Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 49, December 5, 2024
Section 5-17-10 - Water bank charter proposal(a) Each proposed water bank charter submitted to the chief engineer shall contain all of the following: (1) Information showing that the proposed operations and policies of the water bank are consistent with the Kansas water banking act, the Kansas water appropriation act and regulations, the Kansas state water plan, the policies of any groundwater management district that is located within the boundaries of the proposed water bank, and the water assurance district operation agreements of any water assurance district located within the boundaries of the proposed water bank; (2) information that demonstrates that there is sufficient participation to make the water bank's operations practical and feasible, including economically; (3) a petition declaring an intent to establish a water bank that is signed by at least five percent of the water right owners within the water bank's proposed boundaries; (4) the names of at least five members of the proposed governing body of the water bank, their addresses, and the public and private interests that each represents; (5) the proposed boundaries of the water bank, including information showing that the boundaries of the proposed water bank do not overlap the boundaries of another water bank; (6) for groundwater banks, an enumeration of all the hydrologic units and sources of water supply within the water bank boundaries, including alluviums, terrace deposits, and regional aquifers, both confined and unconfined, that have similar aquifer properties. The aquifer properties shall include the saturated thickness and water level changes over the representative past period; (7) for a water bank that includes surface water, a list of the streams and their tributaries that are to comprise the water bank and a methodology to limit the leasing of surface water so that it does not impair senior surface water rights and minimum desirable streamflow; (8) the designation of a representative past period; (9) a comprehensive method to account for the following: (A) The amount of water deposited and the length of the contracts for deposit; (B) the amount of water leased from the water bank and the length of the lease contracts; and (C) the identification of the hydrologic units from which deposits and leases are being made; (10) for a water bank that includes the use of groundwater, a proposed plan to ensure that the net amount of water consumed by the deposited water rights will be at least 10 percent less than the average net amount of water consumed by the deposited water rights for the representative past period. The proposed plan shall require the comparison of the average annual net consumption for the deposited water rights for the five-year period after a water bank is chartered or rechartered with the average net consumptive use for the deposited water rights for the representative past period; (11) a list of any severely depleted groundwater aquifers or severely depleted stream courses; (12) a plan to ensure that there will be no increase in the depletion of severely depleted groundwater aquifers or severely depleted stream courses; (13) a method for determining the water rights that are bankable and the portion that is bankable; (14) a procedure for dissolution of the water bank; (15) for a bank using groundwater, a methodology for ensuring that the total quantity of groundwater leased each year does not exceed 90 percent of the average annual quantity collectively diverted pursuant to all deposited water rights or portions of water rights from each hydrologic unit for the representative past period; (16) for a water bank that authorizes safe deposit accounts, a methodology to ensure that the users of safe deposit accounts will not increase the consumption of groundwater; and (17) for a water bank that authorizes safe deposit accounts, a provision setting the maximum percentage of unused water from the previous year that may be deposited in a safe deposit account. (b) After the body wishing to charter the water bank submits the proposed water bank charter to the chief engineer, it shall be circulated by the chief engineer to any groundwater management districts and water assurance districts located within the boundaries of the proposed water banks and to the Kansas water office for comments as to whether the proposed water bank charter complies with the provisions of K.S.A. 82a-765, and amendments thereto. Comments regarding the proposed water bank charter shall be due within 30 days after comments are requested by the chief engineer, unless an extension of time is requested within the time allowed and granted by the chief engineer for good cause shown. Kan. Admin. Regs. § 5-17-10
Authorized by K.S.A. 2003 Supp. 82a-769; implementing K.S.A. 2003 Supp. 82a-765 and K.S.A. 2003 Supp. 82a-769; effective Aug. 13, 2004.