K.S.A. § 2-1933 — KS Code / Chapter 2 / Article 19 / Section 2-1933
2-1933 - Conservation reserve enhancement program; criteria; reports; Kansas conservation reserve enhancement program fund.
Status: in_force

2-1933. Conservation reserve enhancement program; criteria; reports; Kansas conservation reserve enhancement program fund. (a) As used in this section, "division" means the division of conservation established within the Kansas department of agriculture in K.S.A. 74-5,126, and amendments thereto.

(b) The division shall administer the conservation reserve enhancement program (CREP) on behalf of the state of Kansas pursuant to agreements with the United States department of agriculture for the purpose of implementing beneficial water quality and water quantity projects concerning agricultural lands within targeted watersheds to be enrolled in CREP.

(c) There is hereby established in the state treasury the Kansas conservation reserve enhancement program fund, which shall be administered by the division. All expenditures from the Kansas conservation reserve enhancement program fund shall be for the implementation of CREP pursuant to agreements between the state of Kansas and the United States department of agriculture. All expenditures from such fund shall be made in accordance with appropriation acts upon warrants of the director of accounts and reports issued pursuant to vouchers approved by the secretary of agriculture or by the secretary's designee.

(d) The division may request the assistance of other state agencies, Kansas state university, local governments and private entities in the implementation of CREP.

(e) The division may receive and expend moneys from the federal or state government or private sources for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this section. All moneys received shall be remitted to the state treasurer in accordance with the provisions of K.S.A. 75-4215, and amendments thereto. Upon receipt of each such remittance, the state treasurer shall deposit the entire amount in the state treasury to the credit of the Kansas conservation reserve enhancement program fund. The division shall carry over unexpended moneys in the Kansas conservation reserve enhancement program fund from one fiscal year to the next.

(f) The division may enter into cost-share contracts with landowners that will result in fulfilling specific objectives of projects approved in agreements between the United States department of agriculture and the state of Kansas.

(g) The division shall administer all CREPs in Kansas subject to the following criteria:

(1) The aggregate total number of acres enrolled in Kansas in all CREPs shall not exceed 60,000 acres, except that the last eligible offer for enrollment that will exceed the 60,000-acre cap may be approved;

(2) the aggregate total number of acres enrolled in all CREPs in any one Kansas county shall not exceed 20% of the statewide acreage cap set forth in paragraph (1), except that the last eligible offer to exceed such cap in any one county may be approved;

(3) no whole-field enrollments shall be accepted into a CREP established for water quality purposes;

(4) an acreage shall not be eligible for enrollment in CREP if it is otherwise ineligible for enrollment under federal law; and

(5) not more than 1,600 acres may be enrolled in CREP in one county in the same calendar year unless the secretary of agriculture, in consultation with the chief engineer of the division of water resources, certifies that the chief engineer has determined:

(A) That the acreage is in an area where an impairment is occurring and enrolling the acreage in the conservation reserve enhancement program will be responsive to the impairment; or

(B) that the acreage is less than five miles from a portion of the aquifer with less than 10 years of usable life.

(h) If approved by the United States department of agriculture, the division may, in accordance with subsection (i), approve a CREP contract that allows for the establishment of native grasses, routine grazing, dryland farming or limited irrigation practices for the purpose of meeting water quantity goals.

(i) The division shall administer each CREP established for the purpose of meeting water quantity goals in accordance with the following additional criteria:

(1) All acreage that is an authorized place of use of an irrigation water right and is proposed to be enrolled in CREP shall have been irrigated at a rate of not less than 1 / 2 acre-foot per acre per year for three out of the five years immediately preceding the year that the acreage is offered for enrollment, as determined by the division;

(2) the water right or water rights used for the acreage proposed to be enrolled in CREP shall not have been the subject of any sanctions or penalties by the division of water resources that are in effect or pending determination at the time that the acreage is offered for enrollment; and

(3) the owner of the water right or water rights for which the acreage that is proposed to be enrolled in CREP is an authorized place of use or the water use correspondent for such water right shall have submitted the annual water use report required pursuant to K.S.A. 82a-732, and amendments thereto, for each of the most recent 10 years.

(j) The secretary, in consultation with the commission and the Kansas farm service agency office, may grant exceptions to the eligibility criteria outlined in subsections (g)(1) and (g)(2) if the acreage proposed to be enrolled in CREP satisfies one or more of the following conditions:

(1) Is located in an area designated as a high-priority area for water conservation pursuant to K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 82a-1044, and amendments thereto;

(2) is an authorized place of use of a high flow capacity water well;

(3) is an authorized place of use of a water right that was not utilized in accordance with subsection (i)(1) within the timeframe referenced in subsection (i)(1) due to circumstances involving bankruptcy, probate or other legal matters, excluding those related to any enforcement sanctions or penalties by the division of water resources that are in effect or pending determination at the time that the acreage is offered for enrollment in CREP; or

(4) is an authorized place of use of a water right that is or has been enrolled in a water conservation program, including, but not limited to, the United States department of agriculture environmental quality incentives program or a water conservation area pursuant to K.S.A. 82a-745, and amendments thereto, or has been assigned a water quantity allocation pursuant to an intensive groundwater use control area designated in accordance with K.S.A. 82a-1036, and amendments thereto, or a local enhanced management area designated in accordance with K.S.A. 82a-1041, and amendments thereto.

(k) (1) The Kansas department of agriculture shall, at the beginning of each annual regular session of the legislature, submit a CREP report to the senate committee on agriculture and natural resources and the house committee on agriculture and natural resources, and any successor committees, containing a description of program activities for each CREP administered in the state. Such report shall include:

(A) The acreage enrolled in CREP during the preceding five years;

(B) the dollar amounts received and expended for CREP during the preceding five years; and

(C) an assessment of whether each of the program objectives identified in the agreement with the farm services agency has been met.

(2) For each CREP established with the purpose of meeting water quantity goals, the following additional information shall be included in such annual report:

(A) The total amount of water, measured in acre-feet, that was permanently retired in CREP during the preceding five years;

(B) the change in groundwater water levels in the CREP area during the preceding five years;

(C) the total annual water usage in the CREP area during the preceding five years; and

(D) the average annual water use, measured in acre-feet, under each water right for which an authorized place of use is enrolled in CREP during the preceding five years.

(l) The Kansas department of agriculture shall submit a report on the economic impact of each specific CREP to the senate committee on agriculture and natural resources and the house committee on agriculture and natural resources, and any successor committees, every five years. The report shall include economic impacts to businesses located within each specific CREP region.