Oklahoma Statutes FORBIDS the pollution of a municipal water supply
The City of Norman holds the power to DENY passage through the Lake Thunderbird Watershed and over the Garber-Wellington Aquifer.
The Oklahoma Constitution is LONG. It contains 30 articles and over 150,000 words, and is significantly longer than the average state constitution (~26,000 words). Oklahoma’s constitution is known for its detailed provisions and numerous amendments, reflecting the state’s historical context and legislative changes over time.
Maybe that’s just a nice way to say that it is verbose and unnecessarily complex. Vermont figured out how to say all the legal stuff it needed in only 8,500 words. FREEDOM and UNITY!
The Oklahoma Constitution is the foundational legal document that outlines the structure, powers, and functions of the state government. It sets forth the principles and framework by which the state is governed, including the separation of powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches as well as the rights and liberties of the citizens of Oklahoma.
But all the lively legal lore are lodged in the Oklahoma STATUTES, which is where we are headed to find a lift from long lost (and forgotten) legislatively created law.
The Oklahoma Statutes are laws enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature within the framework established by the Oklahoma Constitution. Statutes cover a wide range of specific issues and details, including criminal and civil law, education, health, transportation and more. They are more detailed and subject to more frequent changes and updates than the constitution.
In fact, the statutes change A LOT. In the second session of the 59th Oklahoma Legislature (Spring 2024), the legislative legal staff drafted more than 8000 bills at the request of our legislators. The legislative body discussed more than 3000 of these bills in committee and on the floor and most likely many others in closed-door meetings. By the end of the session, they had agreed to send 520 bills to the Governor’s office for signature; he signed 488 into law and vetoed 32 (a few of the vetoes were overridden).
In summary, the Oklahoma Constitution provides the foundational legal structure, while the Oklahoma statutes consist of detailed laws enacted within that structure.
Have you read either document closely?
For example, are all the laws necessary or still relevant? Like this one, for example….
We aren’t the only state to have this provision. Apparently in Missouri it’s a misdemeanor. It pains me to think that we ever needed this law. Why were these activities even a thing? Obviously bear fighting and horse tripping “side shows” were a problem at some point in our history to necessitate such a detailed law of what persons “shall not do.” Do we still need it?
Do all the statutes protect the citizen from the government?
NO. Obviously. Just read the Turnpike Enabling Act (Title 69, Sections 1705-1734), for example.
How can our elected officials possibly read, understand and adjudicate the thousands of bills over a four month period, all while making sure they aren’t inadvertently harming the citizens?
They DO NOT and CAN NOT. Our system is inherently broken.
But sometimes, you get lucky and find a law that was written just for you.
Sometimes you find an organized, resourceful and highly competent non-profit group that works tirelessly for the community to ferret out these little long-forgotten gems that could prove useful to the average Oklahoma Citizen (and you support them with your time and/or resources or both)!
When I say “useful,” I mean these statutes could save our community from 59 miles of destructive 6-lane tollroads.
Are you paying attention? Because I’m going to need you to contact your Norman City Council Members, Staff and Mayor by the end of this blog and tell them about these laws that they should discuss in executive session and learn about from legal experts. Time is of the essence here, folks.
Here are two laws that the City of Norman could potentially use to stop the OTA from blowing a road through our impaired 303d watershed and drinking water source.
These gems both reside under Title 11: Cities and Towns.
Title 11: Cities and Towns
This section of the Oklahoma Statutes is also known as the “Oklahoma Municipal Code” and it was codified for the first time in 1977.
Section 11-37-113. Highways crossing reservoir sites - Power to close (11 OK Stat § 37-113 (2023))
This one seems pretty straightforward.
“Any municipality having acquired possession by purchase, condemnation, gift or otherwise, of a reservoir site for a public water supply may close to travel any section line or public road leading into or through the reservoir site.”
So, we have a federally owned (Bureau of Reclamation (BoR)) and locally controlled water supply. The Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District (COMCD) controls the water supply in the Norman Project. It seems like the City of Norman could argue that there can be no additional roadways constructed through their reservoir site for protection measures.
I’d like to hear a legal interpretation of “public” roads.
Section 11-37-115: Pollution of municipal water supply unlawful (11 OK Stat § 37-115 (2023))
The second statute is a lot more interesting. I got to talking about this one with Ward 5 Council Member Nash at the 3rd Annual PIKE OFF OTA Family Fun Night at the Royal Bavaria back in June.
This one is pretty self-explanatory and says that
“No person, firm, partnership, or corporation, or any of the partners, officers, managers, or employees thereof, shall pollute or permit the pollution of the water supply of a municipality, or any stream, pond, spring, lake or other water reservoir or groundwater aquifer, which is used or which is being held for use as a water supply by a municipality.”
Well there you go.
The OTA is proposing to crisscross the INFLOW of our watershed and the Garber Wellington Aquifer for almost 59 miles with a 600 foot wide swath of concrete.
There will be significant pollution to our watershed and aquifer during the construction of the 20-30 feet high embankments that will elevate the turnpike over the county roads. The cut and fill procedures will impact the dozens of tributaries that feed our drinking water supply; not only by polluting them with excess silt and construction runoff, but by changing the nature of the riparian channels that feed our drinking water within an already designated impaired watershed.
For example, the Little River has been designated “Impaired,” with identified issues including bacteria and other microbes, degraded aquatic life, low oxygen, metals and salts. Do you think paving over the Little River in several spots is going to help that?
Lake Thunderbird has IMPAIRED DRINKING WATER, IMPAIRED AQUATIC LIFE, IMPAIRED FISH and SHELLFISH CONSUMPTION, with Algae, Low Oxygen, **MERCURY** and Murky Water as identified issues.
Nothing to see here. Just ignore it and develop the area more, right?
Not only will there be significant pollution and destruction during the lengthy construction process, but there will be pollution in perpetuity from water washing the petro-chemicals, carbon and other vehicle debris down into our streams, which flow into our drinking water supply.
This doesn’t even take into consideration the LIGHT pollution, the NOISE pollution, the HEAT pollution, the VIBRATION changes to the environment disrupting wildlife and human behavior and the AIR pollution.
But we do not seem to have a law within the municipal code that helps protect us from those types of pollution.
So we need to focus on using the water pollution statutes to our benefit.
The City of Norman has already designated a water quality protection zone. If you click on the map, it will open up a PDF where you can zoom around and see things more clearly. This map was generated in 2011.
The turnpike would run right along the top dark black line, which is Indian Hills.
The City of Norman should WANT to KEEP protecting this “Water Quality Protection Zone.”
The City of Norman can stop this turnpike in court. We know they would win in District Court, we know they could win in Federal Court. We know the State Supreme Court is compromised.
How can WE THE PEOPLE compel (force/convince/persuade) the City of Norman to listen to the vast majority of its citizens and USE these laws to OUR benefit?
Please contact your City Councilperson today and ask them to consider these legal avenues to save our drinking water supply and keep east Norman rural.
Mayor - Larry Heikkila; mayor@normanok.gov or 405-876-9216
Ward 1 - Austin Ball; ward1@normanok.gov or 405-876-9170
Ward 2 - Matthew Peacock; ward2@normanok.gov or 405-876-9196
Ward 3 - Bree Montoya; ward3@normanok.gov or 405-876-3143
Ward 4 - Helen Grant; ward4@normanok.gov or 405-876-9237
Ward 5 - Michael Nash; ward5@normanok.gov or 405-876-9239
Ward 6 - Joshua A. Hinkle; ward6@normanok.gov or 405-876-9262
Ward 7 - Stephen Tyler Holman; ward7@normanok.gov or 405-876-9263
Ward 8 - Scott Dixon - ward8@normanok.gov or 405-876-9166
All City Council Members: city_council_members@normanok.gov
The City of Norman controls the permitting processes. They do NOT have to allow work permits for surveying and engineering exploration nor any other type of permit (e.g., stormwater discharge or dirt work in wetlands) and they have legal standing to back that up.
But you need to inform them of this legal standing.
And remind them that the Turnpike Enabling Statute is SUPPLEMENTAL!!! That means that it takes SECOND place to the other state statutes. This is an important point. The OTA should be forced to follow our existing state law.
We should be using ALL POSSIBLE AVENUES to stop these turnpikes. Let’s get the City of Norman to put their NO MORE TURNPIKES RESOLUTION to work for us!
Are you interested in learning more and helping hold a rogue "state instrumentality” accountable to the people? PIKE OFF OTA (501 c4) and Oklahomans for Responsible Transportation, Foundation (501 c3) are leading the charge in legal injunctive avenues and legislative reform and they could use your help. They are trying to dismantle a corrupt Goliath within our state and are doing a great job. Be part of the solution!
I would love to contact all of these people and say, “Yes. What Amy said!” Is there any way for each of us to sign a letter explaining all of this vitally important information to each of them?