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ROB MCCLENDON: WELL EXCLUDING FEDERAL OFFSHORE AREAS, OKLAHOMA IS NOW
FIFTH IN THE NATION FOR THE PRODUCTION OF CRUDE OIL, AND ONE OF THE TOP
PRODUCERS OF NATURAL GAS.
NOW THIS COMES AT A TIME WHEN WE ARE SEEING SKYROCKETING DOMESTIC OIL
PRODUCTION THAT HAS THE UNITED STATES AT THE CUSP OF ENERGY INDEPENDENCE.
EARLIER I SAT DOWN WITH OKLAHOMA'S SECRETARY OF ENERGY AND THE
ENVIRONMENT, MICHAEL TEAGUE.
WELL WHEN IT COMES TO OUR RESOURCES, PROBABLY NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT
THAN WATER, AND WE'VE HAD A LOT OF IT IN PARTS OF THE STATE, MAYBE NOT SO
MUCH IN OTHER PARTS OF THE STATE.
BUT REALLY, CONSERVATION IS THE KEY TO, PROBABLY, A LOT OF OUR PROBLEMS?
MICHAEL TEAGUE: I THINK THAT'S THE FIRST STEP.
I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO START WITH.
I THINK WATER IS THE LARGEST ISSUE FACING BOTH THE ENERGY AND THE
ENVIRONMENT SIDES OF OUR OFFICE IT'S GOING TO IMPACT INDUSTRY.
IT'S GOING TO IMPACT, AND ALREADY IS IMPACTING AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY.
IT'S TO ME THE NUMBER ONE ISSUE FACING THE STATE.
AND IT'S ONE THAT YOU HAVE TO GET OUT IN FRONT OF.
WATER PROJECTS TAKE A LONG TIME.
AND THE VERY FIRST THING YOU CAN DO IS MAKE THE BEST USE OF WHAT YOU'VE
GOT.
YOU KNOW OUR BACKGROUND WITH THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS WAS FOCUSED ON
THE SURFACE WATER IN OKLAHOMA.
AND IF YOU WERE AT LAKE TENKILLER, THEN DO YOU WANT THE WATER IN THE LAKE
FOR RECREATION AND FOR WATER SUPPLY USERS THERE?
OR DO YOU WANT THE WATER RELEASED AND DOWNSTREAM FOR DOWNSTREAM FISHERIES
IN THE COMMUNITIES DOWN BELOW?
THE ANSWER IS YES.
I MEAN YOU WANT IT IN BOTH PLACES.
WELL THERE'S A HYDROPOWER PROJECT THAT SITS IN THE MIDDLE SO IF YOU'RE GOING
TO LET THAT WATER LOOSE, OUT OF THE DAM, YOU OUGHT TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY
WITH IT.
AND AGAIN MAKE THE BEST USE.
AND BY THE WAY THAT WATER, AT TENKILLER, RUNS DOWN AND HITS THE NAVIGATION
SYSTEM ON THE MCCLELLAN-KERR ARKANSAS RIVER NAV SYSTEM.
AND SO THAT'S SUPPORTING THE NAVIGATION INDUSTRY FOR THE PORTS OF MUSKOGEE
AND JOHNSTON'S PORT 33 AND ALL THE WAY TO PORT OF CATOOSA.
SO, YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE BEST USE OF THE WATER YOU HAVE.
AND THAT'S ON A LARGE SCALE.
AND SO THE QUESTION IS, WHAT DO YOU DO AT THE SMALL SCALE?
AND HOW MUCH IMPACT COULD YOU HAVE?
WHAT SHOULD YOU BE DOING IN YOUR HOUSE?
WELL YOU PROBABLY SHOULDN'T HAVE YOUR SPRINKLERS ON THIS MORNING
WHEN THERE'S SNOW OUT, ON THE GROUND.
AND I'D TELL YOU, I MEAN WE'VE DRIVEN ALL OVER THE STATE IN THE LAST COUPLE
OF MONTHS, AND IT'S AMAZING HOW MANY SPRINKLER SYSTEMS ARE STILL TURNED
ON IN JANUARY IN OKLAHOMA.
IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE TO ME, BUT THAT'S WHERE THE WATER GOES.
ROB: I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT ONE BECAUSE IT JUST MIGHT FREEZE ON THEM,
YEAH.
LET ME ASK YOU THIS, BECAUSE YOU MENTIONED INDUSTRY.
AND I'M JUST GOING THROUGH, YOU KNOW, OUR TOP INDUSTRIES, YOU'VE GOT
ENERGY.
YOU'VE GOT AGRICULTURE.
AND YOU'VE GOT TOURISM AND RECREATION; ALL THREE OF THOSE MAJORLY IMPACTED BY
OUR WATER SUPPLIES.
TEAGUE: YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
AND SO MUCH OF THAT RELIES ON THE SURFACE WATER.
AND SO WHERE WE'VE SEEN THE LARGEST IMPACT OF THE DROUGHT IS REALLY THE
SOUTHWEST CORNER OF THE STATE AND THAT'S IMPACTED THE AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY,
REALLY FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS.
I THINK LAST WEEK WHEN I CHECKED, LUGERT-ALTUS IS DOWN 30 FEET.
WE WERE OUT THERE JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS TO TALK ABOUT WATER AND TO BRING
TOGETHER THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITY OF ALTUS AND THE AGRICULTURE USERS AND
FIGURE OUT WHAT CAN THEY DO TOGETHER TOWARDS FINDING A SOLUTION, MAKE
THE BEST USE OF THE WATER THEY'VE GOT.
AND THEN ARE THERE PROJECTS THAT THEY SHOULD INVEST IN COLLECTIVELY TO
INCREASE THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE?
WE'RE SEEING THAT, THAT DROUGHT IMPACT NOW IS COMING DOWN THE RED RIVER.
AND SO WHERE IT'S BEEN IMPACTING LUGERT-ALTUS, WAURIKA, LAKE CAMPO OVER
ON THE TEXAS SIDE, TOM STEAD, FOSS.
NOW WE'RE SEEING THOSE IMPACTS ARE STARTING TO HIT LAKE TEXOMA.
SO LAKE TEXOMA RIGHT NOW.
TOURISM.
AND SO IT'S ABOUT 608, IS THE ELEVATION OF THE LAKE, AND THAT'S PROBABLY ABOUT
NINE FEET LOW FROM WHERE IT NORMALLY WOULD BE THIS TIME OF YEAR.
AND IT'S BECAUSE THE WATER SHED FOR TEXOMA IS ALL THOSE LAKES I JUST LISTED
THAT HAVE BEEN HIT BY THE DROUGHT FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS.
I MEAN THAT'S THE BUBBLE, THAT ALL FEEDS TEXOMA.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN DOWN THERE AND TALKED TO SOME OF THE COMMUNITIES AROUND
THERE AND I'VE ASKED THOSE COMMUNITIES, WHAT DO YOU HAVE FOR DROUGHT PLANS?
WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR WATER CONSERVATION?
WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO CONSERVE YOUR WATER?
AND IT'S INTERESTING HOW MANY OF THOSE COMMUNITIES WILL SAY, HEY, THE LAKE IS
DOWN, BUT WE'RE NOT IN A DROUGHT, WE HAVE WATER.
AND SO THEY'RE NOT PUTTING ANY WATER CONSERVATION IN, BUT YET THE WATER THAT
THEY'RE TAKING OUT OF THE RIVERS, WHETHER IT'S THE BLUE OR THE WASHITA,
THAT'S WATER THAT COULD BE IN THE LAKE.
SO, I THINK WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT WATER CONSERVATION AT THE
COMMUNITY LEVEL.
WE'VE BEEN ASKED BEFORE IF WE SEE, YOU KNOW, ANY KIND OF A STATE MANDATE.
I DON'T THINK WE SEE ANYTHING AT THE STATE LEVEL.
I THINK THIS IS A MUNICIPAL ISSUE, AND THE COMMUNITIES CAN DEAL WITH
IT.
BARTLESVILLE HAS DONE A GREAT JOB, WITH WATER CONSERVATION.
OKLAHOMA CITY HAS STARTED.
THERE HAS BEEN SOME VOLUNTARY MEASURES IN DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES.
BUT I THINK IT'S TIME FOR THE COMMUNITIES REALLY TO STEP THAT UP A LITTLE BIT,
AND REALLY PUT SOME WATER RESTRICTIONS.
WE'VE BEEN STATIONED AROUND THE WORLD, AROUND THE COUNTRY, AND WE'VE
LIVED IN OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE WATER RESTRICTIONS.
IT IMPACTS WHEN THEY FIRST START, AND THEN PEOPLE GET USED TO IT WE WERE THERE
IN COLORADO SPRINGS, AND ABOUT FIVE YEARS AFTER WE GOT THERE, THEY LIFTED THE
WATER RESTRICTIONS, NOBODY CHANGED.
ROB: AND WHAT EXACTLY DID THEY DO IN COLORADO SPRINGS?
TEAGUE: SO THEY DID THE ALTERNATE DAYS FOR WATERING YOUR YARD,
RESTRICTED WHEN YOU COULD WASH YOUR CAR, LARGE WATER USES LIKE THAT.
THEY CERTAINLY WENT TO THE INDUSTRIES AND ASKED THEM AND PUT CONSERVATION PLANS
IN PLACE.
WHAT WE SAW WHEN WE WERE IN COLORADO IS THAT FOLKS WENT FROM IRRIGATION
SYSTEMS TO XERISCAPE, AND GO BACK TO MORE NATURAL GRASSES AND SOME ROCK THAT
DIDN'T REQUIRE WATERING.
ROB: DEFINITELY, CHEAPER.
TEAGUE: IT'S MUCH CHEAPER.
AND IT'S A LOT EASIER TO MAINTAIN.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO CUT YOUR GRASS ON SATURDAY.
BUT AT THE END OF THAT FIVE YEARS WHEN THEY LIFTED THE WATER
RESTRICTIONS, PEOPLE DIDN'T PULL OUT THAT XERISCAPE AND GO PUT THEIR
LAWNS BACK IN, BECAUSE THEY WERE COMFORTABLE WITH IT.
AND SO IT WAS A BEHAVIORAL CHANGE, PRETTY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE'RE DOING IN THE
ENERGY EFFICIENCY ACROSS THE STATE RIGHT NOW.
AND SO THE GOVERNOR'S 20 BY 2020 PROGRAM GETS, STARTS WITH A BEHAVIOR
CONSERVATION FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF STATE EMPLOYEES IN STATE
FACILITIES.
AND THAT'S ACTUALLY MODELED OUT OF OSU, AND WHAT WAS DONE HERE ON THE
CAMPUS.
AND SO YOU CHANGE THE BEHAVIOR FIRST.
AND THAT'S WHAT I TALK ABOUT, ABOUT WATER CONSERVATION, WE HAVE TO
CHANGE THAT BEHAVIOR.
THERE'S SOME OTHER THINGS, AND YOU MENTIONED THE INDUSTRY.
AND SO THAT REALLY GETS TO MORE RECYCLING AND RE-USE TYPES OF PROJECTS DEVON'S
GOT A WATER RECYCLING FACILITY OUT AT THE CANA-WOODFORD WHERE
THEY'RE DRILLING.
AND SO THEY'RE PULLING THE WATER BACK, THE FLOW-BACK WATER, BACK AND REALIZED
THAT THE QUALITY WAS GOOD ENOUGH THAT THEY COULD ACTUALLY FILTER IT FAIRLY
EASILY AND THEN USE IT FOR THE NEXT WELL.
AND SO THEY WORKED FOR THE CORPORATION COMMISSION ON SOME OF THE REGULATORY
PIECES, BUT THEY'VE GOT A FACILITY SET THERE WHERE THEY ACTUALLY ARE PIPING
THE WATER BACK TO THIS FILTERING SYSTEM, PIPING IT BACK OUT TO THE NEXT
DRILL PAD.
AND THEY'VE TAKEN TRUCKS OFF THE ROAD, WHICH IS GREAT FOR COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS.
THEY'RE USING A LOT LESS FRESH WATER WHICH IS GREAT FOR THE DROUGHT.
AND THEY'RE SAVING THEMSELVES MONEY SO IT'S KIND OF A WIN-WIN-WIN.
IT'S A BIG OPERATION AND SO NOW THE QUESTION IS, HOW DO WE DO SOMETHING
LIKE THAT TO WHERE ALL THE OPERATORS CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SOMETHING
LIKE THAT?
EITHER GET THE COST OF TECHNOLOGY LOWER.
WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF FOLKS TALK TO US THAT THEY HAVE MOBILE SOLUTIONS THAT
THEY COULD BRING OUT AND OPERATE REALLY FROM TRUCK TO TRUCK TO TANK BACK INTO
THE WELL, AND DO IT ON THE DRILL PAD.
WE'VE HAD SOME OTHER FOLKS COME AND TALK ABOUT SETTING UP MAYBE A CENTRAL
WATER RE-USE FACILITY AND THEN SPOKING OUT TO SUPPORT MAYBE MULTIPLE
OPERATORS AS THEY DRILL IN AN AREA.
SO I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF SOLUTIONS OUT THERE.
AND I THINK INDUSTRY IS GREAT ABOUT FIGURING OUT HOW TO COME UP WITH THOSE,
AND THEN HOW TO USE THEM.
ROB: YEAH, AND BECAUSE ULTIMATELY IT WILL SAVE THEM MONEY.
TEAGUE: IT DOES.
IT DOES.
ROB: YEAH, YOU KNOW, TAKING TO CLIMATOLOGISTS, IT'S VERY POSSIBLE WE
COULD JUST BE AT THE FRONT END OF A DROUGHT.
WHAT COULD THAT MEAN, FOR THE STATE?
TEAGUE: I ACTUALLY THINK WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.
SOME FOLKS, AGAIN, WE GOT ALL THOSE STORMS LAST SPRING.
AND WE GOT SOME PRETTY GOOD RAINS AUGUST, SEPTEMBER.
AND A LOT OF FOLKS SAID, CONGRATULATIONS THE DROUGHT'S OVER.
AND THAT'S JUST NOT THE CASE.
WE'VE BEEN IN A DROUGHT FOR THREE YEARS.
I THINK WE'RE GOING TO BE IN A DROUGHT FOR ANOTHER THREE.
IF YOU GO BACK AND LOOK WITH THE CLIMATOLOGISTS, THIS REALLY LOOKS LIKE THE
1950S DROUGHT WHICH WAS '51 TO ABOUT '57, SO ABOUT SIX YEARS.
I THINK WE'RE IN THE SAME THING.
I THINK WHAT'S DIFFERENT IS THAT IT'S STARTING TO IMPACT OTHER AREAS OF THIS
COUNTRY THAT AREN'T USED TO BEING IN DROUGHT.
SOUTHWEST PART OF THE UNITED STATES HAS ALWAYS HAD WATER, YOU KNOW,
ISSUES.
AND THE INFRASTRUCTURE PUT INTO PLACE HAS LED TO ALL OF THE DEVELOPMENT.
BUT WE'RE STARTING TO SEE WATER SHORTAGES, OR RESTRICTIONS, COME ACROSS
THE SOUTHEAST PART OF THE COUNTRY AND THE SOUTHEAST PART OF THE NATION HAS
NEVER REALLY HAD TO DEAL WITH DROUGHT BEFORE.
AND SO THEY'RE STARTING TO SEE SOME ISSUES AS WELL.
ROB: NOW IS THERE ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO AT THE STATE LEVEL THAT WOULD
INFLUENCE COMMUNITIES TO PUT SOME STRICTER STANDARDS IN PLACE?
TEAGUE: I THINK THERE ARE.
THINK THERE'S TWO PIECES TO IT.
I THINK THE FIRST PART IS, INFORMATION.
IT'S TALKING TO THE COMMUNITIES AND SAYING, LOOK, YOU KNOW, IF YOU
WANT TO TALK ABOUT A LAKE BEING LOW, THEN TELL ME WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO
CONSERVE WATER THAT HELPS THAT LAKE; BE PART OF THE SOLUTION AND I THINK TO BE
HONEST, AS WE'VE TRAVELED AROUND THE STATE, AND CERTAINLY AS I'VE TRAVELED
WITH THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS THE LAST THREE YEARS AND WHAT I'VE DONE
WITH THE STATE IN THE LAST FIVE OR SIX MONTHS, OKLAHOMANS HELP
OKLAHOMANS.
PEOPLE WANT TO BE INVOLVED.
YOU SAW THE RESPONSE TO THE STORMS, LAST SPRING.
I MEAN, IT WAS INCREDIBLE.
OKLAHOMANS WANT TO HELP EACH OTHER.
AND SO THAT'S THE FIRST PART, GET THE COMMUNITIES INVOLVED.
THE SECOND PIECE GOES TO SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO WITH THE STATE AND THAT'S
TALK ABOUT WATER RE-USE.
AND SO, WHAT'S THE BEST USE OF WATER THAT'S COME OUT OF TREATMENT PLANTS?
DO YOU NEED FRESH WATER TO WATER A GOLF COURSE?
PROBABLY NOT.
THAT GETS TO A PERMITTING ISSUE AT THE STATE LEVEL, AND SO WE'RE WORKING
THROUGH RIGHT NOW OF HOW WE'RE GOING TO ISSUE THOSE PERMITS.
I THINK WE'LL SEE THOSE PERMITS GET ISSUED PRETTY SOON.
ROB: ALRIGHT, WELL THANK YOU SO MUCH SECRETARY TEAGUE.
TEAGUE: THANKS.