Proposed water quality changes raising concerns

<br>OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Proposed changes to Oklahoma's water quality standards are raising concern among environmentalists, business groups and a government official. <br><br>Tim Baker, manager of

Saturday, January 4th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Proposed changes to Oklahoma's water quality standards are raising concern among environmentalists, business groups and a government official.

Tim Baker, manager of pollution abatement for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission's oil and gas division, said Friday that changes need to be realistic, practical and usable for state agencies.

Baker told an Oklahoma Water Resources Board hearing officer that the proposed changes do not meet that criteria.

His concerns were echoed in a letter submitted by the Environmental Federation of Oklahoma, the Mid Continent Oil and Gas Association, the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association and the State Chamber.

The letter said the proposed rules are more stringent than federal requirements and would extend the regulations to all types of wetlands, even those just occasionally saturated.

Smaller companies affected by the proposed rule do not have the resources to comply. Small oil and natural gas operators will have to hire consultants to evaluate suspected wetland areas where roads and other improvements are planned for oil and gas production, it said.

Opponents said more time should be taken to find better language. The Water Resources Board could potentially approve the changes in February, board officials said.

Concern was also expressed about implementation of Oklahoma's standard requiring 0.037 milligrams per liter of phosphorus within the waters of state scenic rivers.

Environmentalists said they are concerned the language might exempt unregulated activities or facilities. In written comments, Jeannine Hale of Oklahoma's Sierra Club said the proposed language would create an enforcement nightmare.

``Does it mean that spills of manure from a facility not having quite enough animals to meet...licensing requirements would not be subject to the phosphorus rules? That is absurd,'' Hale said.

Hale and others told the board the implementation policy would appear to exempt fertilizers because the state doesn't require applicators to register.