Advisory Councils

• Air Quality Advisory Council
  The Air Quality Advisory Council (AQAC) serves as the initial rulemaking body for the AQD and operates under the authority of the Oklahoma Clean Air Act and the Oklahoma Environmental Quality Code. The AQAC holds public hearings, reviews air quality issues, and provides expertise about various air quality issues.

• OHMERC
  The Oklahoma Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Commission (OHMERC) is the State Emergency Response Commission, mandated under the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act, Title III (SARA Title III), also known as the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act.

The Water Quality Advisory Council (WQMAC), the Hazardous Waste Management Advisory Council (HWMAC), the Solid Waste Management Advisory Council (SWMAC), and the Radiation Management Advisory Council (RMAC) were sunset on July 1, 2026 pursuant to the statutory provisions of 27A O.S. § 2-2-201. These council’s functions have been assumed by the Environmental Quality Board and by the staff of the Department of Environmental Quality. To view a list of previous council meetings, agendas, minutes and other relevant documents, click here 

Since DEQ’s creation in the early 1990s, these councils played an important role in the implementation and administration of Oklahoma’s environmental laws.  They provided a valuable forum through which representatives of regulated industries, local governments, environmental organizations, and the public could participate in the development of environmental policy and regulations.  Through their collective technical knowledge, professional experience, and thoughtful deliberation, council members made invaluable contributions to the development, refinement, and improvement of DEQ’s administrative rules over the past three decades. We thank the councils and their members for their dedicated service to DEQ and the State of Oklahoma.