Kansas Administrative Regulations › Agency 98 - KANSAS WATER Authority › Article 6 - WATER ASSURANCE PROGRAM › Section 98-6-3 - Contract negotiation procedures

Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 28, July 11, 2024
(a) Any water assurance district may request,
			 in writing, to negotiate with the director for a water assurance contract. The
			 request shall be submitted on forms provided by the office and include all
			 information requested on those forms. Each request shall include a copy of the
			 district's certificate of incorporation filed with the secretary of
			 state.
(b) The request to negotiate
			 and the information provided by the water assurance district shall be reviewed
			 by the director to determine if the information provided is sufficient to begin
			 negotiations for a water assurance contract. The district shall be notified by
			 the director if there is a need for additional information or if the request
			 submitted is sufficient to begin negotiations. The notice shall be in writing
			 and shall be provided within 30 days of receipt of the request.
(c) If the director finds that the
			 information provided by the assurance district is sufficient, the negotiations
			 shall commence.
(d) Each person who
			 has a water purchase contract or an application for a water purchase contract
			 on file with the director, or a water assurance contract pertaining to storage
			 in reservoirs in the designated basin, shall be notified in writing that
			 negotiations with an assurance district have begun. The notice shall be mailed
			 to each person's last known address. Each person so notified shall, within 20
			 days following notification by the director, file in writing a request to begin
			 negotiations for a written contract, or forfeit the right to participate in
			 current negotiations for a written contract for water purchase or for a water
			 assurance contract.
(e) Water
			 assurance contract negotiations shall be conducted by the director and the
			 board members of the assurance district or their designees.
(f) If the district and the director cannot
			 agree on terms or language in the contract, the negotiations may be terminated
			 by either party.
(g) A water
			 assurance contract shall be approved by the director if the director finds that
			 all of the following conditions are met:
(1)
			 The approval of the water assurance contract is in the best interest of the
			 people of the state of Kansas.
(2)
			 The water assurance contract refers to and incorporates by reference an
			 operations agreement that includes the following:
(A) The rules of operation for designated
			 assurance reservoirs to provide assurance water;
(B) quantities of water supply in designated
			 assurance reservoirs;
(C) the
			 quantities of water supply use by eligible members of the water assurance
			 district;
(D) a provision that
			 establishes procedures for allocating inflows in any reservoir in which a water
			 assurance district has purchased storage;
(E) target flows along designated
			 rivers;
(F) a provision to release
			 water from storage from one or more reservoirs in order to meet specified
			 instream purposes; and
(G) any
			 other related matters to which the parties agree.
(3) The state has filed or will file, if
			 necessary, before initiation of the operations agreement, a water reservation
			 right for storage of water in the reservoirs designated in the
			 contract.
(4) The state has signed
			 or will sign, if necessary, an agreement with an agency or department of the
			 United States for water supply storage space in reservoirs named in the
			 operations agreement.
(5) The water
			 assurance contract includes a statement that the water assurance storage
			 component of the major reservoirs in the designated basin are designated for
			 the sole use and benefit of the water assurance district in accordance with the
			 operations agreement.
(6) The
			 remaining water supply capacity satisfies any present water purchase
			 contract.
(7) Before any member of
			 the water assurance district receives benefits or water pursuant to a water
			 assurance contract, that member has adopted a water conservation plan
			 consistent with the guidelines for conservation plans and practices developed
			 and maintained by the Kansas water office pursuant to
			 K.S.A.
			 74-2608, and amendments thereto.
(8) The water assurance contract contains a
			 provision that establishes procedures for allocating inflows in any reservoir
			 in which a water assurance district has purchased storage.