Oklahoma Statutes
Title 27A. Environment and Natural Resources
§27A-1-1-202. State environmental agencies - Powers, duties and responsibilities.

A. Each state environmental agency shall:

1. Be responsible for fully implementing and enforcing the laws and rules within its jurisdictional areas of environmental responsibility;
2. Utilize and enforce the Oklahoma Water Quality Standards established by the Department of Environmental Quality;
3. Seek to strengthen relationships between state, regional, local and federal environmental planning, development and management programs;
4. Specifically facilitate cooperation across jurisdictional lines of authority with other state environmental agencies regarding programs to resolve environmental concerns;
5. Cooperate with all state environmental agencies, other state agencies and local or federal governmental entities to protect, foster, and promote the general welfare, and the environment and natural resources of this state;
6. Have the authority to engage in environmental and natural resource information dissemination and education activities within their respective areas of environmental jurisdiction; and
7. Participate in every hearing conducted by the Department of Environmental Quality for the consideration, adoption or amendment of the classification of waters of the state and standards of purity and quality thereof, and shall have the opportunity to present written comment to the members of the Department of Environmental Quality at the same time staff recommendations are submitted to those members for Board review and consideration.
B. 1. In addition to the requirements of subsection A of this section, each state environmental agency shall have promulgated by July 1, 2001, a Water Quality Standards Implementation Plan for its jurisdictional areas of environmental responsibility in compliance with the Administrative Procedures Act and pursuant to the provisions of this section. Each agency shall review its plan at least every three (3) years thereafter to determine whether revisions to the plan are necessary.
2. Upon the request of any state environmental agency, the Department of Environmental Quality shall provide consulting assistance to such agency in developing a Water Quality Standards Implementation Plan as required by this subsection.
3. Each Water Quality Standards Implementation Plan shall:
C. 1. Each state environmental agency with groundwater protection authority pursuant to Article III of the Oklahoma Environmental Quality Act shall be the groundwater protection agency for activities within its jurisdictional areas of environmental responsibility.
2. The Department of Environmental Quality shall cooperate with other state environmental agencies, as appropriate and necessary, in the protection of such unassigned activities.
3. Groundwater regulatory agencies shall develop groundwater protection practices to prevent groundwater contamination from activities within their respective jurisdictional areas of environmental responsibility.
4. Each groundwater protection agency shall promulgate such rules, and issue such permits, policies, directives or any other appropriate requirements, as necessary, to implement the requirements of this subsection.
5. Groundwater protection agencies shall take such action as may be necessary to assure that activities within their respective jurisdictional areas of environmental responsibility protect groundwater quality to support the uses of the state's water quality.
6. In addition, each groundwater protection agency with enforcement authority is hereby authorized to:
D. Each state environmental agency and each state agency with limited environmental responsibilities shall participate in the information management system developed by the Department of Environmental Quality, pursuant to Section 1-4-107 of this title, with such information as the Department shall reasonably request.
E. In each even-numbered year, in cooperation with other state environmental agencies participating in the monitoring of water resources, the Department of Environmental Quality shall provide a report on the status of water quality monitoring to the Legislature for review.
Added by Laws 1993, c. 145, § 4, eff. July 1, 1993. Amended by Laws 1993, c. 324, § 1, eff. July 1, 1993; Laws 1999, c. 413, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 1999; Laws 2013, c. 227, § 5, eff. Nov. 1, 2013; Laws 2022, c. 185, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2022.

Oklahoma Statutes Title 27A. Environment and Natural Resources §27A-1-1-202. State environmental agencies - Powers, duties and responsibilities.

Oklahoma Statutes
Title 27A. Environment and Natural Resources
§27A-1-1-202. State environmental agencies - Powers, duties and responsibilities.