Natural Resources
Ada News - Eric Swanson
Environmental Protection Agency officials have assured U.S. Rep. Tom Cole that Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Center will have a new permanent director by September, Cole said Thursday.
Cole said Congress should not get involved in personnel issues at the EPA, but lawmakers have a forum for seeking information from agency officials. He added that he recently discussed the situation at Kerr Lab with officials who pledged to fill the director’s job this fall.
Tulsa World - The Associated Press
Congress has passed legislation that may help boost the water supply in Lake Thunderbird.
The legislation was sponsored by U.S. Rep. Tom Cole and was carried in the Senate by U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe. The resolution allows the Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District to tap into the Atoka line that runs near Lake Thunderbird. The Norman Transcript reports that this raw water source can be used to help raise water levels in Lake Thunderbird during drought conditions.
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Congressman Tom Cole (R-OK-4) today applauded the Senate passage of H.R. 3263, the Lake Thunderbird Efficient Use Act. This measure grants the Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District (COMC) authority to import and store non-project water into Lake Thunderbird in order to firm up municipal and industrial water supplies for cities including Norman, Midwest City, and Del City.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) released the following statement after the House passed H.R. 3263 - Lake Thunderbird Efficient Use Act, a bill he authored to allow Lake Thunderbird to acquire and store water from outside the Bureau of Reclamation system. Any cost associated with this action would be paid for by the Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District. The legislation has also been passed out of committee in the Senate.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) released the following statement after the House Committee on Natural Resources favorably reported H.R. 3263, the Lake Thunderbird Efficient Use Act:
Bill Clarifies Indian Reorganization Act of 1934
WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) recently introduced H.R. 3697 a bill that would amend the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (IRA) to reaffirm the authority of the Secretary of Interior to take land into trust for Indian tribes.