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HB2976 HFLR Page 1
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 2976 By: Gise
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
An Act relating to the Department of Environmental
Quality; requiring the promulgation of rules
establishing water quality criteria for aluminum;
listing criteria for promulgated rules; authorizing
adoption or incorporation by reference of certain
criteria; requiring criteria be applied to certain
permitting; listing requirements for application to
permits; requiring criteria be included in certain
triennial review; authorizing updates to criteria;
providing for codification; and providing an
effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2-6-112 of Title 27A, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. By December 31, 2028, the Department of Environmental
Quality shall promulgate rules that establish numeric water quality
criteria for aluminum applicable to surface waters of the State of
Oklahoma. The criteria shall:
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1. Be developed in accordance with Section 303(c) of the
federal Clean Water Act and its implementing regulations;
2. Be consistent with current U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) guidance, including use of any recommended hardness-
based or water-chemistry-based criteria equations, bioavailability
models, or site-specific adjustment procedures; and
3. Incorporate site-specific conditions, where scientifically
appropriate, including water hardness, pH, dissolved organic carbon,
or other parameters affecting aluminum toxicity.
The Department may adopt or incorporate by reference any EPA
criteria, guidance documents, or calculation tools necessary to
implement the provisions of this section.
B. Following promulgation of the rules required in subsection
A, the Department shall apply the numeric aluminum water quality
criteria in all Oklahoma Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(OPDES) permits where aluminum may be discharged. The Department
shall, consistent with federal and state law:
1. Require permittees to conduct monitoring and reporting of
aluminum and related parameters necessary to evaluate compliance
with water-quality-based standards;
2. Establish water-quality-based effluent limits where needed
to ensure compliance with the numeric criteria;
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3. Consider site-specific conditions, mixing zones, dilution
allowances, and receiving-water characteristics in calculating any
water-quality-based effluent limits; and
4. Include any additional monitoring, best management
practices, or adaptive management conditions necessary to assure
protection of water quality.
C. The Department shall include the aluminum criteria in each
triennial review of Oklahoma Water Quality Standards required under
Section 303(c) of the Clean Water Act. The Department shall revise
such criteria as needed to reflect new science, updated EPA
recommendations, or site-specific data, and shall submit any
revisions to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for approval.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
OVERSIGHT, dated 03/04/2026 - DO PASS, As Amended.