Introduced Version
Senate Bill 679 History
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Senate Bill No. 679
(By Senators Tomblin, Mr. President, Unger, Kessler and Love)
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[Introduced February 19, 2007; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §22-26-1, §22-26-2, §22-26-3, §22-26-5
and §22-26-6 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended;
and to amend said code by adding thereto four new sections,
designated §22-26-7, §22-26-8, §22-26-9 and §22-26-10, all
relating to the Water Resource Protection and Management Act;
establishing legislative findings; defining certain terms;
continuing the water resource survey; providing for
registration of large quantity users; requiring reports to the
Legislature; requiring development of county, regional and
state water resource plans; setting forth powers and duties of
the Secretary of Department of Environmental Protection with
regard to development of water resource plans; creating county
water resource boards and establishing powers and duties;
creating regional water resource planning commissions and
establishing powers and duties; establishing criteria for state, regional and county water resource plans; authorizing
development of critical area water resource plans; and
establishing criteria for critical area water resource plans.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §22-26-1, §22-26-2, §22-26-3, §22-26-5 and §22-26-6 of
the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and
reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding thereto four new
sections, designated §22-26-7, §22-26-8, §22-26-9 and §22-26-10,
all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 26. WATER RESOURCES PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT ACT.
§22-26-1. Short title; legislative findings.
(a) Short title - This article may be known and cited as the
"Water Resources Protection and Management Act."
(b) Legislative findings:
(1) The West Virginia Legislature finds that it is the public
policy of the State of West Virginia to protect and conserve the
water resources for the state and to provide for the public
welfare. The state's water resources are vital natural resources
of the state that are essential to maintain, preserve and promote
quality of life and economic vitality of the state.
(2) The West Virginia Legislature further finds that it is the
public policy of the state that the water resources of the state be
available for the benefit of the citizens of West Virginia,
consistent with and preserving all other existing rights and remedies recognized in common law or by statute, while also
preserving this resource within its sovereign powers for the common
good.
(3) The West Virginia Legislature further finds that the
information collected and analyzed as required by the prior
enactment of this article during the regular legislative session of
two thousand four has identified the need for a statewide water
resource management plan.
(4) The West Virginia Legislature further finds that the water
resources of this state have not been fully measured or assessed,
and that a program to accurately measure and assess our water
resources is necessary to protect, conserve and to better utilize
the water resources of this state.
(5) The West Virginia Legislature further finds that the water
use survey conducted by the Department of Environmental Protection
is a valuable tool for water resource assessment, protection and
management.
(6) The West Virginia Legislature further finds that the
development of a water resource management plan is in the best
interest of the state and its citizens and will promote the
protection of this valuable natural resource; promote its use for
the public good; and enhance its use and development for tourism,
industry and other economic development for the benefit of the
state and her citizens.
(7) The West Virginia Legislature further finds that
incomplete data collection from an inadequate groundwater
monitoring system continues to hamper efforts to study, develop and
protect the state's water resources and will be a major obstacle in
the development of a water resource management plan.
§22-26-2. Definitions.
For purposes of this article, the following words have the
meanings assigned unless the context indicates otherwise:
(a) "Beneficial use" means uses that include, but are not
limited to, public or private water supplies, agriculture, tourism,
commercial, industrial, coal, oil and gas and other mineral
extraction, preservation of fish and wildlife habitat, maintenance
of waste assimilation, recreation, navigation and preservation of
cultural values.
(b) "Large quantity user" means any person who withdraws over
750,000 gallons of water in a calendar month from the state's
waters.
(b) (c) "Consumptive withdrawal" means any withdrawal of water
which returns less water to the water body than is withdrawn.
(c) (d) "Farm use" means irrigation of any land used for
general farming, forage, aquiculture, pasture, orchards, nurseries,
the provision of water supply for farm animals, poultry farming or
any other activity conducted in the course of a farming operation.
(d) (e) "Interbasin transfer" means the permanent removal of water from the watershed from which it is withdrawn.
(e) (f) "Maximum potential" means the maximum designed
capacity of a facility to withdraw water under its physical and
operational design.
(f) (g) "Person", "persons" or "people" means an individual,
public and private business or industry, public or private water
service and governmental entity.
(g) (h) "Nonconsumptive withdrawal" means any withdrawal of
water which is not a consumptive withdrawal as defined in this
section.
(h) (i) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Department of
Environmental Protection or his or her designee.
(i) (j) "Water resources", "water" or "waters" means any and
all water on or beneath the surface of the ground, whether
percolating, standing, diffused or flowing, wholly or partially
within this state, or bordering this state and within its
jurisdiction, and includes, without limiting the generality of the
foregoing, natural or artificial lakes, rivers, streams, creeks,
branches, brooks, ponds, impounding reservoirs, springs, wells,
watercourses and wetlands: Provided, That farm ponds, industrial
settling basins and ponds and waste treatment facilities are
excluded from the waters of the state.
(j) (k) "Watershed" means a hydrologic unit utilized by the
United States Department of Interior's geological survey, adopted in 1974, as a framework for detailed water and related land-
resource planning, denoted by an eight digit hydrologic unit code,
and by which West Virginia is, as of the effective date of the act,
divided into thirty-two separate hydrologic units.
(k) (l) "Withdrawal" means the removal or capture of water
from a water resource of the state regardless of whether it is
consumptive or nonconsumptive: Provided, That water encountered
during coal, oil, gas or other mineral extraction and diverted, but
not used for any purpose and not a factor in low flow conditions
for any surface water or groundwater, is not deemed a withdrawal.
§22-26-3. Waters claimed by state; water resources protection
survey; need for study; registration requirements;
agency cooperation; information gathering.
(a) The waters of the State of West Virginia are hereby
claimed as valuable public natural resources held by the state for
the use and benefit of its citizens. The state shall manage the
quantity of its waters effectively for present and future use and
enjoyment and for the protection of the environment. Therefore, it
is necessary for the state to determine the nature and extent of
its water resources, the quantity of water being withdrawn or
otherwise used and the nature of the withdrawals or other uses:
Provided, That no provisions of this article may be construed to
amend or limit any other rights and remedies created by statute or
common law in existence on the date of the enactment of this article.
(b) The secretary shall conduct a an ongoing water resources
survey of consumptive and nonconsumptive surface water and
groundwater withdrawals in this state. The secretary shall
determine the form and format of the information submitted,
including the use of electronic submissions. The survey shall
collect information covering the years two thousand three, two
thousand four and two thousand five shall be updated at a minimum
of every five years. The secretary shall establish and maintain a
statewide registration program to monitor large quantity users of
water resources of this state beginning in two thousand six.
(c) Beginning in the year two thousand three, every person
utilizing the state's water resources whose withdrawal from a water
resource during any month exceeds seven hundred fifty thousand
gallons Large quantity users, except those who purchase water from
a public or private water utility or other service that is
reporting its total withdrawal, shall register with the Department
of Environmental Protection and provide all requested information
regarding withdrawals of the water resource. Multiple withdrawals
of water from a particular water resource that are made or
controlled by a single person and used at one facility or location
shall be considered a single withdrawal of water. Water
withdrawals for self-supplied farm use and private households will
be estimated. Water utilities regulated by the Public Service Commission pursuant to article two, chapter twenty-four of the code
are exempted from providing information on interbasin transfers to
the extent those transfers are necessary to provide water utility
services within the state.
(d) Large quantity users who withdraw water from a West
Virginia water resource, regardless of where the facility is
located, shall comply with the registration requirements of this
article. Registration shall be maintained by every large quantity
user by certifying, on forms and in a manner prescribed by the
secretary, that the amount withdrawn in the previous calendar year
varies by no more than ten percent from the user's three-year base
line average. Altering locations of intakes and discharge points
that result in an impact to the withdrawal of the water resource by
an amount of ten percent or more from the user's three-year base
line average, and changes in any previously submitted information,
shall also be reported.
(e) The secretary shall maintain a listing of all large
quantity users and each user's three-year base line average water
withdrawal.
(f) Each large quantity user shall provide the most accurate
information available on its water withdrawal during seasonal
conditions and future maximum potential withdrawals and other
information requested by the department for the water use survey.
(g) In addition to the required reporting of changes and updating of water use information required in this section, the
secretary shall conduct a complete survey of the state's water use
every five years.
(d) (h) The secretary shall make a good faith effort to obtain
survey and registration information from persons who are
withdrawing water from an in-state water resource but who are
located outside the state borders.
(e) (i) All state agencies that have a regulatory, research or
other function relating to water resources, including, but not
limited to, the State Geological and Economic Survey, the Division
of Natural Resources, the Public Service Commission, the Bureau for
Public Health, the Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture,
the Office of Emergency Services Division of Homeland Security and
Emergency Management, Marshall University and West Virginia
University may enter into interagency agreements with the secretary
and shall cooperate by: (i) Providing information relating to the
water resources of the state; and (ii) providing any necessary
assistance to the secretary in effectuating the purposes of this
article. The secretary shall determine the form and format of the
information submitted by these agencies.
(f) (j) Persons required to participate in the survey and
registration shall provide any reasonably available information on
stream flow conditions that impact withdrawal rates.
(g) (k) Persons required to participate in the survey and registration shall provide the most accurate information available
on water withdrawal during seasonal conditions and future potential
maximum withdrawals or other information that the secretary
determines is necessary for the completion of the survey or
registration: Provided, That a coal-fired electric generating
facility shall also report the nominal design capacity of the
facility, which is the quantity of water withdrawn by the
facility's intake pumps necessary to operate the facility during a
calendar day.
(h) (l) The secretary shall, to the extent reliable water
withdrawal data is reasonably available from sources other than
persons required to provide data and participate in the survey and
registration, utilize that data to fulfill the requirements of this
section. If the data is not reasonably available to the secretary,
persons required to participate in the survey and registration are
required to provide the data. Registered persons that report
withdrawals on an annual basis for a period of three consecutive
years are not required to register further withdrawals unless the
amount withdrawn annually varies by more than ten percent from the
three year average. Altering locations of intakes and discharge
points that result in an impact to the withdrawal of the water
resource by an amount of ten percent or more from the consecutive
three year average shall also be reported.
(i) The secretary shall report regularly to the joint legislative oversight commission on state water resources to advise
the commission of the progress of the survey as well as any
problems that may be encountered in conducting the survey and to
make recommendations on policy and statutory changes that may be
needed.
(j) (m) Upon completion of the each quinquenial survey, the
secretary shall file a final report with the joint committee on
government and finance Joint Legislative Commission on State Water
Resources no later than the thirty-first day of December, two
thousand six thirtieth day of November of the survey year. In
preparing the final report the secretary shall consult with the
Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture, the Bureau for
Public Health, the Division of Natural Resources and the Public
Service Commission. The final report shall include the following:
(1) To the extent the information is available, the location
and quantity of all surface water and groundwater resources in this
state;
(2) A discussion of the consumptive and nonconsumptive
withdrawals of surface water and groundwater in this state;
(3) A listing of each person whose consumptive or
nonconsumptive withdrawal during any single month during the
calender year exceeds seven hundred fifty thousand gallons,
including the amount of water used, location of the water resource,
the nature of the use, location of each intake and discharge point by longitude and latitude where available and, if the use involves
more than one watershed or basin, the watersheds or basins involved
and the amount transferred;
(4) A discussion of any area of concern regarding historical
or current conditions that indicate a low flow condition or where
a drought or flood has occurred or is likely to occur that
threatens the beneficial use of the surface water or groundwater in
the area;
(5) Current or potential in-stream or off-stream uses that
contribute to or are likely to exacerbate natural low flow
conditions to the detriment of the water resource;
(6) Discussion of a potential groundwater well network that
provides indicators that groundwater levels in an area are
declining or are expected to decline excessively;
(7) Potential growth areas where competition for water
resources may be expected;
(8) Any occurrence of two or more withdrawals that are
interfering or may reasonably be expected to interfere with one
another;
(9) Discussion of practices or methods persons have
implemented to reduce water withdrawals; and
(10) Efforts to improve data collection, reporting and water
monitoring where prior reports have found deficiencies;
(11) Efforts by each county water resource board and regional water resource planning commission to adopt a water resource plan;
and
(10) (12) Any other information that may be beneficial in
providing adequate and accurate survey information, adequately
assessing water availability and withdrawal and in determining the
need for and the preparation of water resources plans.
(k) (n) In addition to any requirements for completion of the
survey established by the secretary, the survey must accurately
reflect both actual and maximum potential water withdrawal. Actual
withdrawal shall be established through metering, measuring or
alternative accepted scientific methods to obtain a reasonable
estimate or indirect calculation of actual use.
(l) Upon completion of the survey, the secretary shall make
recommendations to the joint legislative oversight commission
created in section five of this article relating to the need to
implement a water quantity management strategy for the state or
regions of the state where the quantity of water resources are
found to be currently stressed or likely to be stressed due to
emerging beneficial or other uses, ecological conditions or other
factors requiring the development of a strategy for management of
these water resources. The report shall include an analysis of the
costs and benefits upon persons potentially impacted by the
implementation of a water quantity management strategy.
(m) (o) The secretary may propose rules pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code as necessary to implement
the survey and registration requirements of this article.
(n) (p) The secretary is authorized to enter into cooperative
agreements with the United States Geological Survey to obtain
federal matching funds, conduct research and analyze survey and
registration data and other agreements as may be necessary to carry
out his or her duties under this article.
§22-26-5. Joint Legislative Oversight Commission on State Water
Resources.
(a) The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House
of Delegates shall each designate five members of their respective
houses, at least one of whom shall be a member of the minority
party, to serve on a Joint Legislative Oversight Commission charged
with immediate and ongoing oversight of the water resources survey,
and registration and development of state, regional and county
water resource plans. This commission shall be known as the "Joint
Legislative Oversight Commission on State Water Resources" and
shall regularly investigate and monitor all matters relating to the
water resources survey, and the need for a water resources strategy
and policy development of state, regional and county water resource
plans.
(b) The expenses of the commission, including the cost of
conducting the survey and monitoring any subsequent strategy and
those incurred in the employment of legal, technical, investigative, clerical, stenographic, advisory and other
personnel, are to be approved by the Joint Committee on Government
and Finance and paid from legislative appropriations.
(c) The secretary shall report, at a minimum of quarterly, in
sufficient detail for the commission to monitor the water resources
survey and to develop recommendations resulting from the survey.
The secretary shall submit an annual report to the commission by
the thirty-first day of December each year. The secretary shall
also file a final report on the water resources survey no later
than the thirty-first day of December, two thousand six.
§22-26-6. Mandatory survey and registration compliance.
(a) The water resources survey and subsequent registry will
provide critical information for protection of the state's water
resources and, thus, mandatory compliance with the survey and
registry is necessary.
(b) All large quantity users who withdraw water from a West
Virginia water resource shall register such use with the Department
of Environmental Protection. Any person who fails to complete the
survey or register, provides false or misleading information on the
survey or registration, fails to provide other information as
required by this article may be subject to a civil administrative
penalty not to exceed five thousand dollars to be collected by the
secretary consistent with the secretary's authority pursuant to
this chapter. Every thirty days after the initial imposition of the civil administrative penalty, another penalty may be assessed
if the information is not provided. The secretary shall provide
written notice of failure to comply with this section thirty days
prior to assessing the first administrative penalty.
§22-26-7. State water resource management plan; powers and duties
of secretary.
(a) The Secretary of the Department of Environmental
Protection shall oversee the development of a state water resources
management plan no later than the thirtieth day of November, two
thousand twelve. The plan shall be reviewed and revised as needed,
but shall be updated at a minimum of every five years after its
initial adoption. The plan shall be developed with the cooperation
and involvement of state agencies with regulatory, research or
other function relating to water resources including, but not
limited to, those agencies and institutions of higher education set
forth in section three of this article.
(b) The secretary shall develop definitions for use in the
state, regional and county water resources management plans for
terms that are defined differently by various state and federal
governmental entities.
(c)
The state water resource plan shall include:
(1) An inventory of the surface water resources of each region
of this state, including an identification of the boundaries of
significant watersheds and an estimate of the safe yield of such sources for consumptive and nonconsumptive uses during periods of
normal conditions and drought.
(2) An inventory of the groundwater resources of each region
of this state, including an identification of aquifers and
groundwater basins and an assessment of their safe yield, prime
recharge areas, recharge capacity, consumptive limits and
relationship to stream base flows.
(3) An assessment and projection of existing and future
nonconsumptive use needs and the values of watercourses included
within the state and federal wild and scenic river systems as well
as other high quality waters of the state.
(4) An assessment and projection of existing and future
consumptive use demands.
(5) An identification of potential problems with water
availability or conflicts among water uses and users.
(6) An identification of critical water planning areas
comprising any significant hydrologic unit where existing or future
demands exceed or threaten to exceed the safe yield of available
water resources.
(7) An assessment of the current and future capabilities of
public water supply agencies to provide an adequate quantity and
quality of water to their service areas.
(8) An assessment of flood plain and storm water management
problems.
(9) An assessment of navigation needs and the means for
restoration, development and improvement of transportation by
water.
(10) An assessment of the water resources required to serve
areas with important or unique natural, scenic, environmental or
recreational values of national, regional, local or statewide
significance, including national and state parks; designated wild,
scenic and recreational rivers; national and state wildlife
refuges; and the habitats of federal and state endangered or
threatened species.
(11) A process for identifying projects and practices that are
being or have been implemented by water users that reduce the
amount of consumptive use, improve efficiency in water use, provide
for reuse and recycling of water, increase the supply or storage of
water or preserve or increase groundwater recharge and a
recommended process for providing appropriate positive recognition
of such projects or practices in actions, programs, policies,
projects or management activities recommended under paragraph (16)
of this section.
(12) An identification of practical alternatives for an
adequate supply of water to satisfy existing and future reasonable
and beneficial uses, including improved storage, groundwater
recharge and surface water and groundwater conjunctive management
programs.
(13) An assessment of both structural and nonstructural
alternatives to address identified water availability problems,
adverse impacts on water uses or conflicts between water users,
including potential actions to develop additional or alternative
supplies, conservation measures and management techniques.
(14) A review and evaluation of statutes, rules, policies and
institutional arrangements for the development, conservation,
distribution and emergency management of water resources.
(15) A review and evaluation of water resources management
alternatives and recommended programs, policies, institutional
arrangements, projects and other provisions to meet the water
resources needs of each region and of this state.
(16) Proposed methods of implementing various recommended
actions, programs, policies, projects or management activities.
(d) The state water resources plan shall consider:
(1) The interconnections and relationships between groundwater
and surface water as components of a single hydrologic resource.
(2) Regional, and where appropriate, water resources needs,
objectives and priorities as identified and evaluated by a regional
water resource planning committee.
(3) Federal, state and interstate water resources policies,
plans, objectives and priorities, including those identified in
statutes, rules, regulations, compacts, interstate agreements or
comprehensive plans adopted by federal and state agencies and compact basin commissions.
(4) The needs and priorities reflected in comprehensive plans
and zoning ordinances adopted by a county or municipal governments.
(5) The water quantity and quality necessary to support
reasonable and beneficial uses.
(6) A balancing and encouragement of multiple uses of water
resources, recognizing that all water resources of this state are
capable of serving multiple uses and human needs, including
multiple uses of water resources for reasonable and beneficial
uses.
(7) The distinctions between short-term and long-term
conditions, impacts, needs and solutions to ensure appropriate and
cost-effective responses to water resources issues.
(8) The benefits and costs and social and environmental
impacts of alternative policies, programs, projects and actions.
(9) Application of the principle of equal and uniform
treatment of all water users that are similarly situated and all
users of related facilities without regard to established political
boundaries.
(e) In approving, recommending and adopting the state water
resources plan, the secretary shall provide serious and
deliberative consideration to regional priorities, objectives and
recommendations expressed by the regional planning committees,
reconcile differences or conflicts among regional plans and assure that the county, regional and state water resources plan adequately
consider and reflect federal, state and compact basin commission
policies, plans, objectives and priorities of national, statewide
or interstate importance.
(f) The secretary is authorized to collect scientific data on
surface and groundwater and to enter into agreements with state
agencies, the federal government and private entities to obtain
this information.
(1) All persons who install a water extraction well, except
those wells used for a residential, single family water supply,
shall notify the secretary of his or her intent to drill a water
well no less than thirty days prior to commencement of drilling.
(2) The secretary has the authority to gather data, including
driller and geologist logs, run electric and other remote sensing
logs and devices and perform physical characteristics tests on
nonresidential, and multifamily water wells.
(3) Any person who fails to notify the secretary prior to
drilling a well or impedes collection of information by the
secretary under this section is in violation of the Water Resource
Protection and Management Act and is subject to the civil
administrative penalty authorized by section six of this article.
§22-26-8. County water resource board; regional water resource
planning commission; membership; powers and duties.
(a) Every county commission shall, by order entered of record, no later than the thirty-first day of December, two thousand seven,
establish a nonpartisan county water resource board. The board
shall be responsible for assessing the water resources and needs of
the county and developing and implementing a county water resources
plan in conformity with regional and state water resources plans
and in accordance with the requirements of this article. The board
shall hold its first meeting no later than the first day of March,
two thousand eight.
(b) The commission shall appoint five members to the board as
follows: (i) A member representing a public service district or
rural water association; (ii) a member representing a county or
municipal planning organization; (iii) a member representing
municipal government; and (iv) two at large members to assure that
all areas of the county are represented. The commission shall
specify that the board members shall serve five year staggered
terms; establish a method for filling vacancies; specify whether
the members are to be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary
expenses incurred in the performance of their duties and other
matters determined to be necessary or desirable for the proper
functioning of the board.
(c) All meetings of the board are subject to the Open
Governmental Proceedings Act, article nine-a, chapter six of this
code.
(d) A majority of board members constitute a quorum for conducting business. Officers of the board shall be elected by the
members of the board at its first meeting.
(e) The board shall select two of its members to serve as
members on the regional water resource planning commission. The
commission shall elect its officers from its members at its first
meeting which shall be no later than the thirty-first day of
January, two thousand nine.
(f) The regional water resource planning commission shall
develop a regional water resource management plan based on the
water resources and water needs of the counties in the region,
standards established by the Secretary of the Department of
Environmental Protection and this article.
§22-26-9. Critical water planning areas.
(a) Critical water planning areas shall be identified by the
secretary, in consultation with the affected regional water
resource planning committee, as part of the state water resources
plan. A regional planning committee may, in advance of the formal
adoption of a regional plan or the state water resources plan and
if justified by evidence developed in the planning process,
recommend the designation of a critical water planning area. Upon
such recommendation, the secretary may designate the area for the
development of a critical area resource plan for one or more
counties or any watershed or watersheds within a critical water
planning area pursuant to this subsection.
(b) In preparing a critical area resource plan for a critical
water planning area, the regional planning committee shall draw
upon the expertise of persons representative of appropriate
governmental agencies, agricultural, public water supply,
industrial and other water users in the area, conservation and
environmental organizations and other persons who have knowledge
of, background in or an understanding of water resources planning
and management. The regional planning committee shall evaluate
policy, program and management alternatives and advise the
secretary throughout the critical water area planning process.
(c) For each critical water planning area identified and
designated under this section, the regional planning committee
shall draft a critical area resource plan. The regional planning
committee may engage county or regional agencies or expert
consulting firms to assist in the process of preparing such a plan.
(d) A critical area resource plan shall be subject to review
and adoption through the same process as a regional plan. Prior to
final recommendation by the regional committee to the secretary, a
copy of the proposed critical area resource plan shall be submitted
to the official planning agency and governing body of each
municipality in the designated critical water planning area and the
appropriate county planning agencies for review and comment as to
consistency with other plans and programs affecting the critical
water planning area. Each such agency and governing body shall be provided forty-five days to provide comments.
(e) The critical area resource plans shall include:
(1) An identification of existing and future reasonable and
beneficial uses.
(2) A water availability evaluation, including a quantitative
assessment of the available water resources and their relationship
to the existing and future reasonable and beneficial uses.
(3) An identification of the quantity of water available for
new or increased uses of water in the foreseeable future and an
identification of quantities required for future water uses
associated with planned projects or developments.
(4) An assessment of water quality issues that have a direct
and substantial effect on water resource availability.
(5) A consideration of storm water and flood plain management
within the critical water planning area and their impacts on water
quality and quantity.
(6) Identification of existing and potential adverse impacts
on uses or conflicts among users or areas of the critical water
planning area and identification of alternatives for avoiding or
resolving such conflicts.
(7) An identification of practicable supply-side and demand-
side alternatives for assuring an adequate supply of water to
satisfy existing and future reasonable and beneficial uses.
(f) Critical area resource plans shall be construed as a component of the regional and state water resource plans and may be
implemented voluntarily.
§22-26-10. Regional water resource management plans; powers and
duties of regional planning commissions; powers and
duties of secretary.
(a) The secretary is authorized to enter into binding
agreements with local governments and watershed associations to
provide assistance for development of regional and county water
resources management plans that are consistent with efforts to
develop a state water resource management plan.
(b) The secretary shall designate areas for which regional
water resource management plans may be developed.
(c) The secretary shall establish minimum criteria for
regional water resource management plans consistent with this
article and the state water resource plan.
(d) Each regional plan shall be presented to the public for a
public comment period of not less than thirty days. Notice of the
public comment period shall be placed outside that portion, if any,
of the newspaper reserved for legal notices and classified
advertisements and shall also be published as a Class II-O legal
advertisement in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter fifty-nine of this code. The publication area is the area
covered by the regional plan.
(e) Each comment must be responded to in writing and the comments and responses submitted with the plan to the secretary for
review and approval prior to inclusion into the state plan.
(f) The secretary may approve or disapprove all or any part of
a regional water resource management plan. The secretary has
forty-five days from receipt of a regional plan to return the plan
with a written explanation of any such rejection. The regional
planning commission shall have thirty days to amend the proposed
plan to meet the secretary's objections or enter into negotiations
with the secretary to resolve the objections. No regional plan may
be utilized or included in the state plan without the secretary's
approval.
(g) All state agencies that have a regulatory, research or
planning responsibility for water resources shall coordinate their
efforts, where practicable, to avoid duplication of effort,
standardize data collection and format, to reduce the overall cost
of development of state, regional and county water resource
management plans.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the
continuation of the water resource survey; establish county water
resource boards; establish regional water resource management
commissions; require the development of county, regional and state
water resource management plans and to allow establishment of
critical water resource areas and plans.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
§§22-26-7, 8, 9 and 10 are new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
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