Dear Governor Henry:
On behalf of Oklahomans for Responsible Water Policy (ORWP) we are writing to express our deep concerns about a plan to assign the water storage rights in Sardis Lake to Oklahoma City (OKC), some surrounding towns, and the so-called Central Oklahoma Water Resources Authority (COWRA – an entity that we believe is privately funded). The plan would attempt to give COWRA and OKC the exclusive authority to determine how Sardis Lake storage for drinking water will be drawn and used.
OWRP is concerned because the COWRA/OKC plan is being executed quickly, without any notice to the public, and without taking the interests or concerns of Southeastern Oklahoma into account. The COWRA/OKC plan threatens any sustainable development in Southeastern Oklahoma, and has the appearance of a plan to avoid public scrutiny. While COWRA and other private interests may be interested in rushing this matter through to serve their final interests, we hope that the State Government will not be a party to such transactions.
We understand that the plan is partly justified by a recent decision in the case of U.S v. State of Oklahoma, Civil Action No. 98-CV-00521 (N.D. Okla. September 3, 2009). The decision finds Oklahoma in default on its financial obligations, and orders the State to pay the U.S Army Corps of Engineers approximately $28 million, with a first installment payment of $5 million to be made July 1, 2010.
Faced with the judgment, and at the same time with budget shortfalls, the State apparently entered into negotiations to assign the water storage rights in Sardis Lake to COWRA/OKC in exchange for the payment of the Army Corp obligations for which the State is in default.
There are other ways to resolve the State’s budget shortfall. Transferring the right to control an important natural resource to private entities, and to public entities that are hundreds of miles away – and doing it in a way that ignores Southeastern Oklahoma development needs is not just bad public policy – it is a recipe for conflict and dissension.
Certain details have come to light which bear out our concerns about the potential impacts of this proposed transaction. State Treasurer Scott Meacham’s letter to OKC and COWRA is attached. We understood until recently the Treasurer’s plan was not being acted upon until further consultation and study took place. Apparently and despite the obvious need for careful study and public input, the Treasurer is in fact moving forward, and in such great haste that even efforts to obtain Legislative approval, which we believe is required at a minimum and that he was pursuing until recently, now appear to have been abandoned.
The possible reasons for avoiding study and transparency are understandable. State Treasurer Meacham’s proposal includes, in paragraph 4, an unprecedented and questionable assurance concerning any application submitted by OKC/COWRA to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (the Board) to divert water from Sardis. The next paragraph confers on OKC/COWRA virtual veto power should any other entity seek a similar permit. And all of the OKC/COWRA corresponding obligations are expressly made subject to the requirement that the Board grant OKC/COWRA a substantial water diversion permit. Fulfillment of these terms will make the OKC/COWRA the Kiamichi River’s undisputed “water baron.” It will have obtained the State’s permanent storage rights in Sardis, which directly impacts our interests. OKC/COWRA would hold this power in perpetuity and at the handsome profit, all at the State’s expense.
An additional reason for avoiding public discourse and transparency may be an effort to avoid scrutiny of the transaction even from residents of Oklahoma City and the surrounding towns, who will bear the financial risks for hundreds of millions of dollars of bonds for construction of the facilities needed under this proposal, and the highly controversial possibility that Texas-based water districts and municipalities will be the initial and perhaps primary beneficiaries of this transaction because water stored in Sardis Lake can be released to flow down the Kiamichi River to be sucked into pipelines from Texas. So this entire deal is likely to turn out also to be a disguised method to sell water to Texas on either a short or long term basis, while imposing the financial risks involved in the transaction on the Oklahoma City residents.
Despite these issues, or perhaps because of them, no real planning is being considered. Important water use and environmental studies that have been proposed before the State moves forward, consideration of Oklahoma’s local interests, and related concerns that are normally addressed before a transaction of this magnitude is undertaken, appear to have been scrapped in favor of disposing of the State’s rights and ignoring those of other impacted parties under an artificial sense of urgency.
We believe there are more constructive ways to approach this situation than to use the resources of the State and OKC/COWRA – along with those of other concerned groups and citizens who may feel the need to get involved – on litigation, which is the inevitable result of Treasurer Meacham’s proposal.
We are calling on you to ensure that the interests of ALL Oklahoman’s are respected. We ask you to ensure that an “under the radar” plan is not rushed through in such a way that Southeastern Oklahoma’s interests are ignored. We hope that your good offices will work quickly to establish a transparent, public process that provides a way for understanding the plan, creating an equitable solution, and reducing future legal conflict.
If you cannot create such a process, the current plan will result in protracted and difficult litigation that will pull Oklahoma apart. Such litigation often takes on a life of its own, and once started it may not be possible to resolve the conflict in a way that benefits all of Oklahoma.
We would kindly request that your office immediately take the lead in bringing all interested parties together to explore and seriously consider all possible alternatives to the pending transaction.
We look forward to your earliest response.
Respectfully submitted,
Oklahomans for Responsible Water Policy