February 26, 2024
Sen. Brent Howard (R-Altus) was in Sayre Friday to discuss Senate Bill 1341 with local farmers who use irrigation methods on their crops. The bill, which aims to enable more regulation and understanding of how commercial irrigators use Oklahoma’s underground water stores, has become a hot topic of discussion lately and the meeting gave a chance for both the Senator and farmers to discuss the bill which passed unanimously through the committee and awaits to be considered by the full Senate.
However, Sen. Howard says the bill is on hold so he can get more input from the farmers that feel like the bill unfairly targets them and their usage of well water.
Howard says the bill comes from recommendations that came from a critical ground water study that was put in place by the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Geological Survey. He says the bill would only apply to the Upper Red River Basin in Southwest Oklahoma which includes southern Beckham County, and if passed would require some irrigators to install meters on their wells. Specifically, those who draw from aquifers in danger of running dry.
Brent Meador, who spoke for the farmers at the meeting, proposed to Senator Howard to hold off on the bill to allow more time for studies on the issue.
Other proposals Meador suggested included allowing time for grant dollars to be used for conservation to go into affect, and the creation of a task force consisting of all parties involved to investigate the matter further.
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