U.S. Water News Online
OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma Water Resources Board approved a scaled down version of a request to use a billion gallons of water from the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer to irrigate a pecan orchard in Sulphur.
After a brief executive session, five board members voted in favor of a temporary permit to allow Carolyn Hunt Sparks of Sulphur to use up to 1,800 acre feet (586 million gallons) annually to water 800 acres of pecan trees. The permit must be renewed in a year.
An administrative law judge who heard the case earlier this year recommended the board approve the request.
The board members' decision encompasses conflicts between old water usage laws and a newer measure approved by the Legislature in 2003 that limits use permits if the proposed use would harm the aquifer.
Legislators drafted the measure in an effort to protect the springs and creeks fueled by the aquifer.
The Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer underlies more than 500 square miles in south-central Oklahoma and is a principal source of drinking water for an estimated 39,000 Oklahomans.
Under old law, property owners can use up to 2 acre feet of water for every acre of land they own, if the use of the water is appropriate.
Using this interpretation, Sparks, who owns nearly 1,600 acres of land in Johnston County, would have been entitled to almost double the amount of water approved.
Her attorney, former water board Executive Director James Barnett, said he wasn't sure whether his client would appeal the case.
"We haven't had an opportunity to really review the order yet, so it is too soon for us to say for sure whether additional action is needed," Barnett said.
The Sparks permit was the first Arbuckle-Simpson groundwater permit request to be considered since the Legislature approved the law in 2003.
Numerous environmental groups opposed Sparks application, including the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Those groups claimed Sparks' proposed permit would harm the aquifer and its springs, streams and rivers.
Attorney Jason Aamodt, who represented rancher John Bruno of Tishomingo in a fight against Sparks' request, said his client is also considering whether the board's decision should be appealed in court.
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