of the state from:\n\na. refineries, petrochemical manufacturing plants and\n\nnatural gas liquid extraction plants,\n\nb. manufacturing of oil and gas related equipment and\n\nproducts,\n\nc. bulk terminals, aboveground and underground storage\n\ntanks not subject to the jurisdiction of the\n\nCommission pursuant to this subsection, and\n\nd. other facilities, activities and sources not subject\n\nto the jurisdiction of the Corporation Commission or\n\nOklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry\n\nas specified by this section.\n\n8. The Department of Environmental Quality shall have sole\n\nenvironmental jurisdiction to regulate air emissions from all\n\nfacilities and sources subject to operating permit requirements\n\nunder Title V of the federal Clean Air Act, as amended.\n\nC. The Corporation Commission shall comply with and enforce the\n\nOklahoma Water Quality Standards.\n\nD. 1. For the purpose of immediately responding to emergency\n\nsituations having potentially critical environmental or public\n\nsafety impact and resulting from activities within its jurisdiction,\n\nthe Commission may take whatever necessary action, without notice\n\nand hearing, including the expenditure of monies from the\n\nCorporation Commission Revolving Fund, to promptly respond to the\n\nemergency. Such emergency expenditure shall be made pursuant to the\n\nprovisions of the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act, upon such terms\n\nand conditions established by the Office of Management and\n\nEnterprise Services to accomplish the purposes of this section.\n\nThereafter, the Commission shall seek reimbursement from the\n\nresponsible person, firm or corporation for all expenditures made\n\nfrom the Corporation Commission Revolving Fund. Any monies received\n\nas reimbursement shall be deposited to the credit of the Corporation\n\nCommission Revolving Fund.\n\n2. The Commission shall not expend from any fund in the State\n\nTreasury, in any fiscal year, for the purposes herein provided, an\n\namount of money in excess of the total sum specifically authorized\n\nannually by the Legislature for such purposes. Any monies received\n\nby the Commission through execution on any required surety shall not\n\nbe subject to such limitation on expenditure for remedial action.\n\n3. Neither the Commission nor any independent contractor of the\n\nCommission authorized to conduct remedial action under this section\n\nshall be held liable or responsible for any damages resulting from\n\nnon-negligent actions reasonably necessary for conducting remedial\n\nwork. Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of the\n\nCommission or relieve any person or persons otherwise legally\n\nresponsible from any obligation to prevent or remediate pollution.","path":["OK Code","Title 52"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os52.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"fe9f7c4f73d572224c28e48d6dcb7eb92513f9b29aca9e6c827ae636ad822fc4","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-52-52-138","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-52-52-140"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}