Okla. Stat. tit. 2, § 2-20-44

This is the official text of Okla. Stat. tit. 2, § 2-20-44, part of Oklahoma’s Stat. tit. 2, — part of the compiled statutory law of Oklahoma, published by the state as "Stat. tit. 2,." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.

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Mandatory and voluntary licensure - Designation of

Official statutory text

operations.

A. 1. Any animal feeding operation meeting the criteria

defining a concentrated animal feeding operation shall be required

to obtain a license to operate pursuant to the Oklahoma Concentrated

Animal Feeding Operations Act and rules promulgated pursuant

thereto.

2. No animal feeding operation which voluntarily obtains a

license pursuant to the Oklahoma Concentrated Animal Feeding

Operations Act shall be considered to be a concentrated animal

feeding operation unless the operation meets the definition of

concentrated animal feeding operation.

3. Any animal feeding operation other than a concentrated

animal feeding operation, regardless of the number of animals, shall

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 2. Agriculture Page 718

only be required to be licensed pursuant to the provisions of the

Oklahoma Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations Act and rules

promulgated pursuant thereto if the State Board of Agriculture

determines the operation to be a significant contributor of

pollution to waters of the state pursuant to subsection C of this

section.

B. Two or more animal feeding operations under common ownership

are considered, for the purposes of licensure, to be a single animal

feeding operation if they adjoin each other or if they use a common

area or system for the disposal of wastes.

C. 1. The State Board of Agriculture may make a case-by-case

designation of concentrated animal feeding operations pursuant to

this section. Any animal feeding operation may be designated as a

concentrated animal feeding operation if it is determined to be a

significant contributor of pollution to the waters of the state. In

making this designation, the Board shall consider the following

factors:

a. the size of the animal feeding operation and the

amount of wastes reaching waters of the state,

b. the location of the animal feeding operation relative

to waters of the state,

c. the means of conveyance of animal waste and wastewater

into waters of the state,

d. the method of disposal for animal waste and process

wastewater disposal,

e. the slope, vegetation, rainfall and other factors

affecting the likelihood or frequency of discharge of

animal wastes and process wastewaters into waters of

the state, and

f. other such factors relative to the significance of the

pollution problem sought to be regulated.

2. In no case shall an application for a license be required

from an animal feeding operation pursuant to this subsection until

there has been an on-site inspection of the operation and a

determination by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and

Forestry that the operation is a concentrated animal feeding

operation. Should the Department determine that the operation is a

concentrated animal feeding operation, the Department shall notify

the operation of the determination and of an opportunity for the

owner or operator of the facility to request an administrative

hearing on the issue.

3. Process wastewater in the overflow may be discharged to

navigable waters whenever rainfall events, either chronic or

catastrophic, cause an overflow of process wastewater from a

retention structure properly designed, constructed and operated to

contain all process wastewaters plus the runoff from a twenty-five-

year, twenty-four-hour rainfall event for the location of the point

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 2. Agriculture Page 719

source. There shall be no effluent limitations on discharges from a

waste facility constructed, and properly maintained to contain the

twenty-five-year, twenty-four-hour storm event; provided the proper

design, construction, and operation of the retention structure shall

include, but not be limited to, one (1) foot of free board.

D. No new concentrated animal feeding operation or expansion of

a concentrated animal feeding operation requiring a license pursuant

to the Oklahoma Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations Act shall be
enty-five-year, twenty-four-hour storm event; provided the proper

design, construction, and operation of the retention structure shall

include, but not be limited to, one (1) foot of free board.

D. No new concentrated animal feeding operation or expansion of

a concentrated animal feeding operation requiring a license pursuant

to the Oklahoma Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations Act shall be

constructed or placed in operation unless final design plans,

specifications and a Pollution Prevention Plan developed pursuant to

Section 35 of this act have been approved by the Department.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.