OKLAHOMA CITY — The state’s Emergency Drought Commission distributed $5 million in drought relief grants to various conservation districts across the state.
Commission members include State Agriculture Secretary Blayne Arthur; Julie Cunningham, executive director of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board; and Trey Lam, executive director of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission.
The Emergency Drought Commission directed the funding to the Conservation Commission for distribution through the Emergency Drought Cost-Share Program.
The $5 million remaining in the drought fund will be allocated by the Conservation Commission to conservation districts “based on the number of unfunded applications they had,” Lam said.
Northeastern Oklahoma apparently has the greatest need, based on the number of applications, Lam said.
The top five conservation districts with open applications are Nowata, Craig, Okfuskee, Dewey, and Pittsburg counties, while the bottom six are Tulsa, Marshall, and Little River (all three have no open applications), Jefferson (one open application), and Cleveland and Coal counties (one open application each), records show.
“Nowata County alone, which is a relatively small county, had over 200 applications,” Lam said.
More than 6,700 applications were submitted, and the program was designed for a maximum of $7,500 dollars per producer, he said. The Emergency Drought Commission approved grants of $1,234.57 apiece for 4,050 applications, ledgers reflect.
Drought relief grants were approved for projects such as drilling water wells, cleaning out livestock ponds, installing rural water taps, acquiring livestock water tanks, installing pumps and pipelines for water wells, and planting cover crops, Lam indicated.
“Considering the high cost of drilling a water well, the high cost of cleaning out a pond – everything is so expensive that if you give them only a minimum amount of money, then it is really not helping,” Lam said. “We wanted it to be significant enough that it helps them get through this drought, while at the same time spreading the funds as far around the state as we could.”
Grants approved in southwest Oklahoma conservation districts included:
• Comanche County Conservation District, 15 grants totaling $18,518.
• Cotton County CD, 20 grants for $24,691.
• Greer County CD, 20 grants, $24,691.
• Harmon County CD, four grants for $4,938.
• Jackson County CD, 19 grants, $23,457.
• Jefferson County CD, one grant for $1,234.57.
• Kiowa County CD, 47 grants, $58,024.
• North Caddo Conservation District, 36 grants, $44,444.
• North Fork of Red River Conservation District, 16 grants for $19,753.
• South Caddo Conservation District, 105 grants totaling $129,629.
• Stephens County CD, 33 grants, $40,740.
• Tillman County CD, 10 grants, $12,345.
• West Caddo Conservation District, 38 grants, $46,913.
Relief grants helped but more still needed
Considering the number of applications that were not funded but are “eligible and worthy,” several million more dollars could be spent right away on drought relief, Lam said.
“Over the next couple of months, as the receipts come in and people are actually getting paid, we will have an exact number and a better idea of what the need is, but I would say there is at least another $20 million in need out there,” he said.
Approximately 500 claims have already been paid, for producers who have already put in the work on their property and brought in the receipts to their local conservation district office, Lam said.
For individuals who have called to have drought relief work completed on their property but have been put on hold, Lam advised them to call their local conservation district office “and let them know they need an extension on that payment” so long as they can provide proof work has been scheduled to be completed.
“As those receipts come in and the producer gets back in, I should say in no more than a week they should have money in their hands,” Lam said.
Since Oklahoma is known for unpredictable weather, an idea was presented during the Emergency Drought Commission meeting to work on a more permanent solution for drought relief. Having money in an emergency drought fund, ready to be used if the governor declares a state of emergency, “would be more ideal than having to wait for an entire legislative cycle,” Lam said.
“We try to make this application easy,” he said. “It is not a lot of paperwork; it is not a book-worth of things or a bunch of computer entries. You come in, you pick your practice from the list, you fill out a one-page application, you go out and do the work. We have been doing those in most counties by random draw, simply because each person’s need was equal.”
All decisions of the commission are pending approval by Gov. Kevin Stitt.
KC Sheperd contributed to this report.