DWR Currents
Week of December 28, 2009
2009 Year In Review
This edition of Currents is devoted to recapping major events, issues, and accomplishments from 2009:
Svaty appointed Acting Secretary. In July, Josh Svaty was appointed Acting Secretary of the Kansas Department of Agriculture when former Secretary Adrian Polansky accepted a federal appointment as State Executive Director of the Farm Service Agency in Kansas. Secretary Svaty is a fifth-generation farmer in Ellsworth County who previously served several terms in the Kansas House of Representatives.
Coping with budget reductions. During calendar year 2009, DWR’s budget was reduced by a cumulative $870,000 due to state revenue shortfalls stemming from the economic recession. This is on top of a mandatory “shrink” amount of $400,000 which includes normal attrition and forced attrition to meet the target. As a result, the agency has had to hold vacant positions unfilled and layoff a number of staff. Currently DWR is operating with only two-thirds of its budgeted workforce. This has required scaling back or eliminating services, in addition to substantially reducing travel, equipment, and other operating expenses. Discretionary services eliminated or reduced included phasing out of the Water Right Conservation Program, deferring development of an on-line water use reporting system, suspending meter certifications, and significantly scaling back and refocusing the Basin Management Team.
Arkansas River Compact litigation ended. After successfully concluding negotiating revisions to Colorado’s rules governing replacement of groundwater depletions in the Arkansas River Valley, in August, the States of Kansas and Colorado made a joint filing with the U.S. Supreme Court to officially end Ark River litigation against Colorado. That litigation spanned more than two decades, starting when Kansas filed suit against Colorado in 1985 to enforce the terms of the compact. The case resulted in four opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court. Among other things, the Court approved a final decree which specifies how future compliance by Colorado will be determined and required Colorado to pay $34 million in damages to Kansas for past overuse of water. (Colorado made this payment in 2006 and also reimbursed $1.1 million in legal expenses.)
Republican River Compact arbitration trial. As part of Kansas’ ongoing efforts to obtain compliance by the state of Nebraska regarding the Compact, in March, the States of Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado participated in a non-binding trial over Nebraska’s noncompliance with the compact settlement terms. A jointly-selected arbitrator presided over the trial. Arbitration is prescribed in the compact settlement when states have unresolved disagreements. The arbitrator issued his non-binding decision in June, and the states responded in July. Kansas’ Attorney General issued a press release noting that, “The Arbitrator agreed that Nebraska has used more than its share of water and has not taken adequate steps to live up to its obligations under the compact...We will continue to fight to ensure Kansas farmers and communities receive the water they deserve.”
State prevails in Frick v. KDA. In September, the Kansas Supreme Court issued its ruling in Frick v. KDA, affirming the agency correctly determined a water right abandoned due to five or more years of successive nonuse without due and sufficient cause. The court validated DWR’s procedures in preparing verified reports and confirmed that these are indeed prima facie evidence for abandonment hearings.
Water Appropriation fees extended. Fees for filing water appropriation applications and field inspection fees for certifying water rights were due to sunset June 30, 2010. Without these fees, particularly in the current budget climate, the agency would be unable to maintain current services. Fortunately, this year the Kansas Legislature passed a bill extending the fees to June 30, 2015. The agency had sought a modest increase in the fees to adjust for higher costs than when the fees were initially passed; however, the fee increase was opposed by some organizations and did not pass. In light of all the budget reductions this year the agency has had to cut its services more than it would have if the requested fee increase had been approved.
IGUCA bills not passed; new regulations adopted. Two bills were introduced this year in attempts to change the law governing Intensive Groundwater Use Control Areas. A bill supported by the groundwater management districts would have prohibited the chief engineer from initiating IGUCA proceedings in a district unless requested by the district. A bill supported by the Kansas Department of Agriculture would have established a procedure for the chief engineer to demonstrate the need for an IGUCA and afford an opportunity for a groundwater management district to resolve the groundwater problem before initiating an IGUCA in a district without their request. Neither bill passed. However, new regulations governing IGUCAs were adopted by the chief engineer in November to specify procedural requirements in IGUCA proceedings and to require periodic reviews of IGUCAs.
Dam safety grant doubled. For several years DWR has received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to conduct dam safety activities. This funds a few positions responsible for education and outreach, overseeing the development of emergency action plans for high hazard dams, locating unpermitted dams and bringing them into compliance with state regulations, identifying and addressing dams with changed hazard classifications, and other related work to improve public safety and property protection. For the federal fiscal year beginning in October, the dam safety grant to Kansas more than doubled from last year from about $200,000 to over $400,000. This has allowed DWR to increase our current efforts by hiring two more engineers to work on the grant objectives.
Topeka Field Office moved. Earlier this month, DWR’s Topeka Field Office relocated from downtown Topeka to Forbes Field (south of Topeka). Field office staff perform inspections to certify water rights, compliance inspections, and water right administration to protect senior water rights and minimum desirable streamflows. The field office move accomplishes a number of objectives including easier access for customers and greater protection of important paper files. The new location was already under lease by the agency for several other KDA programs that continue to be located there including the Agricultural Laboratory, Plant Protection and Weed Control, and Weights and Measures.
Landmark projects approved. Among the hundreds of permit applications processed by DWR each year, there are always some standouts. This year, Chief Engineer David Barfield approved several landmark projects:
- Wichita Aquifer Storage and Recovery Project, Phase II. Permits from DWR allow the city to divert, treat and inject up to 30 million gallons per day of additional excess Little Arkansas River water into the Equus Beds aquifer and then withdraw that water for municipal purposes as needed.
- HorseThief Reservoir Dam. DWR provided final certification of this large earthen dam, about 7,200 feet long and up to 86 feet high, allowing water to be stored in this largest reservoir in southwest Kansas.
- Mission Lake Confined Disposal Facility. Expedited permitting of this dam by DWR was critical for the timely start of this important joint venture to restore the reservoir. The dam is designed to contain approximately one million cubic yards of material dredged from Mission Lake, which serves the City of Horton.
- BNSF Gardner intermodal facility. DWR issued a number of permits for controlled floodplain fill and stream modifications enabling construction of this 1,300-acre project anticipated to create 13,000 new jobs and generate $30 billion in new sales revenue for Kansas.
We’re proud to be a part of these and other projects that improve Kansas’ water resources sustainability and provide economic growth.
Progress in groundwater modeling. DWR continued partnering with groundwater management districts and other agencies to develop computer models of aquifer systems. DWR provided assistance to GMD 4 in the use of the Northwest Kansas model. Models of the Upper Solomon River basins have been completed and are being evaluated. District-wide models of GMD 3 and GMD 5 are expected to be completed in early 2010. These models will facilitate improved management of water resources.
Model paves the way for Ozark aquifer decisions. The U.S. Geological Survey, in partnership with the States of Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, completed development of a computer model of the Ozark Plateau aquifer system in southeast Kansas and neighboring states. DWR is currently evaluating the model as a tool for determining allowable appropriations from the aquifer. In November and December, Chief Engineer David Barfield met with stakeholders in southeast Kansas to discuss the available information and solicit public comments. A moratorium on new appropriation of water from the aquifer has been in place for several years. In 2010, Barfield will decide whether to terminate or continue the moratorium, what to do about term permits issued under the moratorium, and how much, if any, additional water should be appropriated from the aquifer.
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On behalf of all of us at DWR, we wish you a healthy and rewarding New Year.
