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SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS I MONDAY MARCH 4, 2013

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FEATURE

Edmond man promotes CNG with business

By JAY F. MARKS
THE OKLAHOMAN

WATER CRISIS
DISPUTE I The U.S. Supreme Court will rule soon on water lawsuit between Oklahoma and Texas

EDMOND (AP) Craig Wright is an unabashed tinkerer. He's also convinced of natural gas' potential as a replacement for gasoline, so he is always looking for a new application. His limited-edition 2012 Ford F-150 Raptor, with distinctive red lettering on the grill, has been converted to run on compressed natural gas. It also has added a CNG-fueled Roush supercharger, creating what he calls a Roush Raptor. "I call it the firebreathing dragon," he said. Wright, who owns CNG Interstate in Edmond, also did some networking to get his hands on a 23-foot Malibu Wakesetter from Wilson Watersports. He told The Oklahoman that the ski boat's Chevrolet engine is not that much different from an automotive motor, so he knew it was possible to convert it to CNG. But it took some work to get the timing right. Wright's team also researched marine regulations to make sure its work met all
SEE CNG I PAGE 5A

Stasiak: Not enough money

By JAMES BEATY
SENIOR EDITOR

Reader photo

J.D. Strong, executive director of the Oklahoma Water Resources board, discusses the severity of the state's current water crisis in a recent interview with Oklahoma Watch.

OA with J.D. Strong

about climate change? A: I don't believe there is a consensus on that subject right now, at least not on man-induced climate Everywhere you look, people are change. People have different defiworked up about water. nitions of what climate change The state is in mediation with means. There's a pretty good conNative American tribes over southsensus that there are natural cycles east Oklahoma water. The entire to our climate that we've experistate is suffering from a three-year enced since the beginning of time, drought despite recent rainfall and and we're in a time of dryness and snowstorms. Lake levels have fallen drought right now and communities are imposing When you go to the leap of is this water rationing. People near Can- We have enjoyed a is man-induced climate change, you ton Lake are mad at Oklahoma City see a lot of folks falling off that for draining the reservoir so Lake number of decades of wagon pretty fast. Hefner won't dry up. Q: Then is this simply a cycliMany of these disputes wind up having plenty of water cal drought that at some point on the desktop of J.D. Strong, execwill end, and the rains will utive director of the Oklahoma in our state. We've come? Water Resources Board. Last year, A: Droughts always end at some Strong's agency drafted a new 50- become a bit point, and the rains will come. It's year water plan. Among other going to take a lot more rain than things, it calls for an $82 billion pro- gluttonous about it as a what we're seeing right now to end gram to upgrade the state's drinkit. But we do expect this one to end ing water and wastewater treat- society. There's no just like all others. ment infrastructure over the next The real question is when will it five decades. better time than right end, and when we look back, how In an interview with Oklahoma Watch' s Warren Vieth, Strong dis- now, in the midst of this will it compare to the worst drought on record, which is the mid-'50s cusses the severity of the state's drought, and the second-worst current water crisis, the pending drought, for people to drought, the drought of the '30s? legal battles over water and the Q: Do the people who use CanCanton Lake controversy. Although think about the value of ton Lake for recreational purthe state will always be vulnerable poses have a legitimate grievto drought-induced shortages, he that water and how ance about the lake being explains what can be done to make in Oklahoma their impact less dire. they could use it more drained so people watering their City can continue A fifth-generation Oklahoman, lawns? Strong, 41, grew up in Weatherford efficiently. A: It's a legitimate concern. But and received his bachelor's degree it's not just a concern with regard in wildlife ecology from Oklahoma to Oklahoma City. The state as a State University. He joined the Q: Is what we're experiencing whole and all of its citizens, includWater Resources Board in 1993 as right now a crisis? an environmental specialist and A: It is a crisis. Drought is a crisis ing those up at Canton, can do a betworked his way up to the director's that people don't ever fully appreci- ter job of conserving water and office. ate until it's over. Because it doesn't using it more efficiently. We have enjoyed a number of The interview has been con- hit us like a tornado, a lot of folks densed and edited. don't wake up to the fact that decades of having plenty of water in our state. We've become a bit Q: Is the state of Oklahoma they're in the midst of a crisis. But running out of water? those of us who sit here and look at gluttonous about it as a society. A: On average, no. But at the pres- the deterioration of soil moisture There's no better time than right ent time we are having water stress- and reservoir water availability now, in the midst of this drought, es in certain areas of the state. and that sort of thing fully appreci- for people to think about the value We're in the third year of an extend- ate the fact that we're in a crisis. ed drought. Hopefully we're at the Q: Are Oklahomans in denial SEE WATER I PAGE 5A
By WARREN VIETH
OKLAHOMA WATCH

TONIGHT'S FORECAST
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36. Breezy, with a west wind 15 to 25 mph becoming north after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph.

end of it, but maybe we're in the middle. Who knows?? When we look at average rainfall (and) average water availability, the state as a whole has more than enough water to take care of its needs. The problem is it's never an average year in Oklahoma, and the water is hardly ever where we need it when we need it.

FROM THE BIBLE

"Humility and the fear of the LORD bring wealth and honor and life." Proverbs 22:4

ALMANAC
Today's Lake Eufaula level: 581.61' Sunrise Tuesday: 7:19 a.m. Sunset Tuesday: 5:56 p.m.

OKLAHOMA LOTTERY
3/3/13

1-2-3
3/2/13

03 - 08 - 13 - 41 56 - 16
INSIDE TODAY
Obituaries City Bits Opinion Sports Scoreboard Comics Classifieds 2A 4A 6A 7A 8A 9A 1 OA

12 PAGES, 1 SECTION VOL. 117, NO.169

The city of McAlester shouldn't expect an elaborate list of new projected capital improvements for the coming 2013-2014 Fiscal Year. That's according to McAlester City Manager Pete Stasiak. When speaking to the city's Audit and Finance Advisory Committee on Thursday, the city manager indicated that it would basically be a waste of time to create a new list of capital improvements projects for the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1. Stasiak told the committee members about the capital improvement situation while speaking to them about a projected $1.2 million shortfall in the city budget for the remainder of the current 2012-2013 fiscal year, which ends June 30. "On top of everything else, we don't have the CIP done," Stasiak said. The McAlester City Charter requires that the city manager submit to the city council as well as the Audit and Finance Advisory Committee a "five year or longer" capital improvement program by March 15. Stasiak didn't mean he would not submit a capital improvements report but he expected it to be much the same as last year's. "We're going to roll it over a year," Stasiak said, giving the reason why "At the end of the day, we don't have any money" he said, referring to funds for capital improvements projects. "This is basically a 'wish list,"' the city manager said, referring to projects on the CIP report. He said the city has been lucky in that it's been able to purchase a lot of equipment over the past three years, Ward 6 City Manager Sam Mason, who is a member of the Audit and Finance Advisory Committee, offered a comment. "Hard times call for hard decisions," Mason said. "In every hard decision, there's an opportunity," Stasiak said. Those opportunities usually come to mind to him around 3 a.m., he added. The city manager said he wanted to make the March 15 deadline to present the required CIP report to the city council and to the Audit and Finance Advisory Committee, bringing a comment from Mason. "It would be a quick meeting if it's a rollover," Mason said. "We're going to change
SEE MONEY I PAGE 3A