Uncharted Waters: Navigating Oklahoma DEQ’s Flexible Permitting Process with Tulsa Ports

The State of Oklahoma adopted enabling legislation for Design Build project delivery of water and wastewater treatment systems in 2021. This legislative change included a pilot program for ODEQ to develop and then promulgate rules for the new flexible permitting process. The timing of this legislative change aligned with Tulsa Ports’ development of a master plan for their Inola Industrial Park that included a new wastewater treatment plant. The South Inola WWTF was subsequently submitted and adopted as one of the ODEQ flexible permitting pilot projects.

The learning curve of a new process with the local regulatory body is not to be underestimated. Their codes and processes have been developed over decades around traditional hard bid projects, and these processes are well ingrained into the agencies. This presents a challenge, but it is not insurmountable. In fact, it is a challenge that is easily overcome with the same collaboration skills that make progressive design build projects effective.

Effective collaboration with regulatory agencies includes early engagement, creative problem solving, and regular communication. The project worked closely with ODEQ beginning with the conceptual design to advise how the project was going to be packaged for review, purchasing, and construction. While there were still challenges, this early communication aided in the approval process. The development of the package approach was informed by ODEQ’s constraints and concerns, to further support partnership and collaboration on the project.

This presentation will review the collaborative approach, the challenges that were encountered between legislation and administrative code, and the final package breakdown that was presented to ODEQ for permitting approval. It will conclude with a discussion on potential next steps to improve collaboration and alignment with regulatory codes and legal requirements.