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Tuesday, 28 February 2012 09:58 |
Legislature votes to abolish water right abandonment (“use it or lose it”) in closed areas
House Bill 2451
would amend a section of law dealing with the abandonment of water
rights, eliminating the requirement that groundwater rights in areas
declared closed to further appropriation be required to have a means of
diversion available "to put water to beneficial use within a reasonable
time."
 The
prospect of losing a water right through non-use has long been a
concern to many water right holders. If signed by Governor Brownback,
groundwater rights in closed areas would be considered to have due and
sufficient cause for nonuse and therefore not be subject to forfeiture
because of abandonment. The change would allow water right holders in
those areas to conserve water without the fear of losing their water
rights. KDA provided detailed testimony on this bill on Jan. 19 and Feb. 7. The bill passed unanimously in both the Kansas Senate and the House of Representatives.
The legislature also took final action on Senate Bill 272,
amending the Multi-Year Flex Account (MYFA) program, which passed
unanimously in both the Kansas Senate and the House of Representatives.
More information about the MYFA legislation can be found in the Feb. 2 edition of DWR Currents. Chief Engineer David Barfield’s Feb. 8 testimony is also available for download. The bill will need to be signed by Governor Brownback before becoming law.
Senate Bill 310,
establishing Local Enhanced Management Areas (LEMAs), also moved
forward last week. On Feb. 24, the Senate voted unanimously to approve
the bill. It must now be heard by the Kansas House of Representatives
and signed by the Governor before becoming law. An overview of LEMAs
bill can be found in the Jan. 26 edition of DWR Currents.
All three bills are key pieces of Governor Brownback’s water policy proposals, following work of his Ogallala Aquifer Advisory Committee (OAAC) and the Kansas Water Authority (KWA).
Newly
introduced legislation by the Kansas Aggregate Producers proposes to
streamline processes related to permitting water use at groundwater
pits. It has been assigned bill number House Bill 2698. A hearing was held on Feb. 13, by the House Standing Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Additional information and status of pending legislation can be found in DWR’s Water Resources Bill Summary.
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