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RESOLUTION R-1718-80: A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORMAN, OKLAHOMA, OKLAHOMA EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR PROPOSED RULEMAKING RELATED TO INDIRECT POTABLE REUSE FOR SURFACE WATER AUGMENTATION IN TITLES 252 AND 785 OF THE OKLAHOMA ADMINISTRATIVE CODE.
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BACKGROUND: The City has a long history of supporting water conservation and protection efforts. In Norman, we have a Conservation/Drought Mitigation plan, which mandates odd/even watering restrictions year-round, as well as an inverted rate structure for water rates to encourage the reduction of water use. Additionally, the City has adopted ordinances restricting the use of fertilizer, and allowing the reuse of gray water to protect and preserve our potable water supplies. As the City’s 2060 Strategic Water Supply Plan was being developed from 2012-2014, it became clear that even with these efforts, our current water supply would be insufficient to meet the long term needs of the City’s customers. Ultimately, the adopted Strategic Water Plan called for wellfield expansion to supplement our groundwater supply, additional non-potable water reuse for irrigation and industrial customers in southern Norman and the implementation of indirect potable reuse.
In 2010, the State of Oklahoma also began developing its long term water supply plan for the State. The Water for 2060 Act was adopted by the Oklahoma Legislature in 2012. The Act formally established water conservation and reuse as a statewide priority. The Act set forth a statewide goal of consuming no more fresh water in 2060 than was consumed in 2010. At the time of its adoption, State regulations were lacking in the area of water reuse and it was widely recognized that meeting the goal set by the Act would require regulatory changes.
Norman has been very involved in efforts at the State level to develop indirect potable reuse regulations. These efforts in collaboration with other stakeholders resulted in the adoption of water reuse standards in 2012. Since that time, stakeholders (including Norman) have been developing standards to allow surface water bodies to be augmented with indirect potable reuse water. This is particularly important to Norman because of the possibility of improving the yield of Lake Thunderbird, our primary source of water supply with reuse water.
The stakeholder group has finalized its proposed rules to allow for the use of indirect potable reuse water for surface water augmentation. Rules are proposed for addition to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (“OWRB”) rules and the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (“ODEQ”) rules. The ODEQ’s Water Quality Management Advisory Council is scheduled hold a public hearing and take action on these rules on January 11, 2018. The OWRB is scheduled to hold a public hearing and take action on the proposed rules on January 16, 2018.
After the public hearings and votes on the proposed rules by each agency, the rules are forwarded to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. The Governor has 45 days to approve or disapprove the rules. If the Governor doesn’t approve the rules, the House and Senate can pass a joint resolution approving the rules and they will become effective ten calendar days after they are published in the Oklahoma Register. Because the OWRB rule amendments impact the Water Quality Standards, they must also be reviewed and approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. It is anticipated that approval by EPA will occur in late 2018 or early 2019.
DISCUSSION: Resolution R-1718-80 recognizes the conservation and reuse goals of the State and Norman. It expressly recognizes the collaborative process that resulted in these proposed rules and urges that they be adopted.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends adoption of Resolution R-1718-80.