Okla. Stat. tit. 82, § 82-1401

The following Interstate Compact is hereby approved and

ratified.

ARKANSAS RIVER BASIN COMPACT KANSAS-OKLAHOMA, 1970

The State of Kansas and the State of Oklahoma, acting through

their duly-authorized Compact representatives, Robert L. Smith and

Warden L. Noe, for the State of Kansas, and Geo. R. Benz and Frank

Raab, for the State of Oklahoma, after negotations participated in

by Trigg Twichell, appointed by the President as the representative

of the United States of America, and in accordance with the consent

to such negotiations granted by an Act of Congress of the United

States of America, approved August 11, 1955 (Public Law 340, 84th

Congress, 1st Session), have agreed as follows respecting the waters

of the Arkansas River and its tributaries:

ARTICLE I

The major purposes of this Compact are:

A. To promote interstate comity between the States of Kansas

and Oklahoma;

B. To divide and apportion equitably between the States of

Kansas and Oklahoma the waters of the Arkansas River Basin and to

promote the orderly development thereof;

C. To provide an agency for administering the water

apportionment agreed to herein;

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 82. Waters and Water Rights Page 345

D. To encourage the maintenance of an active pollution-

abatement program in each of the two states and to seek the further

reduction of both natural and man-made pollution in the waters of

the Arkansas River Basin.

ARTICLE II

As used in this Compact:

A. The term "state" shall mean either state signatory hereto

and shall be construed to include any person or persons, entity or

agency of either state who, by reason of official responsibility or

by designation of the Governor of that state, is acting as an

official representative of that state;

B. The term "Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Commission" or the

term "Commission" means the agency created by this Compact for the

administration thereof;

C. The term "Arkansas River" means that portion of the Arkansas

River from a point immediately below the confluence of the Arkansas

and Little Arkansas Rivers in the vicinity of Wichita, Kansas, to a

point immediately below the confluence of the Arkansas River with

the Grand-Neosho River near Muskogee, Oklahoma;

D. The term "Arkansas River Basin" means all of the drainage

basin of the Arkansas River as delimited above, including all

tributaries which empty into it between the upstream and downstream

limits;

E. The term "waters of the Arkansas River and its tributaries"

means the waters originating in the Arkansas River Basin;

F. The term "conservation storage capacity" means that portion

of the active storage capacity of reservoirs, including multipurpose

reservoirs, with a conservation storage capacity in excess of one

hundred 100 acre-feet, available for the storage of water for

subsequent use, but it excludes any portion of the storage capacity

allocated to flood and sediment control and inactive storage

capacity allocated to other uses;

G. The term "new conservation storage capacity" means

conservation storage capacity for which construction is initiated

after July 1, 1963, and storage capacity not presently allocated for

conservation storage which is converted to conservation storage

capacity after July 1, 1963, in excess of the quantities of declared

conservation storage capacity as set forth in the storage table

attached to and made a part of the minutes of the Twenty-fourth

meeting of the Compact Committee dated September 1, 1964, and as

filed and identified to this Compact in the offices of the

Secretaries of State of the respective states:

H. The term "pollution" means contamination or other

alterations of the physical, chemical, biological or radiological

properties of water or the discharge of any liquid, gaseous, or

solid substances into any waters which creates or is likely to

result in a nuisance, or which renders or is likely to render the
this Compact in the offices of the

Secretaries of State of the respective states:

H. The term "pollution" means contamination or other

alterations of the physical, chemical, biological or radiological

properties of water or the discharge of any liquid, gaseous, or

solid substances into any waters which creates or is likely to

result in a nuisance, or which renders or is likely to render the

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 82. Waters and Water Rights Page 346

waters into which it is discharged harmful, detrimental or injurious

to public health, safety, or welfare or which is harmful,

detrimental or injurious to beneficial uses of the water.

ARTICLE III

The physical and other conditions peculiar to the Arkansas River

Basin constitute the basis for this Compact, and neither of the

states hereby, nor the Congress of the United States by its consent

hereto, concedes that this Compact establishes any general principle

with respect to any other interstate stream.

ARTICLE IV

A. For the purpose of apportionment of water between the two

states, the Arkansas River Basin is hereby divided into major

topographic subbasins as follows:

(1) the Grand-Neosho River Subbasin;

(2) the Verdigris River Subbasin;

(3) the Salt Fork River Subbasin;

(4) the Cimarron River Subbasin; and

(5) the mainstem Arkansas River Subbasin which shall consist of

the Arkansas River Basin, excepting the Grand-Neosho River,

Verdigris River, Salt Fork River, and Cimarron River subbasins.

B. The two states recognize that portions of other states not

signatory to this Compact lie within the drainage area of the

Arkansas River Basin as herein defined. The water apportionments

provided for in this Compact are not intended to affect nor do they

affect the rights of such other states in and to the use of the

waters of the basin.

ARTICLE V

The State of Kansas shall have free and unrestricted use of the

waters of the Arkansas River Basin within Kansas subject to the

provisions of this Compact and to the limitations set forth below:

A. New conservation storage capactiy in the Grand-Neosho River

Subbasin within the State of Kansas shall not exceed six hundred

fifty thousand (650,000) acre-feet plus an additional capacity equal

to the new conservation storage in said drainage basin in Oklahoma

excepting storage on Spavinaw Creek;

B. New conservation storage capacity in the Verdigris River

subbasin within the State of Kansas shall not exceed three hundred

thousand (300,000) acre-feet plus an additional capacity equal to

the new conservation storage in said drainage basin in Oklahoma,

excepting navigation capacity allocated in Oologah Reservoir;

C. New conservation storage capacity in the mainstem Arkansas

River Subbasin within the State of Kansas shall not exceed six

hundred thousand (600,000) acre-feet plus and additional capacity

equal to the new conservation storage in said drainage basin in

Oklahoma;

D. New conservation storage capacity in the Salt Fork River

Subbasin within the State of Kansas shall not exceed three hundred

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thousand (300,000) acre-feet plus an additional capacity equal to

the new conservation storage in said drainage basin in Oklahoma;

E. New conservation storage capacity in the Cimarron River

Subbasin within the State of Kansas shall not exceed five thousand

(5,000) acre-feet, provided that new conservation storage capacity

in excess of that amount may be constructed if specific project

plans have first been submitted to and have received the approval of

the Commission.

ARTICLE VI

The State of Oklahoma shall have free and unrestricted use of

the waters of the Arkansas River Basin within Oklahoma subject to

the provisions of this Compact and to the limitations set forth

below:

New conservation storage capactiy in the Cimarron River Subbasin

within the State of Oklahoma shall not exceed five thousand (5,000)
and have received the approval of

the Commission.

ARTICLE VI

The State of Oklahoma shall have free and unrestricted use of

the waters of the Arkansas River Basin within Oklahoma subject to

the provisions of this Compact and to the limitations set forth

below:

New conservation storage capactiy in the Cimarron River Subbasin

within the State of Oklahoma shall not exceed five thousand (5,000)

acre-feet provided that new conservation storage capacity in excess

of that amount may be constructed if specific project plans have

first been submitted to and have received the approval of the

Commission.

ARTICLE VII

A. The Commission shall determine the conditions under which

one state may construct and operate for its needs new conservation

storage capacity in the other state. The construction or

utilization of new conservation storage capacity by one state in the

other State shall entitle the state whose storage potential is

reduced by such construction to construct an equal amount of new

conservation storage in a subbasin agreeable to the Commission.

B. New conservation storage capacity constructed by the United

States or any of its agencies, instrumentalities or wards, or by a

state, political subdivision thereof, or any person or persons shall

be charged against the state in which the use is made.

C. Each state has the unrestricted right to replace within the

same subbasin any conservation storage capacity made unusable by any

cause.

D. In the event reallocation of storage capacity in the

Arkansas River Basin in Oklahoma should result in the reduction of

that state's new conservation storage capacity, such reallocation

shall not reduce the total new conservation storage capacities

available to Kansas under Article V; provided that a subsequent

reinstatement of such storage capacity shall not be charged as an

increase in Oklahoma's new conservation storage capacity.

ARTICLE VIII

A. In the event of importation of water to a major subbasin of

the Arkansas River Basin from another river basin, or from another

major subbasin within the same state, the state making the

importation shall have exclusive use of such imported waters.

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B. In the event of exporation of water from a major subbasin

for use in another major subbasin or for use outside the Arkansas

River Basin within the same state, the limitations of Articles V and

VI on new conservation capacity shall apply against the subbasin

from which the exportation is made in the amount of the storage

capacity actually used for that purpose within the exporting

subbasin, or in the event of direct diversion of water without

storage on the basis of five (5) acre-feet of conservation storage

capacity for each acre- foot of water on the average so diverted

annually.

C. Any reservoir storage capacity which is required for the

control and utilization of imported waters shall not be accounted as

new conservation storage.

D. Should a transbasin diversion of water of the Arkansas River

Basin be made in one state for the use and benefit of the other

state or both states, the Commission shall determine a proper

accounting of new conservation storage capacities in each state in

accordance with the above principles and with the project uses to be

made in that state.

ARTICLE IX

The States of Kansas and Oklahoma mutually agree to:

A. The principle of individual state effort to abate man-made

pollution within each state's respective borders, and the continuing

support of both states in an active pollution-abatement program;

B. The cooperation of the appropriate state agencies in Kansas

and Oklahoma to investigate and abate sources of alleged interstate

pollution within the Arkansas River Basin whenever such matters are

called to their attention by the Commission;

C. Enter into joint programs for the identification and control
s, and the continuing

support of both states in an active pollution-abatement program;

B. The cooperation of the appropriate state agencies in Kansas

and Oklahoma to investigate and abate sources of alleged interstate

pollution within the Arkansas River Basin whenever such matters are

called to their attention by the Commission;

C. Enter into joint programs for the identification and control

of sources of natural pollution within the Arkansas River Basin

which the Commission finds are of interstate significance;

D. The principle that neither state may require the other to

provide water for the purpose of water-quality control as a

substitute for adequate waste treatment;

E. Utilize the provisions of the Federal Water Pollution

Control Act in the resolution of any pollution problems which cannot

be resolved within the provisions of this Compact.

ARTICLE X

A. There is hereby created an interstate administrative agency

to be known as the "Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Commission". The

Commission shall be composed of three Commissioners representing

each of the States of Kansas and Oklahoma who shall be appointed by

the Governors of the respective states and, if designated by the

President, one Commissioner representing the United States. The

President is hereby requested to designate a Commissioner and an

alternate representing the United States. The Federal Commissioner,

if one be designated, shall be the presiding officer of the

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Commission, but shall not have the right to vote in any of the

deliberations of the Commission.

B. One Kansas Commissioner shall be the state official who now

or hereafter shall be responsible for administering water law in the

state; the other two Commissioners shall reside in the Arkansas

River basin in Kansas and shall be appointed to four-year staggered

terms.

C. One Oklahoma Commissioner shall be the state official who

now or hereafter shall be responsible for administering water law in

the state; the other two Commissioners shall reside in the Arkansas

River Basin in Oklahoma and shall be appointed to four-year

staggered terms.

D. A majority of the Commissioners of each state and the

Commissioner or his alternate representing the United States, if so

designated, must be present to constitute a quorum. In taking any

Commission action, each signatory state shall have a single vote

representing the majority opinion of the Commissioners of that

state.

E. The salaries and personal expenses of each Commissioner

shall be paid by the government which he represents. All other

expenses which are incurred by the Commission incident to the

administration of this Compact shall be borne equally by the two

states and shall be paid by the Commission out of the "Kansas-

Oklahoma Arkansas River Commission Fund". Such fund shall be

initiated and maintained by equal payments of each state into the

fund. Disbursements shall be made from said fund in such manner as

may be authorized by the Commission. Such funds shall not be subject

to the audit and accounting procedures of the states; however, all

receipts and disbursements of funds handled by the Commission shall

be audited by a qualified independent public accountant at regular

intervals, and the report of such audit shall be included in and

become a part of the annual report of the Commission.

ARTICLE XI

A. The Commission shall have the power to:

(1) Employ such engineering, legal, clerical and other personnel

as in its judgment may be necessary for the performance of its

functions under the Compact;

(2) Enter into contracts with appropriate state or federal

agencies for the collection, correlation, and presentation of

factual data, for the maintenance of records, and for the

preparation of reports;

(3) Establish and maintain an office for the conduct of its

affairs;

(4) Adopt rules and regulations governing its operations;
essary for the performance of its

functions under the Compact;

(2) Enter into contracts with appropriate state or federal

agencies for the collection, correlation, and presentation of

factual data, for the maintenance of records, and for the

preparation of reports;

(3) Establish and maintain an office for the conduct of its

affairs;

(4) Adopt rules and regulations governing its operations;

(5) Cooperate with federal agencies in developing principles,

consistent with the provisions of this Compact and with federal

policy, for the storage and release of water from all-federal

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capacities of federal reservoirs, both existing and future within

the Arkansas River Basin, for the purpose of assuring their

operation in the best interests of the states and the United States;

(6) Permit either state, with the consent of the proper operating

agency, to impound water, for such periods of time deemed necessary

or desirable by the Commission, in available reservoir storage

capacity which is not designated as conservation or new conservation

storage capacity for subsequent release and use for any purpose

approved by the Commission;

(7) Hold bearings and take testimony and receive evidence at

such times and places as it deems necessary;

(8) Secure from the head of any department or agency of the

federal or state government such information, suggestions, estimates

and statistics as it may need or believe to be useful for carrying

out its functions and as may be available to or procurable by the

department or agency to which the request is addressed;

(9) Print or otherwise reproduce and distribute all of its

proceedings and reports.

B. The Commission shall:

(1) Cause to be established, maintained and operated such

stream, reservoir, or other gaging stations as may be necessary for

the proper administration of the Compact;

(2) Collect, analyze and report on data as to stream flows,

water quality, conservation storage, and such other information as

is necessary for the proper administration of the Compact;

(3) Perform all other functions required of it by the Compact

and do all things necessary, proper or convenient in the performance

of its duties thereunder;

(4) Prepare and submit an annual report to the Governor of each

signatory state and to the President of the United States covering

the activities of the Commission for the preceding fiscal year,

together with an accounting of all funds received and expended by it

in the conduct of its work;

(5) Prepare and submit to the Governor of each of the States of

Kansas and Oklahoma an annual budget covering the anticipated

expenses of the Commission for the following fiscal year;

(6) Make available to the Governor or any state agency of either

state or to any authorized representative of the United States, upon

request, any information within its possession.

ARTICLE XII

A. Recognizing the present limited uses of the available water

supplies of the Arkansas River Basin in the two states and the

uncertainties of their ultimate water needs, the States of Kansas

and Oklahoma deem it imprudent and inadvisable to attempt at this

time to make final allocations of the new conservation storage

capacity which may ultimately be required in either state, and, by

the limitations on storage capacity imposed herein, have not

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attempted to do so. Accordingly, after the expiration of 25 years

following the effective date of this Compact, the Commission may

review any provisions of the Compact for the purpose of amending or

supplementing the same, and shall meet for the consideration of such

review on the request of the Commissioners of either state;

provided, that the provisions hereof shall remain in full force and

effect until changed or amended by unanimous action of the states
following the effective date of this Compact, the Commission may

review any provisions of the Compact for the purpose of amending or

supplementing the same, and shall meet for the consideration of such

review on the request of the Commissioners of either state;

provided, that the provisions hereof shall remain in full force and

effect until changed or amended by unanimous action of the states

acting through their Commissioners and until such changes are

ratified by the legislatures of the respective States and consented

to by the Congress in the same manner as this Compact is required to

be ratified to become effective.

B. This Compact may be terminated at any time by the

appropriate action of the legislatures of both signatory states.

C. In the event of amendment or termination of the Compact, all

rights established under the Compact shall continue unimpaired.

ARTICLE XIII

Nothing in this Compact shall be deemed:

A. To impair or affect the powers, rights or obligations of the

United States, or those claiming under its authority, in, over and

to the waters of the Arkansas River Basin;

B. To interfere with or impair the right or power of either

signatory state to regulate within its boundaries the appropriation,

use and control of waters within that state not inconsistent with

its obligations under this Compact.

ARTICLE XIV

If any part or application of this Compact should be declared

invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, all other provisions

and applications of this Compact shall remain in full force and

effect.

ARTICLE XV

This Compact shall become binding and obligatory when it shall

have been ratified by the legislatures of each state and consented

to by the Congress of the United States, and when the Congressional

Act consenting to this Compact includes the consent of Congress to

name and join the United States as a party in any litigation in the

United States Supreme Court, if the United States is an

indispensable party, and if the litigation arises out of this

Compact or its application, and if a signatory State is a party

thereto. Notice of ratification by the legislature of each state

shall be given by the Governor of that state to the Governor of the

other state and to the President of the United States and the

President is hereby requested to give notice to the Governor of each

state of consent by the Congress of the United States.

In Witness Whereof, the authorized representatives have executed

three counterparts hereof each of which shall be and constitute an

original, one of which shall be deposited in the Archives of the

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Department of State of the United States, and one of which shall be

forwarded to the Governor of each state.

DONE at the City of Wichita, State of Kansas, this 31st day of

March, A.D., 1965.

Approved:

/s/ TRIGG TWICHELL

Trigg Twichell

Representative of the

United States of America

Attest:

/s/ I. D. YOST

I. D. Yost, Secretary

Approved June 2, 1965.

For Kansas:

/s/ ROBERT L. SMITH

Robert L. Smith,

Committee Member

/s/ WARDEN L. NOE

Warden L. Noe,

Committee Member

For Oklahoma:

/s/ GEO. R. BENZ

Geo. R. Benz,

Committee Member

/s/ FRANK RAAB

Frank Raab,

Committee Member