The Board shall not permit any fresh ground water user to commit waste by:

1. 1. Drilling a well, taking, or using fresh ground water without a permit, except for domestic use;
2. 2. Taking more fresh ground water than is authorized by the permit;
3. 3. Taking or using fresh ground water in any manner so that the water is lost for beneficial use;
4. 4. Transporting fresh ground water from a well to the place of use in such a manner that there is an excessive loss in transit;
5. 5. Using fresh ground water in such an inefficient manner that excessive losses occur;
6. 6. Allowing any fresh ground water to reach a pervious stratum and be lost into cavernous or otherwise pervious materials encountered in a well;
7. 7. Permitting or causing the pollution of a fresh water strata or basin through any act which will permit fresh ground water polluted by minerals or other waste to filter or otherwise intrude into such a basin or subbasin;
8. 8. Drilling wells and producing fresh ground water therefrom except in accordance with the well spacing previously determined by the Board;
9. 9. Using fresh ground water for air conditioning or cooling purposes without providing facilities to aerate and reuse such water; or

10. 10. Failure to properly plug abandoned fresh water wells in accordance with rules of the Board and file reports thereof.

    Any employee of the Board having evidence that an act of waste is being committed in his presence, or on the filing of a complaint by another individual, shall immediately proceed to cite such violator and shall thereupon file a complaint in the district court of the county wherein such violation has occurred, and it shall be the duty of the district attorney of said county to prosecute such complaint. In addition thereto, if any person commits waste the Board shall immediately institute action to enjoin in a court of competent jurisdiction and may suspend any permit to take water as long as such waste continues.

    Provided, however, that in cases of waste by pollution, any complaint or investigation, or any enforcement matter other than an individual proceeding involving the suspension of an Oklahoma Water Resources Board permit shall be referred to and subject to the jurisdiction of the Department of Environmental Quality or other appropriate state agency.

Laws 1972, HB 1508, c. 248, § 15, eff. July 1, 1973; Amended by Laws 1993, HB 1002, c. 145, § 322, emerg. eff. July 1, 1993.