G. L. U. E. Member Report - 10-20-08

I attended Congressman Dan Boren’s fund raiser at The Coves last Wednesday and took the opportunity to discuss the pending shoreline management plan with him. He is vitally aware of how much economic impact Grand Lake provides for not only northeastern Oklahoma, but for the entire state. I told him of the potential changes which might be mandated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and how his support, and that of our entire Oklahoma legislative delegation, would be required to protect this great resource. I provided his staff with copies of all correspondence between our organization and FERC.

Boren wanted to know where Kevin Easley and the GRDA stood on the issue. I described to him the process that had been utilized and that the authority had come to our aid in the modification of this plan just in time. I gave him an overview of the public meetings and the public’s unanimous disapproval of the initial plan with its vast amount of restrictions. I described how the authority had taken the challenge of a total rewriting of the plan with full knowledge that FERC wouldn’t be pleased.

The congressman said he would support us in any way he could and would work towards gaining the support of others in the state’s delegation. He suggested the possibility of a meeting at his Washington office with some of, or perhaps all the FERC commissioners. I’ll keep you posted.

Water Quality Concerns

In the past few weeks, I’ve been approached by some farmers and ranchers in Missouri concerning CAFO (Confined Animal Farming Operations) in their area. They have provided me with documentation of violations of the rules and regulation covering waste water management of these types of operations. They came to us because of a lack of response from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, DNR, and the fact these violations eventually find their way in to Grand Lake. They are looking for any kind of help they can get. Two of them flew over last week to present their case in person.

I have taken the two separate packages they have provided to the attention of GRDA, the Grand Lake Water Watch and the Grand Lake Watershed Alliance. It has occurred to me that this information should also be provided to the Oklahoma DEQ, the Water Resources Board and even perhaps the Attorney General.

Cheers