Drummond praises halt of controversial hydroelectric plan on Kiamichi River

OKLAHOMA CITY (March 7, 2025) – In a victory for residents of Southeast Oklahoma, Attorney General Gentner Drummond said he is grateful the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is putting the brakes on a proposed hydroelectric power plant on the Kiamichi River in Pushmataha County.

FERC found the updated Proposed Study Plan insufficient to proceed with the study planning process in a letter last month to Southeast Oklahoma Power Corporation (SEOPC). The Dallas-based SEOPC must file a second updated Proposed Study Plan with FERC that includes the required explanations by March 22.

“This is welcome news for Oklahomans who treasure the Kiamichi River and how this proposal would adversely impact property owners, wildlife and the river itself,” said Drummond.

He has been a staunch opponent of efforts by SEOPC to establish a transmission line extending through Pushmataha and McCurtain counties to provide power for Texas. In an August 2024 letter to FERC, Drummond had urged rejection of the application, noting that SEOPC provided only limited information to the commission and had not requested the proper state licenses or permits for the project.

Moreover, Drummond argued that the project appeared to be inconsistent with numerous mechanisms in the State’s Water Settlement Agreement with the Choctaw Nation and the Chickasaw Nation that are intended to preserve the flow of the Kiamichi River and protect the region.

“As the chief law officer of the State of Oklahoma, I will not tolerate violation of Oklahoma law or flagrant disregard for the sovereignty or federal law, protected rights of a tribal nation and similarly situated property owners,” the Attorney General wrote in the letter. “Most of the proud Oklahomans who call the Kiamichi region home have lived there for generations. I intend, as Oklahoma’s Attorney General, to ensure that their private property rights are safeguarded to the full extent of the law.”