{"id":26654,"date":"2016-05-26T11:22:53","date_gmt":"2016-05-26T16:22:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=26654"},"modified":"2016-06-08T14:17:03","modified_gmt":"2016-06-08T19:17:03","slug":"state-budget-agreement-brings-sharp-funding-cuts-to-agencies-overseeing-oklahomas-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2016\/05\/26\/state-budget-agreement-brings-sharp-funding-cuts-to-agencies-overseeing-oklahomas-environment\/","title":{"rendered":"State Budget Agreement Brings Sharp Funding Cuts to Agencies Overseeing Oklahoma\u2019s Environment"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"module image right mceTemp\" id=\"attachment_26655\" style=\"width: 620px;\"><p><em><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-26655\" alt=\"Oklahoma Water Resources Board project coordinator Jason Murphy takes water samples at the Canadian River east of Oklahoma City.\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/05\/20150113-stream-team-pics018_WEB.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/05\/20150113-stream-team-pics018_WEB.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/05\/20150113-stream-team-pics018_WEB-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/05\/20150113-stream-team-pics018_WEB-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/05\/20150113-stream-team-pics018_WEB-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Joe Wertz \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oklahoma Water Resources Board project coordinator Jason Murphy takes water samples at the Canadian River east of Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>After months of deliberation and closed-door meetings, lawmakers in the Oklahoma House and Senate are poised to cut a deal to fill a $1.3 billion shortfall and fund government for 2017.<!--more--><\/p><p>The $6.8 billion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ok.gov\/triton\/modules\/newsroom\/newsroom_article.php?id=223&article_id=21907\">presumptive budget agreement<\/a> has been praised for preserving money for education, prisons and Medicaid, but some of the sharpest cuts are aimed at agencies that regulate industry and protect the environment.<\/p><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/266040741&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=false\" height=\"150\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p><p>Outfitted in rubber waders on a frosty winter morning in the middle of nowhere, Jeanette Lamb with the Oklahoma Conservation Commission kicks up a pile of mud from the riverbed at Walnut Creek, along a farm in rural McClain County.<\/p><p>She stares deeply into the mud, searching for a light-brown critter whose big mandibles pack a punch.<\/p><p>\u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m looking for,\u201d she says, before warning, \u201cThey bite. It\u2019s a Dobsonfly larvae.\u201d<\/p><p>The kinds of bugs she finds \u2014 or doesn\u2019t find \u2014 says a lot about the health of this stream.<\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content alignright\">\n<h4 class=\"related-header\">Related<\/h4>\n<div class=\"links\">\n<h5>Posts<\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2016\/05\/16\/oklahoma-agency-protecting-scenic-rivers-dissolved-as-state-funding-dries-up\/\">Oklahoma Agency Protecting Scenic Rivers Dissolved As State Funding Dries Up<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2016\/03\/03\/as-budgets-narrow-and-dedicated-funds-are-diverted-agency-slows-plugging-of-abandoned-wells\/\">As Budgets Narrow and Dedicated Funds are Diverted, Agency Slows Plugging of Abandoned Wells<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2016\/02\/11\/state-budget-crisis-could-leave-small-towns-with-big-infrastructure-problems-dead-in-the-water\/\">State Budget Crisis Could Leave Small Towns With Big Infrastructure Problems &#8216;Dead in the Water&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"topics\">\n<h5>Topics<\/h5>\n<p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2014\/08\/20140814-ScenicRivers002_WEB.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/topic\/scenic-rivers-series\/\">The History and Future of Oklahoma&#8217;s Scenic Rivers<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><p>\u201cThey cannot tolerate pollution at all,\u201d she says. \u201cThey\u2019re very sensitive.\u201d<\/p><p>If Lamb finds something wrong, she\u2019ll work with local landowners to identify the pollution source. She didn\u2019t find any problems here during her inspection last winter, at least with the wildlife. But her agency\u2019s budget situation is another story, according to the Conservation Commission\u2019s Water Quality Manager, Shanon Phillips.<\/p><p>\u201c[In] 2009 we had a staff of 40 people,\u201d Phillips said. \u201cWe now have a staff of 25. Future cuts would mean further reductions in staff.\u201d<\/p><p>The Conservation Commission will likely receive a 9 percent cut, and the agency\u2019s director Trey Lam says it already operates on a barebones budget.<\/p><p>\u201cCurrently 20 percent of the state\u2019s Conservation Districts are sharing employees, including seven districts that have no staff,\u201d Lam says. \u201cOur ability to protect our natural resources and maintain our flood control system is at risk.\u201d<\/p><p>The new cuts could hurt the commission\u2019s ability to monitor the health of small waterways and maintain more than <a href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2015\/07\/09\/record-rainfall-magnifies-problems-for-oklahomas-aging-flood-control-dams\/\">2,000 flood-control dams<\/a> across the state.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_26658\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-26658\" alt=\"State Senators Greg Treat, Clark Jolley and David Holt emerge from a Republican Caucus meeting after members agreed on a framework for a $6.8 million state budget.\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/05\/20160524-senate-caucus029_WEB.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/05\/20160524-senate-caucus029_WEB.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/05\/20160524-senate-caucus029_WEB-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/05\/20160524-senate-caucus029_WEB-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/05\/20160524-senate-caucus029_WEB-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Joe Wertz \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">State Senators Greg Treat, Clark Jolley and David Holt emerge from a Republican Caucus meeting after members agreed on a framework for a $6.8 million state budget.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Regulatory reductions<\/h3><p>Even steeper reductions are likely coming for other environmental and regulatory agencies. The Department of Mines and the Water Resources Board are on tap to have their state funding reduced by 12 percent.<\/p><p>\u201cWe will probably have to scale back our monitoring a little more,\u201d says OWRB executive director J.D. Strong.<\/p><p>The funding cuts will degrade the Water Board\u2019s ability to monitor the health of lakes, rivers and streams, Strong says. The state\u2019s water regulator will likely have to slash the amount of money available for its Rural Economic Action Plan program, which grants money to local water managers who need to make expensive fixes to their crumbling water systems. Strong says the REAP account will be cut by at least $400,000.<\/p><p>\u201cThat will mean fewer grants that we\u2019re able to provide to really small, rural communities across the state to help them improve wastewater and drinking water infrastructure,\u201d Strong says.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_26047\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-26047\" alt=\"Vance Pennington, a regional manager for the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, inspects a chlorine treatment system at a water treatment plant in Chandler, Okla.\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/02\/20160120-chandler-water-pics022_WEB.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/02\/20160120-chandler-water-pics022_WEB.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/02\/20160120-chandler-water-pics022_WEB-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/02\/20160120-chandler-water-pics022_WEB-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/02\/20160120-chandler-water-pics022_WEB-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Joe Wertz \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vance Pennington, a regional manager for the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, inspects a chlorine treatment system at a water treatment plant in Chandler, Okla.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Small towns, big problems<\/h3><p>The cuts could hurt other agency programs designed to fix water problems in small communities. The Department of Environmental Quality also faces a 12 percent reduction.<\/p><p>\u201cWhat will suffer in the longer term if we continue to receive general revenue cuts, is our ability to do some of the things that especially the smaller communities rely on the most,\u201d DEQ\u2019s Deputy Director Jimmy Givens <a href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2016\/02\/04\/why-continued-state-funding-cuts-could-squeeze-programs-protecting-public-water\/\">told StateImpact in February<\/a> as the 2016 legislative session was about to start.<\/p><p>Many of the DEQ programs protecting Oklahoma\u2019s air and land are paid for with fees and federal dollars, but oversight and inspection of local water systems is funded by state revenue. Cuts to state funding disproportionately affect DEQ programs that make sure local water supplies are safe to drink, and that wastewater discharged from municipal and industrial sources isn\u2019t polluting the environment, Givens said.<\/p><p>In response to years of budget cuts, DEQ has closed field offices. It used to have 39, it now has 22. The agency has also sharply reduced its roster of inspectors \u2014 from 89 to 58 \u2014 that monitors community water systems, which struggle to keep up with increasingly strict federal rules.<\/p><p>If DEQ can\u2019t ensure clean drinking water for Oklahomans, the harder-nosed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could step in and takeover. That\u2019s a last resort, but it could be a big challenge for small towns used to the state agency\u2019s soft touch.<\/p><p>\u201cEPA has the residual right to come in and do enforcement,\u201d Givens said. \u201cNobody particularly wants that.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_21510\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-21510\" alt=\"Harold and Amy Coulter with their granddaughter at Walnut Creek State Park, which closed due to budget cuts in October 2014.\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2014\/10\/20141002-WalnutCreek002_WEB.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2014\/10\/20141002-WalnutCreek002_WEB.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2014\/10\/20141002-WalnutCreek002_WEB-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2014\/10\/20141002-WalnutCreek002_WEB-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2014\/10\/20141002-WalnutCreek002_WEB-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Logan Layden \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Harold and Amy Coulter with their granddaughter at Walnut Creek State Park, which closed due to budget cuts in October 2014.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Pushing out parks?<\/h3><p>The Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation is also in line for a 12 percent hit to its state funding.<\/p><p>The agency has responded <a href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2015\/06\/11\/state-parks-in-danger-after-tourism-departments-16-million-budget-cut\/\">to previous budget cuts<\/a>\u00a0by shedding state parks. This year, officials have considered turning over some small parks near Grand Lake to the Grand River Dam Authority. Spokesperson Leslie Blair says that\u2019s still a possibility.<\/p><p>\u201cAt this point it\u2019s too soon to know what our exact approach is going to be,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re taking a look at the bill and seeing what those numbers are.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>More responsibility, less funding<\/h3><p>Agency leaders say the 2016 budget agreement outlined in<a href=\"http:\/\/www.oklegislature.gov\/BillInfo.aspx?Bill=SB1616&Session=1600\"> Senate Bill 1616<\/a> chips away at a funding stream that\u2019s been declining for years. At the same time, the responsibilities of those agencies are increasing as the federal government imposes stricter environmental rules.<\/p><p>Officials say some environmental and regulatory programs could disappear. Even whole agencies aren\u2019t safe. The Scenic Rivers Commission had all its <a href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2016\/04\/21\/why-killing-the-agency-protecting-oklahomas-most-delicate-rivers-might-be-the-only-way-to-preserve-them\/\">funding stripped in <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2016\/04\/21\/why-killing-the-agency-protecting-oklahomas-most-delicate-rivers-might-be-the-only-way-to-preserve-them\/\">2016<\/a> and will cease to exist on July 1.<\/p><p>The Grand River Dam Authority will assume its responsibilities \u2014 and employees. GRDA CEO Dan Sullivan was shocked when he first saw the budget the Scenic Rivers Commission was working under.<\/p><p>\u201cI can\u2019t imagine that they\u2019ve been able to do what they have done on the budget they have,\u201d Sullivan said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The $6.8 billion presumptive budget agreement has been praised for preserving money for education, prisons and Medicaid, but some of the sharpest cuts are aimed at agencies that regulate industry and protect the environment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":26655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[491],"tags":[662,486,533,495,48,444,111],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26654"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26654"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26671,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26654\/revisions\/26671"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}