Manhattan to host hearing for water use regulations

MANHATTAN (KSNT) - A public hearing is scheduled in the Little Apple to consider changes to the administrative regulations relating to water rights administration and management.

The hearing is set for 10 a.m. on Oct. 27 at 1320 Research Park Drive in Manhattan. The Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) is proposing regulatory changes to two separate water issues.

First, the KDA's Division of Water Resources wants to revoke two regulations, K.A.R. 5-4-1 and K.A.R. 5-4-a.

K.A.R. 5-4-1 is regulation that relates to governed claims of impairment. It currently requires that a senior water right holder submit a request to secure water to the KDA after the agency has determined that its rights are being impaired. Then, the regulation would remove the requirement the KDA solicit recommendations from the area groundwater management district regarding the resolution of the impairment.

K.A.R. 5-4-a currently applies to impairments caused by what the regulation refers to as a "regional lowering of the water table." Currently, when a complaint is received that a prior right to the use of water is being impaired, the procedure outlined in K.A.R. 5-4-1 is to be followed until the determination is made that the impairment is caused by a substantial regional lowering of the water table.

The proposed regulation, K.A.R. 5-4-1b, would allow a water rights owner to only provide certain additional information to the KDA upon request, and it would remove notice requirements that are already contained in other rules and regulations. All situations that actually constitute impairment can be dealt with via K.A.R. 5-4-1b in conjunction with the Kansas Water Appropriation Act impairment statutes. The state legislature has explicitly provided other tools to manage groundwater resources in areas where groundwater levels have declined excessively.

Anyone interested in providing public comment can find more information out on the KDA website. For more information about these rules and regulations, check out the Economic Impact Statement regarding these proposed changes.

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