SB 259: Water and water rights; establishing procedures for permitting, monitoring, and reporting of groundwater use. Effective date. - Oklahoma

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill was revised to move from the House version to the Senate floor version, incorporating specific amendments to Oklahoma water laws. The changes focus on clarifying reporting requirements for animal feeding operations, defining waste prevention measures for groundwater, and establishing a formal process for investigating and penalizing water waste.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on groundwater regulation, but the applicability of reporting rules was expanded to include specific details for swine operations, and enforcement jurisdiction for pollution complaints was clarified.

REQUIREMENT

Updated reporting rules to require swine animal feeding operations using liquid waste systems to explicitly state their licensing status on annual water reports.

Clarified that nonuse or conservation practices will not reduce a permit holder's future water allocation share.

ENFORCEMENT

Expanded the Board's authority to investigate complaints and take action against water waste, including seeking court injunctions and imposing fines.

Shifted jurisdiction for pollution-related waste complaints from the Water Resources Board to the Department of Environmental Quality or other appropriate agencies.

DEFINITION

Added specific prohibitions against wasting groundwater through inefficient transport, loss into cavernous materials, or pollution of fresh water strata.

House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill → Committee Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates Oklahoma's groundwater laws to strengthen enforcement against water waste and improve reporting for specific agricultural operations. It clarifies that unused water permits do not expire, requires unlicensed swine farms using liquid waste systems to report their water use, and expands the Water Resources Board's power to investigate complaints and impose penalties.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of enforcement by allowing the Board to act on its own initiative or based on complaints, rather than waiting for specific triggers, and adds a new reporting requirement for certain animal feeding operations.

REQUIREMENT

Clarified that failing to use the full amount of a water permit does not reduce the permit holder's future water rights.

Required animal feeding operations housing swine that use liquid waste systems in roofed structures to report their water usage and licensing status annually.

ENFORCEMENT

Expanded the Board's authority to investigate waste complaints independently and to take immediate action, including fines and permit suspensions, without waiting for a specific review cycle.

Updated the list of prohibited waste activities to explicitly include using groundwater for data center cooling without recirculation systems.

Enrolled (final version) → House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to include Section 1020.19 in its scope and updated the summary to reflect new duties for the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, such as implementing metering schedules and groundwater use priorities. The text also corrects a grammatical error in the waste definition section by removing a redundant 'Failure' word. These changes clarify the Board's expanded responsibilities and ensure the bill accurately reflects the intended statutory amendments.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to explicitly include Section 1020.19 and to direct the implementation of metering schedules and groundwater use priorities.

SCOPE

Added Section 1020.19 to the list of amended statutes in the bill's summary.

REQUIREMENT

Added language requiring the Oklahoma Water Resources Board to implement metering schedules, phase-ins, and certain groundwater use priorities.

ENFORCEMENT

Corrected a grammatical error in the waste definition by removing the redundant word 'Failure' before 'Failing'.

Engrossed → Enrolled (final version) · 5 edits · May 29, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was finalized and renamed from 'Engrossed' to 'Enrolled,' indicating it is ready for the Governor's signature. The text was cleaned up to remove redundant references to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) and consolidated the list of prohibited groundwater waste activities. A new provision was added to specifically restrict groundwater use for cooling at data centers unless low-consumptive technologies are used.

Scope change

The bill's scope was slightly narrowed in its summary description by removing the reference to Section 1020.19, though the substantive text for that section appears to remain in the final version. The applicability of the cooling restrictions was expanded to explicitly include data processing facilities and data centers.

TECHNICAL

The bill title and header were updated from 'Engrossed' to 'Enrolled' to reflect its final legislative status, and the sponsor list was updated to include Burns and Boles.

Redundant references to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board were removed from the summary description to streamline the text.

REQUIREMENT

The list of prohibited groundwater waste activities was reorganized and consolidated; the phrase 'Failure Failing' was corrected to 'Failure'.

A new requirement was added prohibiting the use of groundwater for cooling at data processing facilities or data centers unless they utilize closed-loop, dielectric immersion, or other low-consumptive cooling technologies.

ENFORCEMENT

The list of enforcement actions available to the Board was slightly expanded and clarified to include 'pursuing a suspension of any suspending the permit'.

Amended And Engrossed → Engrossed · 6 edits · May 14, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was reorganized to add a new Senate co-author and updated the bill title to reflect expanded duties. Substantively, the bill now requires animal feeding operations housing swine to explicitly report their status on water use forms. It also significantly expanded the Oklahoma Water Resources Board's authority to investigate waste complaints and imposed stricter penalties for groundwater misuse, including specific prohibitions on inefficient cooling systems and abandoned wells.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include specific reporting requirements for swine animal feeding operations and added new enforcement mechanisms for groundwater waste.

ELIGIBILITY

Added Newton of the House as a co-author to the bill.

REQUIREMENT

Updated the bill title to include expanded duties, metering schedules, and rule-making authority for the Oklahoma Water Resources Board.

Required animal feeding operations housing swine to indicate their use of groundwater and licensing status in annual water use reports.

Added specific prohibitions against using groundwater for air conditioning or cooling without aeration and reuse facilities.

Added a specific prohibition against using open-air evaporative cooling systems or other technologies that consume groundwater through evaporation without recirculation.

ENFORCEMENT

Expanded the Board's duty to investigate waste complaints and take action, including seeking court injunctions and suspending permits.

Introduced → Amended And Engrossed · 5 edits · May 14, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was amended to modernize groundwater reporting requirements, clarify penalties for non-compliance, and introduce specific restrictions on water usage for data centers. The changes also update the bill's title and authorship information to reflect the House of Representatives' version.

Scope change

The scope of the bill was expanded to include specific regulations for data centers and data processing facilities that use groundwater for cooling purposes.

REQUIREMENT

Updated the annual reporting deadline from a fixed date of January 31 to a flexible period determined by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board.

Replaced the term 'equal proportional share' with 'permit maximum' when discussing how usage practices affect future permit limits.

Added a new requirement prohibiting the use of groundwater for cooling at data centers unless the facility uses low-consumptive technologies like closed-loop or immersion cooling.

ENFORCEMENT

Changed the consequences for failing to report water usage from potential permit cancellation to permit suspension.

TECHNICAL

Updated the bill's title, enacting clause, and authorship details to reflect the House amendment version.

Water and water rights; establishing procedures for permitting, monitoring, and reporting of groundwater use. Effective date.

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