Oklahoma Farm Bureau Vice President of Public Policy Steve Thompson believes this year’s Oklahoma legislative session pacing has been historically fast. “Everybody is truly scrambling to make sure there is not something that anyone has missed or that your bases are covered,” he said.
After several years of drought, water is a primary legislative issue, Thompson said.
“We have had probably four or five predominant bills kind of geared at western Oklahoma,” Thompson said. “We were reading today about the drought map and how good it looks relative to where we have been, and one of the reasons we noticed that is because of what we are used to, unfortunately, for the last few years.”
This bill primarily concerns western Oklahoma, which Thompson said is aimed at the Upper Red River Basin. Additionally, he claims the bill would completely rewrite the way Oklahoma water law works.
“It has some dangerous implications as written that would take away some groundwater rights, particularly in the northern end of that basin, and comingle some of that with surface water rights, which we handle totally differently,” Thompson said.
Several other bills involving water concern issues like water metering, measurement and water usage. Thompson emphasized that there is currently no way to verify how much water is actually being used, adding a growing necessity to meter water wells.
Producers are open to the idea of measuring water usage, but are concerned by the potential financial impact of new technologies, her said. “Make no mistake, these are significant potential policy changes in Oklahoma.”
He believes the next two weeks of legislation will be critical, adding that if producers follow the law, there is no reason they should be sued because of things happening outside of their farm or ranch. “There are many sources that impact the water supply in eastern Oklahoma, and a lot of times, it is things outside of our state,” Thompson said.