Hunereds of Millions in $ Handled By DEQ and Water Resources Board

A recently-completed audit of the State government of Oklahoma for 2015 shows we’re talking some serious money handled by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board and the Department of Environmental Quality.

The audit conducted by State Auditor and Inspector Gary Jones found no wrong doing or financial problems on the part of the two agencies. But it did reveal the Water Resources Board which administers the Oklahoma Clean Water Facility Construction Revolving Loan Account Program had loans outstanding of $454,221,267 at the end of June 30, 2015. The audit indicated that a federal grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides nearly 80 percent of the program’s loan funding with State funds matching the remaining 20 percent.

The same audit noted that the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality administers the Oklahoma Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Program and it too, involved hundreds of millions of dollars.

The program had loans outstanding of $416,752,021 at the end of June last year. The Oklahoma Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Program utilizes Federal capitalization grants, from the EPA and required State matching funds equal to 20 percent of the federal money received and interest income from drinking water loan assistance.

The audit showed that during fiscal year 2015, the ODEQ withdrew federal funds in the amount of $9,286,891.