Okla. Stat. tit. 27A, § 27A-3-2-106

A. In addition to other powers and duties specified by law and

except as otherwise provided by law, the Oklahoma Conservation

Commission shall have the power and duty to:

1. Offer the assistance as may be appropriate to the directors

of conservation districts in the carrying out of any of their powers

and programs and to:

a. assist and guide districts in the preparation and

carrying out of programs for resource conservation

authorized under the Conservation District Act,

b. review district programs,

c. coordinate the programs of the several districts and

resolve any conflicts in such programs, and

d. facilitate, promote, assist, harmonize, coordinate,

and guide the resource conservation programs and

activities of districts as they relate to other

special purpose districts, counties, and other public

agencies;

2. Keep the directors of each of the several districts informed

of the activities and experience of all other districts, and

facilitate an interchange of advice and experience between the

districts and cooperation between them;

3. Enter into contracts and agreements and execute such

instruments in the judgment of the Commission as are necessary,

beneficial, or convenient toward the exercise of any of the

Commission's powers conferred upon it by law. This includes, but is

not limited to, creating shared positions, administering statewide

programs with districts, and exploring funding sources for

conservation programs, practices, and pilot projects;

4. Review agreements, or forms of agreements, proposed to be

entered into by districts with other districts or with any state,

federal, tribal, interstate, or other public or private agency,

organization, or individual, and advise the districts concerning the

agreements or forms of agreements;

5. Secure the cooperation and assistance of the United States

and any of its agencies, any tribe, agencies of this state, other

entities, or individuals in the work of the Commission or districts;

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6. Accept donations, grants, gifts and contributions in money,

services, or otherwise from the United States or any of its

agencies, tribes, the state or any of its agencies, other entities,

or individuals in order to carry out the purposes of the

Conservation District Act;

7. Disseminate information throughout the state concerning the

activities and programs of the conservation districts and make

available information concerning the needs and the work of the

conservation districts and Commission to the Governor, the

Legislature, executive agencies of the government of this state,

political subdivisions of this state, cooperating federal agencies,

and the general public;

8. Serve along with conservation districts as the official

state agencies for cooperating with the Natural Resources

Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture

and carrying on conservation operations within the boundaries of

conservation districts;

9. Cooperate with and give such assistance as it deems

necessary and proper to conservancy districts, watershed

associations, and other special purpose districts in the State of

Oklahoma for the purpose of cooperating with the United States

through the Secretary of Agriculture in the furtherance of

conservation pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Watershed

Protection and Flood Prevention Act, as amended;

10. Recommend the inclusion in annual and longer-term budgets

and appropriation legislation of the State of Oklahoma of funds

necessary for appropriation by the Legislature to finance the

activities of the Commission and the conservation districts and to:

a. administer the provisions of the Conservation District

Act hereafter enacted by the Legislature appropriating

funds for expenditure in connection with the

activities of conservation districts,

b. distribute to conservation districts funds, equipment,
of funds

necessary for appropriation by the Legislature to finance the

activities of the Commission and the conservation districts and to:

a. administer the provisions of the Conservation District

Act hereafter enacted by the Legislature appropriating

funds for expenditure in connection with the

activities of conservation districts,

b. distribute to conservation districts funds, equipment,

supplies, and services received by the Commission for

that purpose from any source, subject to such

conditions as shall be made applicable thereto in any

state or federal statute or local ordinance making

available such funds, property, or services,

c. issue guidelines and suitable controls to govern the

use by conservation districts of funds, property, and

services, and

d. review all budgets, administrative procedures, and

operations of such districts and advise the districts

concerning their conformance with applicable laws and

regulations;

11. Enlist the cooperation and collaboration of state, federal,

tribal, regional, interstate, local, public, and private agencies

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with the conservation districts and facilitate arrangements under

which the conservation districts may serve county governing bodies

and other agencies as their local operating agencies in the

administration of any activity concerned with the conservation of

renewable natural resources;

12. Pursuant to procedures developed mutually by the Commission

and federal, tribal, state, and local agencies that are authorized

to plan or administer activities significantly affecting the

conservation of renewable natural resources, receive from these

agencies for review and comment suitable descriptions of their

plans, programs, and activities for purposes of coordination with

district conservation programs and to arrange for and participate in

conferences necessary to avoid conflict among plans and programs, to

call attention to omissions, and to avoid duplication of effort;

13. Compile information and make studies, summaries, and

analyses of district programs in relation to each other and to other

resource conservation programs on a statewide basis;

14. Except as otherwise assigned by law, carry out the policies

of this state in programs at the state level for the conservation of

the renewable natural resources of this state and represent the

state in matters affecting such resources;

15. Assist conservation districts in obtaining legal services

from state and local legal officers;

16. Require annual reports from conservation districts, the

form and content of which shall be developed by the Commission in

consultation with the district directors;

17. Establish by rules, with the assistance and advice of the

State Auditor and Inspector, adequate and reasonably uniform

accounting and auditing procedures that shall be used by

conservation districts;

18. Conduct workshops for district directors to instruct them

on the subjects of district finances, the Conservation District Law

and related laws, and their duties and responsibilities as

directors;

19. Assist and supervise districts in carrying out their

responsibilities in accordance with Oklahoma laws;

20. Have power, by administrative order, upon the written

request of the board of directors of the conservation district or

districts involved, with a showing that such request has been

approved by a majority vote of the members of each of the boards

involved, to:

a. transfer lands and assign easements from one district

established under the provisions of the Conservation

District Act to another,

b. divide a single district into two or more districts,

each of which shall thereafter operate as a separate

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district under the provisions of the Conservation

District Act, and

c. consolidate two or more districts established under
district

established under the provisions of the Conservation

District Act to another,

b. divide a single district into two or more districts,

each of which shall thereafter operate as a separate

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 27A. Environment and Natural Resources Page 340

district under the provisions of the Conservation

District Act, and

c. consolidate two or more districts established under

the provisions of the Conservation District Act, which

consolidated area shall operate thereafter as a single

district under the provisions of the Conservation

District Act;

21. Except as otherwise provided by law, act as the management

agency having jurisdiction over and responsibility for directing

nonpoint source pollution prevention programs outside the

jurisdiction or control of cities or towns in Oklahoma. The

Commission, otherwise, shall be responsible for all identified

nonpoint source categories except silviculture, urban stormwater

runoff and industrial runoff;

22. Establish and maintain an Equipment Revolving Fund for the

purpose of loaning conservation districts funds to purchase

equipment to be used for the installation of conservation practices.

The fund shall consist of all monies appropriated to, deposited in

or credited to the fund;

23. Administer cost-share programs to carry out conservation or

best management practices on the land to benefit the public through

the prevention or reduction of soil erosion and nonpoint source

pollution and general resource management. The Commission is not

authorized to implement mandatory compliance with management

practices, except as otherwise provided by law, to abate

agricultural nonpoint source pollution;

24. Plan watershed-based nonpoint source pollution control

activities, including the development and implementation of

conservation plans for the improvement and protection of the

resources of the state;

25. Assist the Oklahoma Water Resources Board on lake projects

through stream and river monitoring, assessing watershed activities

impacting lake water quality, and assisting in the development of a

watershed management plan;

26. Maintain the activities of the state's nonpoint source

working group;

27. Prepare, revise, and review Oklahoma's nonpoint source

management program and nonpoint source assessment report in

coordination with other state environmental agencies and compile a

comprehensive assessment for the state every five (5) years. The

management program and assessment report shall be distributed to the

Governor, Secretary of Energy and Environment, the President Pro

Tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate, and the Speaker of the

Oklahoma House of Representatives;

28. Under the direction of the Office of the Secretary of

Energy and Environment, develop and implement the state's nonpoint

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source water quality monitoring strategy in coordination with other

environmental agencies;

29. Monitor, evaluate, and assess the waters of the state to

determine the condition of streams and rivers impacted by nonpoint

source pollution. In carrying out this area of responsibility, the

Conservation Commission shall serve as the technical lead agency for

nonpoint source pollution categories as defined in Section 319 of

the Federal Clean Water Act or other subsequent federal or state

nonpoint source programs;

30. Administer the Blue Thumb Program;

31. Enter into agreements or contracts for services with any of

the substate planning districts recognized by the Oklahoma

Department of Commerce;

32. Cooperate with the federal government, or any agency

thereof, to participate in and coordinate with federal programs that

will yield additional federal funds to the state for programs within

the jurisdiction of the Conservation Commission. This participation

shall be subject to the availability of state funds;
substate planning districts recognized by the Oklahoma

Department of Commerce;

32. Cooperate with the federal government, or any agency

thereof, to participate in and coordinate with federal programs that

will yield additional federal funds to the state for programs within

the jurisdiction of the Conservation Commission. This participation

shall be subject to the availability of state funds;

33. Implement pilot projects and programs, subject to the

availability of funds, that will demonstrate the latest technologies

and applications in conservation programs that may provide direct or

residual benefits to conservation practices in the state; and

34. Promulgate rules necessary, expedient, or appropriate to

carry out the purposes, objectives, or provisions or appropriate to

the performance of the Conservation District Act and the Oklahoma

Carbon Sequestration Enhancement Act and:

a. may establish and collect fees for services provided

pursuant to the Conservation District Act and the

Oklahoma Carbon Sequestration Enhancement Act,

including any services for the certification or

verification of sustainable agricultural production

practices, including but not limited to, the Natural

Resources Conservation Service Soil Condition Index,

and

b. shall promulgate all rules establishing fees in

accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act,

which fees shall be fair and equitable to all parties

concerned.

B. Nothing in this act shall take away any of the present

duties or responsibilities delegated by law or constitution to other

environmental agencies.