As Amended by House Commettee
         

          Session of 1998
                   
SENATE BILL No. 523
         
By Committee on Agriculture
         
1-28
          10             AN ACT concerning conservation; relating to the Kansas water quality
11             buffer initiative; amending K.S.A. 2-1915 and repealing the existing
12             section.
13            
14       Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
15           Section 1. K.S.A. 2-1915 is hereby amended to read as follows: 2-
16       1915. (a) Appropriations may be made for grants out of funds in the
17       treasury of this state for terraces, terrace outlets, check dams, dikes,
18       ponds, ditches, critical area planting, grassed waterways, tailwater recov-
19       ery irrigation systems, precision land forming, range seeding, detention
20       and grade stabilization structures and other enduring water conservation
21       practices installed on public lands and on privately owned lands. Except
22       as provided by the multipurpose small lakes program act, any such grant
23       shall not exceed 80% of the total cost of any such practice.
24           (b) A program for protection of riparian and wetland areas shall be
25       developed by the state conservation commission and implemented by the
26       conservation districts. The conservation districts shall prepare district pro-
27       grams to address resource management concerns of water quality, erosion
28       and sediment control and wildlife habitat as part of the conservation dis-
29       trict long-range and annual work plans. Preparation and implementation
30       of conservation district programs shall be accomplished with assistance
31       from appropriate state and federal agencies involved in resource man-
32       agement.
33           (c) Subject to the provisions of K.S.A. 2-1919, and amendments
34       thereto, any holder of a water right, as defined by subsection (g) of K.S.A.
35       82a-701, and amendments thereto, who is willing to voluntarily return all
36       or a part of the water right to the state shall be eligible for a grant not to
37       exceed 80% of the total cost of the purchase price for such water right.
38       The state conservation commission shall administer this cost-share pro-
39       gram with funds appropriated by the legislature for such purpose. The
40       chief engineer shall certify to the state conservation commission that any
41       water right for which application for cost-share is received under this
42       section is eligible in accordance with the criteria established in K.S.A.
43       2-1919, and amendments thereto.

SB 523--Am. by H

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  1           (d) (1) Subject to appropriation acts therefore therefor, the state
  2       conservation commission shall develop the Kansas water quality buffer
  3       initiative. The purpose of the initiative shall be to improve water quality
  4       by for the purpose of restoring riparian areas using best management
  5       practices. The executive director of the state conservation commission
  6       shall ensure that the initiative is complimentary complementary to the
  7       federal conservation reserve program.
  8        (2) There is hereby created in the state treasury the Kansas water
  9       quality buffer initiative fund. All expenditures from such fund shall be
10       made in accordance with appropriations acts upon warrants of the direc-
11       tor of accounts and reports issued pursuant to vouchers approved by the
12       executive director of the state conservation commission or the executive
13       director's designee. Money credited to the fund shall be used for the pur-
14       pose of making grants to install water quality best management practices
15       pursuant to the initiative. A buffer, as used in this section, shall be defined
16       as an area of streamside vegetation consisting of tame or native grass
17       which may include forbs and woody plants along any perennial or inter-
18       mittent stream including the stream bank and adjoining floodplain that
19       is a minimum of 66 feet wide and a maximum of 150 feet wide.
20           (e) (3) The county or district appraiser shall identify and map the
21       buffers created by this section, provided such buffers total at least one
22       contiguous acre per real estate parcel riparian buffers consisting of at
23       least one contiguous acre per parcel of real property located in
24       the appraiser's county. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law,
25       the buffers created by this section riparian buffers shall be valued by
26       the county or district appraiser as tame or native grass grass land, native
27       grass land or waste land, as appropriate. As used in this subsection
28       (3), ``riparian buffer'' means an area of stream-side vegetation that:
29       (A) Consists of tame or native grass and may include forbs and
30       woody plants; (B) is located along a perennial or intermittent
31       stream, including the stream bank and adjoining floodplain; (C) is
32       created pursuant to the Kansas water quality buffer initiative; and
33       (D) is a minimum of 66 feet wide and a maximum of 150 feet wide.
34           (d) (f) (e) The state conservation commission shall adopt rules and
35       regulations to administer such grant and protection programs.
36           (e) (g) (f) Any district is authorized to make use of any assistance
37       whatsoever given by the United States, or any agency thereof, or derived
38       from any other source, for the planning and installation of such practices.
39       The state conservation commission may enter into agreements with other
40       state and federal agencies to implement the Kansas water quality buffer
41       initiative.
42           Sec. 2. K.S.A. 2-1915 is hereby repealed.

SB 523--Am. by H

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  1           Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
  2       publication in the statute book.
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