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| KAAA Legislation Information |
| Legislative Update |
Feb 24th - Dec 25th
HB 2451- Eliminating “use it or lose it” for groundwater rights in areas closed to new water right development.
Introduced to the house January 12, with unanimous agreement in final action and passage to the Senate February 2. The bill passed Final Action in the Senate also unanimously. It is enrolled and will be presented to the Governor on February 24.
HB 2451 would amend a section of law dealing with the
abandonment of water rights by deleting a requirement that
groundwater rights in areas declared closed to further
appropriation would no longer be required to have a means of
diversion available "to put water to beneficial use within a
reasonable time" in order to avoid the abandonment process.
Groundwater rights in these areas would have due and
sufficient cause for nonuse and therefore not be subject to
abandonment.
This bill was introduced at the request of a
spokesperson from the Kansas Department of Agriculture. At
the hearing on the bill, proponents included the Chairman of
the Kansas Water Authority who is also the Chairman of the
Ogallala Aquifer Advisory Committee. He indicated the bill
was an attempt to remove barriers to conserve water from the
Ogallala Aquifer by allowing water right owners to maintain
their water rights while not using them or having diversion
works in place. A spokesperson from the Kansas Department
of Agriculture indicated abandonment clauses are common in
other states' laws and they tend to foster development and
use, rather than conservation. Other proponents included
representatives of the Kansas Farm Bureau, the Kansas
Cooperative Council, the Kansas Grain and Feed
Association, the Kansas Agribusiness Retailer's Association,
the Kansas Groundwater Management Districts, and the
Kansas Livestock Association. In addition, Representative
Wetta reviewed written support of the legislation from a
constituent, who is a former legislator. There were no
opponents to the bill at the time of the hearing.
The fiscal note on the bill indicates that, according to the
Kansas Department of Agriculture, passage of the bill would
increase expenditures by $3,000 in FY 2013 because of the
need to send certified mail notifications to owners of water
rights in areas closed to new appropriations.
To read the formal house bill and the fiscal note, visit these links:
House Bill: http://kslegislature.org/li/b2011_12/measures/documents/hb2451_00_0000.pdf
Fiscal Note: http://kslegislature.org/li/b2011_12/measures/documents/fisc_note_hb2451_00_0000.pdf
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