Kansas Department of Agriculture

DWR Currents

Week of February 8, 2010

Special Meeting of the Arkansas River Compact Administration

On Thursday, February 11, 2010, the Arkansas River Compact Administration (“ARCA”) will meet by telephonic conference to consider adopting a revised RESOLUTION CONCERNING AN OPERATING PLAN FOR JOHN MARTIN RESERVOIR (“1980 Operating Plan”). The proposed revisions incorporate operational and accounting changes approved by ARCA at previous meetings based upon recommendations from ARCA’s Special Engineering Committee.

Any interested person may attend the telephonic meeting by following instructions included in the meeting notice.

Links to the meeting notice and agenda, the proposed resolution, and more information on the Kansas-Colorado Arkansas River Compact are available at the ARCA page on DWR’s website.

Legislative Issues

Kansas Department of Agriculture is tracking the following water resources bills:

• SB 510 (conservation as a beneficial use of water) – Senate Bill 510 would establish “conservation use” as a new and distinct beneficial use of water under the Kansas Water Appropriation Act. The owner of a vested or certified water right that has not been abandoned would have the option of changing his water right to conservation use, and the option of changing his water right from conservation use to another use. Diversion of water would be prohibited by a water right while the right is authorized for conservation use. Water rights in conservation use would be protected from abandonment. More information about the bill is posted on the DWR website under “News”. Last week the bill was referred to the Senate Natural Resources Committee.

• HB 2493 (dam inspections) – House Bill 2493 would repeal K.S.A. 82a-303b, which requires periodic inspections of high-hazard and significant-hazard dams, and authorizes the chief engineer to inspect any dam or other stream obstruction. Last week the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources conducted a hearing on this bill. Kansas Livestock Association testified in favor of the bill because they want some exemptions but they said this bill goes too far. KDA testified against the bill due to public safety concerns. State Association of Kansas Watersheds testified as a neutral party; they had some positive things to say about DWR but also want some special provisions for their members. The committee did not act on the bill.

• HB 2565 (nonuse in closed areas) – House Bill 2565 would amend K.S.A. 82a-718 to establish that “...a groundwater right, which has as its local supply an aquifer area that has been closed to new appropriations by the chief engineer and where a well is lawfully maintained, shall be deemed to have due and sufficient cause for nonuse and shall not be deemed abandoned.” This would have the same effect as regulatory amendments currently proposed by DWR. The bill is scheduled for a February 11 hearing by the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources.

• HB 2567 (water right notices) – House Bill 2567 would add a new section in the Kansas Water Appropriation Act requiring owners of non-domestic water rights to notify the agency when there are changes in the owner’s name or mailing address. The bill would also amend K.S.A. 82a-714 and K.S.A. 82a-718 to replace certified mailing requirements with first-class mail, postage prepaid requirements for agency notices to water right owners regarding deadlines to complete diversion works, deadlines to perfect water rights, and three successive years of reported nonuse of a water right. This would save an estimated $8,700 per year in postage and labor costs. The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee conducted a hearing on the bill last week and raised several questions which Kansas Department of Agriculture is responding to.

More information is available on KDA’s Government Relations Website and KDA’s Twitter postings at KSDeptofAg.

The text and status of bills are available on the Kansas Legislature’s website.

Meetings and Conferences Provide Opportunities for Outreach and Cooperation

One of the most effective ways DWR exchanges information and coordinates with partners and stakeholders is through participation in meetings and conferences. Listed below is a sampling of some meetings and conferences DWR staff has attended in the past couple of weeks:

• Kansas Water Authority – Chief Engineer David Barfield is an ex officio member of the KWA, meaning he is a non-voting advisory member by virtue of his office. The KWA meets several times per year, at various locations throughout the state, to work on water policy and planning. Their most recent meeting was January 27-28 in Topeka. The Kansas Water Authority website provides more information about the Authority, including the agenda and other documents from their meetings.

• Kansas Natural Resources Conference – Chief Engineer David Barfield is often requested to speak at conferences. Last week Barfield was a plenary session speaker at the Kansas Natural Resources Conference in Wichita. He gave a presentation on sustainability of water resources in Kansas. Barfield gave similar talks last year at the Kansas Sustainability Conference in Manhattan and the World Environmental & Water Resources Congress in Kansas City, Missouri.

• Kansas Commodity Classic – Assistant Chief Engineer Paul Graves participated in a state agency panel discussion at the Kansas Commodity Classic last week in Topeka, a convention for the Kansas wheat, corn, and grain sorghum producer associations. Graves provided an overview of the Kansas Department of Agriculture, discussed several prominent water resources issues, and talked about the effects of budget reductions.

• Kansas Water Issues Forum – Water Commissioners Jeff Lanterman (Stafford) and Scott Ross (Stockton) attended the Kansas Water Issues Forum last week in Wichita and Hays, respectively. The theme this year is “Climate and Water: Planning for Change.

• Kansas Dam Safety Conference – Chief Engineer David Barfield is the opening speaker at the Kansas Dam Safety Conference this week in Hutchinson. A number of staff in DWR’s Water Structures Program worked on the preparations and are running this conference, expected to draw around 200 consultants, government officials, and dam owners. A Stream Obstructions Seminar is also offered this year on the last day of the conference.

• Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee – Chief Engineer David Barfield is appointed by the Governor as Kansas’ delegate to MRRIC, an organization of local, state, tribal, and federal officials focused on developing and implementing a comprehensive plan for improving environmental and physical conditions in the Missouri River. The committee meets several times per year, most recently last week in St. Louis, Missouri.

• Kansas Natural Resources Subcabinet – The Natural Resources Subcabinet consists of agency heads from Kansas Water Office, Kansas Department of Agriculture and its Division of Water Resources, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, State Conservation Commission, Kansas Corporation Commission and Kansas Animal Health Department. These leaders usually meet weekly in Topeka to coordinate the agencies’ activities, make policy recommendations to the Governor, and examine federal policies affecting the state.

• Lower Smoky Hill River Irrigators Association – Water Commissioner Scott Ross (Stockton) talked with members of this association last week in Lindsborg as part of an ongoing series of meetings. The group is examining rules governing water storage and releases from Kanopolis Reservoir with the goal of developing a more secure water supply for downstream irrigators.

• Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 3 – Chief Engineer David Barfield and Water Appropriation Program Manager Lane Letourneau attended the GMD 3 board meeting and legislative social last week in Topeka. Letourneau gave a presentation on Senate Bill 510, establishing conservation as a beneficial use of water.

• Meter Order Public Meetings – Water Commissioner Katie Tietsort (Topeka) and staff conducted a public information meeting last week in Washington, Kansas regarding the Mill Creek and Little Blue River basin meter orders. The meeting covered basics of the Kansas Water Appropriation Act, water rights, flowmeters, and questions and answers. Tietsort and staff will conduct a similar meeting this week in Altoona regarding the Verdigris River basin meter order.

• Holdrege Water Conference – Chelsea Juricek, Environmental Scientist, attended the Holdrege Water Conference in Holdrege, Nebraska last week. The conference included talks on irrigation and interstate compact topics, including the Republican River Compact in which Juricek and others are working to secure the water lawfully due to Kansas.

• Lower Republican River Feasibility Study – Water Management Services Program Manager Chris Beightel is actively involved in developing an agreement between Kansas Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, to address state and federal roles in performing preliminary tasks for the Lower Republican River Feasibility Study. This study was part of the 2002 Republican River Compact Settlement between the states. The goal of this work is to improve operations of the system of reservoirs in the lower basin, increase storage capacity, and other steps to improve the availability and efficiency of water use for irrigators, cities, and other interests. Beightel participated in a conference call last week with federal and state officials to advance progress on the agreement.

• National Flood Insurance Program meetings – Last week DWR floodplain management staff met with community officials from Ottawa, Richmond, and Franklin County to discuss participation in the National Flood Insurance Program and new Flood Insurance Rate Maps being developed for these communities.

• Lake Dabinawa Homeowners Association – Water Structures Program Manager Matt Scherer and staff engineer Sherry Ann Durst met with the Lake Dabinawa Homeowners Association last week in McLouth. Lake Dabinawa is currently the largest unpermitted dam in the state and requires some repairs. The homeowners association has indicated its intention to take the necessary actions to bring the dam into compliance.

Upcoming Events
Feb. 8-10: Kansas Dam Safety Conference at Hutchinson
Feb. 9: Verdigris River Meter Order public meeting at Altoona
Feb. 10: Stream Obstructions Seminar at Hutchinson
Feb. 12: Residential Substantial Damage Estimation training at Emporia
Feb. 17: Basics of National Flood Insurance Program training at Topeka

For more information about these and other upcoming events, please check our events listings at www.ksda.gov/dwr/events.