Oklahoma Farm Bureau commented today that private property rights of landowners in five southern counties were restricted last Wednesday when seven of nine members on the Oklahoma Water Resources Board voted to reduce the maximum annual yield for landowners overlying the Arbuckle Simpson Aquifer from two acre feet of water per year to 0.2 acre feet per year.
“When a landowner purchases property he’s virtually purchasing a bundle of sticks or a bundle of private property rights,” said LeeAnna Covington, director of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Legal Foundation. “Each time a decision of this magnitude is made, it removes a stick from the originally purchased bundle.”
After several years of litigation concerning water usage in the Arbuckle Simpson Aquifer, landowners in the area are still unsure how the .2 acre feet measurement was determined.
“I’m disappointed in this decision. When I purchased my property, I never thought this would have occurred,” said Pontotoc County Farm Bureau member Charles Morrow. “I don’t understand how the .2 acre feet restriction was calculated, and I feel like it’s an arbitrary number.”
John Collison, OKFB vice president of public policy, said what began as a plan to restrict the Oklahoma City metro area’s usage of water from the Arbuckle Simpson became an environmentalist overreach to keep private citizens from exercising their personal property rights.
“A decision like this can make a huge difference to farmers and ranchers who have depended on their water rights to raise crops and livestock,” Collison said. “With this decision, they are now facing a reduction in their private property rights without compensation.”
The OWRB’s decision not only impacts agriculture but also mining, oil and gas, and municipalities and their citizens.
“Cities and rural water districts will now have to go out and purchase other water rights to make up for the decision to limit water usage,” Collison said. “This will cause an increase in the cost to local citizens and the cost of doing business in the region. We view this decision as a loss for everyone.”
If you have further questions surrounding the Arbuckle Simpson MAY decision, please contact Covington at leeanna.covington@okfb.org.
