Oklahoma Water Pioneers Kershen, Paque, and Smith Honored During 2023 Governor's Water Conference
Oklahoma Water Pioneers Kershen, Paque, and Smith Honored During 2023 Governor's Water Conference
On behalf of Governor Kevin Stitt, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board was pleased to present the 2023 Oklahoma Water Pioneers in Norman on November 29 during the annual Oklahoma Governor's Water Conference and Research Symposium. Each year since 1985, the award has been presented to individuals who have devoted their careers to the planning, development, management, protection, and conservation of Oklahoma's water resources. The awards were presented to Drew Kershen, Mike Paque, and Duane Smith.
Professor Drew Kershen was a faculty member of the University of Oklahoma College of Law for 41 and a half years until retiring in 2012. At the beginning of his career, he convinced the OU Curriculum Committee to add an agricultural law course. In 1989, Professor Kershen expanded his agricultural law program and began teaching water law, recognizing that agriculture law and water law are inextricably connected.
In 1994, Professor Kershen gave an eye-opening presentation at the Governor's Water Conference on agribusiness and environmental concerns, introducing the audience to the terms "sod buster" and "swamp buster" to describe federal environmental laws and regulations that would later trigger much concern from the agriculture industry. These early environmental laws and regulations ultimately led to the federal "WOTUS" (Waters of the United States) controversies and whether and to what extent activities in wetlands should be regulated.
Professor Kershen was later selected to join the Water Law Advisory Committee, a multi-sector advisory group that provided perspective to the OWRB regarding proposed state legislation and rules. Professor Kershen was particularly insightful about legislation drafted in 1993 to address the uncertainty in stream water rights posed by the Oklahoma Supreme Court decision in the Franco-American Charolaise case and the recognition of riparian rights to reasonable use within the prior appropriation system.
Since retiring from OU Law, Professor Kershen has continued to give presentations at conferences, speaking passionately about the benefits of biotechnology to improve crop production and yields through improved drought tolerance and pest resistance.
He recently provided an academic review on the history and evolution of the fundamental statutes and case law that govern groundwater and stream water in a manner that has affected or could affect Oklahoma Reclamation projects. His work on the project will inform water management for decades to come.
Professor Kershen received the American Agricultural Law Association Distinguished Service Award in 2000 and the Excellence in Agricultural Law for Academia Award in 2017. We recognize Professor Kershen for a career devoted to developing and defining laws that govern fair appropriation of water and serving as an invaluable resource for guidance in countless water law cases and studies.
Mr. Mike Paque was instrumental in the creation of the Ground Water Protection Council in 1984 and became its first executive director, serving for 39 years until last March. The organization has remained headquartered in Oklahoma since its inception. It is now a national association comprising 43 states, with membership including environmental or groundwater protection divisions, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and major U.S. oil, chemical, and manufacturing firms.
The Council serves as a forum for promoting open discussion, research, and public education and outreach on community issues relating to groundwater protection, as well as the development of voluntary programs for implementing local land use controls to protect local and public water supplies. The Council has received recognition from the U.S. EPA as an outstanding water steward and from the WateReuse Association for Excellence in Advocacy Achievement related to recycling produced water from oil and gas operations.
During his distinguished career, Mr. Paque served on numerous federal agency committees involving groundwater, drinking water, water use, and oil and gas-related topics, and regulatory issue groups engaged in issues such as the chemical fate and transport of injection waste, federal and state regulations related to underground injection control wells, aquifer exemptions, aquifer storage and recovery drinking water rules, and TMDLs. Representing the Council, Mr. Paque has appeared before Congress to testify on Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act reauthorization, national groundwater legislation, and EPA appropriations bills.
Among other accomplishments, he oversaw the implementation and maintenance of a 27-state Risk Based Data Management System used by energy and water agencies for effective regulation and to provide public transparency. He initiated, developed, and maintained the chemical disclosure system, FracFocus.org, and an induced seismicity public website.
Mr. Paque is serving his second term on the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality's Board of Directors and is currently their Chairman. Before that appointment, he served 12 years on the ODEQ Water Quality Management Advisory Committee. He served 20 years on the U.S. Department of Interior Advisory Committee on Water Information and is currently on the National Petroleum Council.
His early public service included work as a project planner for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation in the early 1970s and as Principal Planner for the City of Oklahoma City from 1976 to 1981. Mr. Paque served as the Associate Director of the Interstate Oil Compact Commission from 1981-1984, developing strategies and programs for implementing provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1976 in relation to oil and gas regulation.
Mr. Duane Smith has proven himself a committed and effective water policy and management leader at the state, national, and international levels for more than 45 years, passionately challenging conventions that obstruct intelligent water use and protection.
Mr. Smith joined the Oklahoma Water Resources Board in 1978. He served for 32 years as a hydrologist, chief of the Groundwater Division, and as Executive Director from 1997-2010.
Under his leadership, the OWRB obtained additional funding for the Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan by strengthening partnerships with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other federal agencies. These efforts led to the ambitious 2012 update of the state's Water Plan, which focused on maximizing local water supply reliability and infrastructure, long overdue policy improvements, and enhanced citizen involvement.
During his tenure, Mr. Smith directed the implementation of Senate Bill 288, including a complex hydrologic study to determine new, unprecedented levels of legislative protection for the imperiled Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer. The agency exceeded the two-billion-dollar milestone in community water and wastewater system funding and established the first statewide water quality monitoring and well driller certification programs under his leadership as well.
Nationally, Mr. Smith served as Chair of the Western States Water Council from 2006 to 2008.
Upon retiring in 2010, Mr. Smith pursued a unique opportunity by joining the Corps of Engineers and deploying to Afghanistan to help establish crucial water facilities for the war-torn Afghan people. His work there was recognized through public service awards from the Department of the Army and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Mr. Smith is widely considered a leading advocate for regional water planning as he continues to consult with local stakeholders to collaboratively address water reliability challenges posed by competing uses, aging infrastructure, drought, and the looming impacts of climate change. He led the development and implementation of the Southwest Oklahoma Water Supply Action Plan, Northwest Oklahoma Water Action Plan, Panhandle Regional Water Plan, Foss Reservoir Drought Contingency Plan, and Tulsa Regional Water Plan.
In his work with the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations of Oklahoma, Mr. Smith's unique perspective was valuable to all sides during lengthy water negotiations with the State and Oklahoma City, resulting in the landmark agreement in 2016 that resolves decades of conflict over water regulation.
He currently serves as Executive Director of the Chickasaw Nation's Oka' Institute at East Central University and implements Tribal water sustainability goals through stewardship, research, and policy development. This year, he was awarded an honorary doctorate of science from Kenya's JOOUST University for contributions to international water management and policy.
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Past Pioneer winners can be found at: https://oklahoma.gov/owrb/news-and-events/oklahoma-governors-water-conference
