Conservationists sue OKC and others over water plan

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OKLAHOMA CITY – A lawsuit filed by a group of conservationists and property owners on the Kiamichi River claims that two tribes, Oklahoma City, and the state and federal governments bypassed an environmental impact assessment of an agreement to divert water from the river.

The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma says the actions taken to ensure Oklahoma City has access to more than 100,000 acre-feet of water annually from Sardis Lake could injure at least two federally designated freshwater mussel species. The water is scheduled to be pumped from near the lake in the Kiamichi River near the town of Clayton beginning in 2035.

According to the plaintiffs, the government entities that agreed to let the water be moved failed to properly consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure the habitat would not be affected, as outlined in the Endangered Species Act. The federal service even requested that the Oklahoma Water Resources Board not approve the application in 2017. For lack of communication and follow-up, the Department of the Interior violated its duties, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit names several heads of government entities as defendants: U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt, Gov. Kevin Stitt, Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby, Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, OWRB Executive Director Julie Cunningham, and Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust Chairman Carl Edwards.

The list of plaintiffs totals 10, led by the nonprofit Kiamichi River Legacy Alliance Inc. The other nine plaintiffs are identified as property owners with economic interests on or near the river. The lawsuit says they seek to protect the river for recreational, educational, cultural and aesthetic purposes, as well as hunting and fishing business.

The plaintiffs include Kenneth Roberts, Daniel Roberts, Dale Jackson, Justin Jackson, Krey Long, Johnny Robbins, Weldon Robbins, William Redman and Myrl Redman. They are represented by attorney David Page with the Barber & Bartz law firm.

The mussels identified are native species called the Ouachita rock pocketbook, or Arcidens wheeleri, and the scaleshell, or Leptodea leptodon. Another endangered species, the winged mapleleaf, or Quadrula fragosa, has been reported in the river but its status is uncertain, the lawsuit says.

Several of the defendants could not be reached for comment Monday.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare a violation of the Endangered Species Act and stop plaintiffs from moving ahead with their plans to pump water until after assessments are made.

The lake is a primary source of water in southeast Oklahoma. Problems came to light in 1998 when then-Gov. Frank Keating was told by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that the state had defaulted on a $27 million debt for construction of Sardis Lake in the 1970s. The state government briefly staved off a lawsuit in order to find funds, which occurred in 2010 via the Oklahoma City trust’s offer to buy water storage rights for the lake’s water for $42 million.

But in 2011, the Chickasaws and Choctaws filed a lawsuit against several of the parties involved in the negotiations. Sardis happens to be under tribal jurisdiction according to original treaties, the lawsuit claimed.

Ultimately, everyone settled on an agreement that allows Oklahoma to administer the water, but forces it to adhere to the tribes’ conservation standards and allows the tribes to be involved in technical evaluations in the area. City officials signed off on the deal this year.

Former City Manager Jim Couch said two years earlier that work on a water pipeline from Sardis Lake to Atoka Lake will cost $150 million and a parallel line will cost about $600 million, although he stressed that it wouldn’t be needed for at least 15 years.