Gov. Mary Fallin Thursday named Charles ‘Chuck’ Darby, of Broken Bow, and Rob Stallings, of Enid, to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board.
Both appointments still must be confirmed by the Senate when it convenes this year. The governor plans to soon fill a third vacancy, from the northeast part of the state.
Darby would succeed Richard Sevenoaks, whose term expired. Darby’s term would expire in May 2023.
Stallings would replace Marilyn Feaver, whose term expires in May. His term would expire in May 2024.
Darby will serve as a water recreation use representative from Region 9 on the board. Darby, who served on the Broken Bow City Council, has an understanding of how recreational opportunities impact the local economy. While on the council, he worked on developing the city’s gravity-flow water system, which flows from Broken Bow Lake and provides water for the city, surrounding communities and industries.
Darby, senior pastor of Faith Chrisitan Center, earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Arlington. He has been a full-time pastor for 30 years serving in churches in Texas and Oklahoma. He has been a pastor at Faith Christian Center in Broken Bow for 23 years. He is involved in community and civic affairs.
Stallings has a strong background in water issues. He is founding partner and principal engineer of Envirotech Engineering and Consulting, which was formed in 1992.
He will serve as an oil and gas production representative on the board from Region 2. Stallings has worked in the oil and gas industry since 1980. He has designed, permitted and provided project management for multiple water recycle facilities and has provided other oil and gas services such as environmental drill diligence studies and spill prevention control and countermeasure plans.
Stallings, who earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Auburn University, served four years on the Enid City Commission. He later worked extensively for the city of Enid on multiple water projects and worked on water projects for many smaller cities and towns in western Oklahoma.
About the Oklahoma Water Resources Board
The nine-member Oklahoma Water Resources Board is transitioning its membership from congressional district and at-large representation to one member representing each of the state’s nine water regions. Members represent each of the following major types of water use: recreational, industrial, irrigational, rural residential, municipal residential, agricultural, soil conservation work and oil and gas production. The board’s primary duties and responsibilities include water use appropriation and permitting, water quality monitoring and standards, financial assistance for water/wastewater systems, dam safety, floodplain management, water supply planning, technical studies and research, and water resource mapping.