{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-82-82-1020.15","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 82, § 82-1020.15","heading":"Waste prohibited - Enforcement","body":"A. The Oklahoma Water Resources Board shall not permit any\n\ngroundwater user to commit waste by:\n\n1. Drilling a well, taking, or using groundwater without a\n\npermit, except for domestic use;\n\n2. Taking more groundwater than is authorized by the permit;\n\n3. Taking or using groundwater in any manner so that the water\n\nis lost for beneficial use;\n\n4. Transporting groundwater from a well to the place of use in\n\nsuch a manner that there is an excessive loss in transit;\n\n5. Using groundwater in such an inefficient manner that\n\nexcessive losses occur;\n\n6. Allowing any groundwater to reach a pervious stratum and be\n\nlost into cavernous or otherwise pervious materials encountered in a\n\nwell;\n\n7. Permitting or causing the pollution of a fresh water strata\n\nor basin through any act which will permit fresh groundwater\n\npolluted by minerals or other waste to filter or otherwise intrude\n\ninto such a basin or subbasin. The Board shall be precluded from\n\ndetermining whether waste by pollution will occur pursuant to the\n\nprovisions of this paragraph if the activity for which the applicant\n\nor water user intends to or has used the water as specified under\n\nSection 1020.9 of this title is required to comply with rules and\n\nrequirements of or is within the jurisdictional areas of\n\nenvironmental responsibility of the Department of Environmental\n\nQuality or the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and\n\nForestry;\n\n8. Drilling wells and producing groundwater therefrom except in\n\naccordance with the well spacing previously determined by the Board;\n\n9. Using groundwater for air conditioning or cooling purposes\n\nwithout providing facilities to aerate and reuse such water; or\n\n10. Failure to properly plug abandoned water wells in\n\naccordance with rules of the Board and file reports thereof.\n\nB. Except as otherwise provided by paragraph 7 of subsection A\n\nof this section, any employee of the Board having evidence that an\n\nact of waste is being committed in his or her presence, or after\n\ninvestigation of a complaint filed by another individual, shall take\n\nsteps to assure that the waste ceases. Such steps shall include but\n\nshall not be limited to pursuing voluntary compliance, obtaining the\n\nissuance of a cease and desist order by the Executive Director,\n\ninstituting action in a court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin\n\nthe waste, pursuing a suspension of any permit or other\n\nadministrative remedies by the Board, and filing a complaint in the\n\ndistrict court of the county wherein such violation has occurred,\n\nand it shall be the duty of the district attorney of said county to\n\nprosecute such complaint.\n\nC. In cases of waste by pollution pursuant to paragraph 7 of\n\nsubsection A of this section, any complaint or investigation, or any\n\nenforcement matter other than an individual proceeding involving the\n\nsuspension of an Oklahoma Water Resources Board permit shall be\n\nreferred to and subject to the jurisdiction of the Department of\n\nEnvironmental Quality or other appropriate state environmental\n\nagency or state agency with limited environmental responsibility.","path":["OK Code","Title 82"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os82.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"0434ed28471450517462a7972d80dbb88d418f5f54aa63a13843a5a054c37ad9","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-82-82-1020.14","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-82-82-1020.16"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}