Meanwhile OWRB staff members said they plan to bring back a set of proposed limitations on more than three dozen toxic chemicals already found or likely to be found in drinking water supplies and fish after abruptly pulling the standards from consideration when an industry-backed group raised technical issues about the proposal.
The proposed rules, thought by many to have been effectively killed last month, are currently in a public comment phase.
Of the 38 chemicals that were proposed to be added to the list, 18 are known carcinogens and each of the chemicals are either currently being discharged into Oklahoma waters or are used or manufactured by industries in Oklahoma.
Officials at the Agriculture Department said the application, which was formally approved by the department on Dec. 12, had been submitted and processed prior to the suspension being put in place in October.
The proposed rules would require groups engaged in indirect lobbying to disclose spending, donors and put disclaimers on advertisements, phone calls or other communication stating that it is a “lobbyist communication.”
“The idea is when somebody is funding communications that involves pending legislation and is urging a specific vote on the legislation, there needs to be disclosure,” said Ashley Kemp, Ethics Commission executive director.
Critics said that by adding the May 31 end date to the temporary moratorium on poultry feeding operation applications, the board created a situation that allows the poultry industry and its allies in the Legislature to essentially run out the clock without having to add any new regulations or protections.
When I was a child, two books that illustrated how journalists asked very tough and uncomfortable questions to the most powerful people in the country got me thinking “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.” So I started doing it.
