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37-576: The Water Resources Board is overseen by the Secretary of Energy and Environment. Under Governor Mary Fallin , Michael Teague is serving as the Secretary. Oklahoma has a unique set of water rights statues based on groundwater and streamwater. The owner of land owns the groundwater underlying such land and surface water standing on the land, however the Oklahoma Water Resources Board regulates non-domestic use. Stream water

74-862: A federal appeals court has ruled (Tarrant Regional Water District v. Herrmann, 10th Cir., No. 10-6184, 9/7/11). Because the Red River Compact, (which apportions rights to water from the Red River among Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana) was approved by Congress, the Oklahoma statutes did not violate the “dormant” commerce clause, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit concluded in its decision of September 7, 2011. The dormant commerce clause refers to previous judicial interpretations that states cannot limit interstate commerce even in matters in which Congress has not acted. By approving

111-455: A mark is often the result of a flood , but high water marks may reflect an all-time high, an annual high (highest level to which water rose that year) or the high point for some other division of time. Knowledge of the high water mark for an area is useful in managing the development of that area, particularly in making preparations for flood surges. High water marks from floods have been measured for planning purposes since at least as far back as

148-612: Is a member of the Oklahoma Governor's Cabinet . The Secretary is appointed by the Governor, with the consent of the Oklahoma Senate , to serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The Secretary serves as the chief advisor to the Governor on environmental policy development and implementation. The last Secretary was Gary Sherrer , who was appointed by Governor Mary Fallin on January 14, 2011. The current Secretary of

185-485: Is an important habitat for a variety of animals . In parts of the United Kingdom , sandhoppers such as Talitrus saltator and the seaweed fly Coelopa frigida are abundant in the rotting seaweed, and these invertebrates provide food for shore birds such as the rock pipit , turnstone and pied wagtail , and mammals such as brown hares , foxes , voles and mice . One kind of high water mark

222-604: Is considered to be publicly owned and subject to appropriation by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. In Oklahoma, streamwater is defined to include “water in ponds, lakes, reservoirs, and playa lakes ” (or dry lakes). Streamwater is considered to be publicly owned; the Oklahoma Water Resources board is responsible for appropriation for all areas of the State of Oklahoma except the Grand River basin, where

259-481: Is defined as being use by individuals “for household purposes, lawns, orchards, and cattle watering up to the normal grazing capacity, plus use of up to 5 acre-feed per year for agricultural my natural individuals, firefighting, and use by non-individuals for drinking water, restrooms, and lawn watering. The U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) gives the Federal Government

296-407: Is not set by law. As such, it is left to the Governor to determine the Secretary's salary. Despite this, if the Secretary serves as the head of State agency, the Secretary receives the higher of the two salaries. Currently Secretary Sherrer has elected to not receive compensation while serving as secretary. The Secretary of Environment oversees the following state entities: The Secretary represents

333-508: Is responsible for an annual budget of $ 590 million. The Secretary heads the Office of the Secretary of Environment , which is a state agency. The Mission Statement of the Office is: The staff of the Office serves as the immediate staff to the Secretary. Although well funded, the Office has a very limited staff: only four full-time employees including the Secretary. As of 2012, the following are

370-408: Is the ordinary high water mark or average high water mark , the high water mark that can be expected to be produced by a body of water in non-flood conditions. The ordinary high water mark may have legal significance and is often being used to demarcate property boundaries . The ordinary high water mark has also been used for other legal demarcations. For example, a 1651 analysis of laws passed by

407-638: The Governor of Oklahoma before the following entities: The Secretary also oversees the Clean Energy Independence Commission, the Encouraging Conservation in Oklahoma (ECO) Task Force and various other conservation and sustainability efforts of the State government. Ordinary high water mark A high water mark is a point that represents the maximum rise of a body of water over land. Such

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444-507: The Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) has responsibility for allocation on a use-it or lose-it basis. Groundwater is considered a property right in Oklahoma, and defined as “fresh water (less than 5,000 parts per million total dissolved solids) under the surface of the earth regardless of geologic structure in which it is standing or moving outside the cut bank of any definite stream” Oklahoma Water Resources Board permits

481-442: The natural resources and wildlife of the State. The primary duties assigned to the Secretary by law are as follows: As the State's official Trustee for Natural Resources, the Secretary ensures that natural resources and the services they provide that are injured or lost because of contamination are restored for the benefit of the State. As of fiscal year 2012 , the Secretary of Environment oversees 981.9 full-time employees and

518-410: The "ordinary high water mark" (OHWM) as "that line on the shore established by the fluctuations of water and indicated by physical characteristics such as a clear, natural line impressed on the bank, shelving, changes in the character of soil, destruction of terrestrial vegetation, the presence of litter and debris, or other appropriate means that consider the characteristics of the surrounding areas. For

555-803: The English Parliament notes that for persons granted the title Admiral of the English Seas , "the Admirals power extended even to the high water mark, and into the main streams". In the United States , the high water mark is also significant because the United States Constitution gives Congress the authority to legislate for waterways, and the high water mark is used to determine the geographic extent of that authority. Federal regulations (33 CFR 328.3(e)) define

592-728: The Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust (OUT) sought to purchase rights to a large quantities of water from Sardis Lake . OUT successfully negotiated approval of this purchase from the OWRB. Many residents in Pushmataha and Latimer Counties, where Sardis Lake is located, objected for various reasons. These two counties had previously been part of the Choctaw Nation when the present state of Oklahoma had been part of Indian Territory. The Choctaws claim that

629-491: The Secretary of Environment ensure that state environmental agencies management activities are well coordinated and of high quality. The offices of the Office of the Secretary of Energy and the Office of the Secretary of the Environment were merged in 2013, creating the Office of the Secretary of Energy and Environment. The Secretary of Environment is responsible for overseeing the development, management and protection of

666-632: The States, while States may claim ownership of the beds of rivers based on the Equal footing doctrine, the Commerce clause established a “ Navigable servitude ” on all lands and on all state-created water rights allowing Congress to enact laws that have the effect of overriding state laws on water use. This “navigation servitude” is described to exist on lands and water up to the “ ordinary high water mark ” of streams that are navigable . The Commerce Clause of

703-530: The U.S. Constitution has also been interpreted to allow Congress to regulate water used for Hydropower purposes and a state can not refuse to block a hydro-project by refusing to issue a water permit, with the exception being through the Section 401 of the Clean Water Act . -- a state may withhold a water quality certification for the federal hydropower license. In 2010, Oklahoma City, represented by

740-710: The United States had granted them authority over water resources in their land in the 1830 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, prior to the enforced emigration from their ancestral homeland to Indian Territory. The national governments of the Five Civilized Tribes had been extinguished immediately prior to Oklahoma statehood in 1907. State officials claim that treaties signed by the tribes after the Civil War relinquished tribal rights, and therefore they can no longer make such claims. The state had simply ignored

777-509: The authority to regulate commerce among the States. This power impacts water used in Oklahoma for both navigation and for generating hydropower. However, a federal appeals court ruled on whether the Oklahoma laws violate the Commerce Clause. The finding was that the laws do not violate the clause. Texas—Oklahoma laws favoring in-state applicants for water permits were authorized by Congress when it approved an interstate water compact,

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814-556: The authorized positions within the Office: The Office of the Secretary has a very large budget for the size of its staff. For Fiscal Year 2013, with only 4 employees, the Office has an annual budget of $ 12 million. Less than $ 350 thousand of that budget is actually dedicated to employee compensation and operating expenses. The remaining $ 11.65 million (or 95%) of the budget is used as grants for State and local agencies with environmental responsibilities. The vast majority of

851-400: The civilizations of ancient Egypt . It is a common practice to create a physical marker indicating one or more of the highest water marks for an area, usually with a line at the level to which the water rose, and a notation of the date on which this high water mark was set. This may be a free-standing flood level sign or other marker, or it may be affixed to a building or other structure that

888-568: The compact intended to ensure that downstream states receive their fair share of water in dry years did not preempt the Oklahoma laws. It affirmed a lower court ruling. This ruling would be definitively affirmed in a unanimous opinion by Justice Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court on June 13, 2013 in Tarrant Regional Water Dist. v. Herrmann , 569 U.S. 614. Because waterways are used to transport goods among

925-501: The compact, which the court said “explicitly defers to and recognizes plenary state authority over water use,” Congress gave the states “broad regulatory authority” in “unqualified terms,” allowing Oklahoma to put restrictions on interstate water transactions. The court also rejected claims by the Tarrant Regional Water District, an agency that provides water in north central Texas, that specific language in

962-464: The footing needed to seek legal protection of those rights. If Oklahoma wins this case... tribal water rights could be severely impaired and the future social and economic wealth of all the tribes in the state could be jeopardized, beginning with the Choctaw and Chickasaw." The entire state of Oklahoma is covered by four separate interstate compacts concerning all surface water that flows into or out of

999-799: The former nations in negotiating water rights since statehood. In order to halt the execution of the Sardis Lake agreement, the Chickasaws filed suit in 2011. An article published in the Tulsa Law Review describes the potential legal ramifications for this case: "If the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations successfully obtain either full or substantial rights to the waters in Sardis Reservoir, other federally-recognized tribes that have water rights not yet formally recognized may have

1036-560: The funds to support the Office comes from the Environmental Protection Agency , particularly under the authority of the Clean Water Act . Only 1% of the budget comes from yearly appropriations from the Oklahoma Legislature , with 99% as grants coming from the United States federal government . The annual salary of the Secretary of Environment is one of the few Cabinet Secretary positions which

1073-654: The original Supreme Court Decision dealt with mineral rights under the river bed, aspects of the case may impact water rights in the State of Oklahoma. Created in 1957, the nine-member Board is composed of one member from each of five congressional districts, with the remaining members-at-large. Members serve seven-year terms. Members represent recreational, industrial, irrigation, municipal, agricultural, soil conservation, and rural residential water uses. The Board administers financial assistance programs to fund eligible public water supply and wastewater treatment projects and improvements. The Board also administers water use permits,

1110-655: The purposes of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act , the OHWM defines the lateral limits of federal jurisdiction over non-tidal water bodies in the absence of adjacent wetlands. For the purposes of Sections 9 and 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 , the OHWM defines the lateral limits of federal jurisdiction over traditional navigable waters of the US. The OHWM is used by the United States Army Corps of Engineers ,

1147-495: The state. These interstate compacts are agreements written by impacted states and approved by the United States Congress. The compacts are the equivalent to treaties between the states in that the rules and regulations of a Compact Commission (the administrative agency set up to administer the agreements) have the full impact of federal law. As the result of a Supreme Court Decision, it was decided that three of

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1184-570: The successor office, the Office of the Secretary of Energy and Environment, is Michael Teague. The Office of the Secretary of Environment was established in 1993 to provide greater oversight to the environmental activities of the State government. The Office was established, along with the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality , by the Oklahoma Environmental Quality Act of 1993. The Act directed

1221-399: The top of a beach where debris is deposited is an example of this phenomenon. Where there are tides , this line is formed by the highest position of the tide, and moves up and down the beach on a fortnightly cycle . The debris is chiefly composed of rotting seaweed , but can also include a large amount of litter , either from ships at sea or from sewage outflows. The strandline

1258-683: The tribes of Indian Territory were the owners of a portion of the Arkansas River bed. The Arkansas Riverbed Authority is an entity created jointly by the Chickasaw , Choctaw and Cherokee Nations to administer the tribally owned stretch of the Arkansas River between Muskogee Oklahoma, and Ft. Smith, Arkansas. To settle pending damage claims, the Congress passed the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw Nations Claims Settlement Act , While

1295-641: The water well drillers licensing program, dam safety, floodplain management programs, the Clean Lakes program, and promulgates state water quality standards. The Water Resources Board, with an annual budget of about $ 20 million, is one of the smaller employers of the State. For fiscal year 2011, the Board was authorized 101 full-time employees. Oklahoma Secretary of the Environment The Oklahoma Secretary of Environment

1332-404: The withdrawal of groundwater on a use-it or lose-it basis. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission has jurisdiction over taking, using or disposal of salt water associated with the exploration, production or recovery of oil and gas or to the taking, using or disposal of water trapped in producing mines. The Domestic Use of either Groundwater or Streamwater is exempt from permitting. Domestic use

1369-411: Was standing at the time of the flood that set the mark. A high water mark is not necessarily an actual physical mark, but it is possible for water rising to a high point to leave a lasting physical impression such as floodwater staining. A landscape marking left by the high water mark of ordinary tidal action may be called a strandline and is typically composed of debris left by high tide. The area at

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