Senate committee considers bill requiring measurement for commercial groundwater permits

At a state Senate committee meeting, members considered Senate Bill 1008, a water-rights measure that would require commercial groundwater permit holders, excluding domestic wells, to implement water-use measurement systems and submit annual usage reports, Mr. Murdock said.

The bill, presented under a committee substitute by the sponsor, would create a five-year flexible allocation system intended for management and conservation and “encourages landowners to utilize data to plan and manage their water usage more efficiently,” the sponsor said. The substitute was accepted for consideration by unanimous consent and seconded, the record shows; Senators Burns and Bullard were named as having seconded the motion to move the substitute forward.

During questioning, the sponsor said the requirement is intended to rely on measurement methods many irrigators already use. “I’m gonna hedge my bets here a little bit. I’m gonna say 90% of the irrigators out there right now is using some form of measurement,” the sponsor said, adding that property owners in Oklahoma hold groundwater rights and have managed their own water for years. The sponsor also named the Oklahoma Groundwater Association and the Panhandle Irrigators Association as parties involved in developing the compromise language.

Committee members posed no further formal amendments during the discussion. The chair indicated the committee would hear the sponsor’s presentation first and noted one member (Senator Petersen) might need to leave early for a family medical matter. At the close of discussion, Mr. Murdock said, “Water is a big issue. It was a big issue 1000 years ago and it’s gonna be a big issue moving into the future forever.”

No roll-call vote on final passage was recorded in the transcript provided; the committee agreed by unanimous consent to consider the committee substitute and proceeded to questions for the sponsor.