CHAPTER 137 HOUSE Substitute for SENATE BILL No. 430 An  Act concerning water; relating to powers of certain rural water districts and public
wholesale water supply districts; authorizing certain rural water district elections to be
held by mail ballot; relating to certain powers of groundwater management districts;
amending K.S.A. 82a-619, 82a-626 and 82a-1028 and K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 19-3552, 82a-
1030 and 82a-1903 and repealing the existing sections.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:

      Section  1. K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 19-3552 is hereby amended to read as
follows: 19-3552. For the purpose of providing a water supply or other
services to the participating public agencies the governing body of the
district shall have the following powers, authorities and privileges:

      (1) To accept by gift or grant from any person, firm, corporation, trust
or foundation, or from this state or any other state or any political sub-
division or municipality thereof, or from the United States, any funds or
property or any interest therein for the uses and purposes of the district
and to hold title thereto in trust or otherwise and to bind the district to
apply the same according to the terms of such gift or grant;

      (2) to sue and be sued;

      (3) to enter into franchises, contracts and agreements with this or any
other state or the United States or any municipality, political subdivision
or district thereof, or any of their agencies or instrumentalities, or any
public or private person, partnership, association, or corporation of this
state or of any other state or the United States, and this state and any
such municipality, political subdivision, district, or any of their agencies
or instrumentalities, and any such public or private person, partnership,
association, or corporation is hereby authorized to enter into contracts
and agreements with such district for any term not exceeding 40 years
for the planning, development, construction, acquisition, or operation of
any facility or for any service rendered to, for, or by the district;

      (4) to borrow money and evidence the same by warrants, notes, or
bonds as hereinafter provided in this act, and to refund the same by the
issuance of refunding obligations;

      (5) to acquire land and interests in land by gift, purchase, exchange
or eminent domain, such power of eminent domain to be exercised within
or without the boundaries of the district in accordance with provisions of
K.S.A. 26-501, and amendments thereto;

      (6) to acquire by purchase or lease, construct, install, and operate
reservoirs, pipelines, wells, check dams, pumping stations, water purifi-
cation plants, and other facilities for the production, wholesale distribu-
tion, and utilization of water and to own and hold such real and personal
property as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of its organization;

      (7) to provide, by contract, to participating public agencies for the
construction, installation and operation of pipelines, wells, pumping sta-
tions and other facilities and services relating to the distribution of water
within the boundaries of the participating public agencies or retail distri-
bution and utilization of water and to own and hold such real and personal
property as may be necessary in relation thereto, except that, if the con-
tract amount for such services is $10,000 or more, the district shall be
authorized to provide such services only if the award of the contract is
based on competitive bids;

      (8) to provide, by contract, to participating public agencies for the
operation and maintenance of state-permitted wastewater treatment
works, systems and other facilities and services relating to the treatment
of wastewater within the boundaries of the participating public agencies;

      (8) (9) to have the general management, control, and supervision of
all the business, affairs, property, and facilities of the district, and of the
construction, installation, operation, and maintenance of district improve-
ments, and to establish regulations relating thereto;

      (9) (10) to hire and retain agents, employees, engineers and attorneys
and to determine their compensation. The governing body shall select
and appoint a general manager of the district who shall serve at the plea-
sure of the governing body. The general manager shall have training and
experience in the supervision and administration of water systems and
shall manage and control the water system under the general supervision
of the governing body. All employees, servants and agents of the district
shall be under the immediate control and management of the general
manager. The general manager shall perform all such other duties as may
be prescribed by the governing body and shall give the governing body a
good and sufficient surety company bond in a sum to be set and approved
by the governing body conditioned upon the satisfactory performance of
the general manager's duties. The governing body also may require that
any other employees be bonded in such amount as it shall determine.
The cost of such bonds shall be paid out of the funds of the district;

      (10) (11) to adopt and amend rules and regulations not in conflict
with the constitution and laws of this state, necessary for the carrying on
of the business, objects and affairs of the governing body and of the
district; and

      (11) (12) to have and exercise all rights and powers necessary or in-
cidental to or implied from the specific powers granted herein. Such
specific powers shall not be considered as a limitation upon any power
necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this act.

      Sec.  2. K.S.A. 82a-619 is hereby amended to read as follows: 82a-
619. (a) Every district incorporated under this act shall have perpetual
succession, subject to dissolution or consolidation pursuant to law and
shall have the power to:

      (1) To (a) Exercise eminent domain within the boundaries of such
district; (2) to

      (b) sue and be sued;

      (3) to (c) contract;

      (4) to (d) hold real and personal property acquired by will, gift, pur-
chase, or otherwise, as authorized by law;

      and (5) to (e)  construct, install, maintain and operate such ponds,
reservoirs, pipelines, wells, check dams, pumping installations or other
facilities for the storage, transportation or utilization of water and such
appurtenant structures and equipment necessary to carry out the pur-
poses of its organization.

      (b) Each such district shall have the power: (1) To;

      (f) contract with cities or counties, or both, to operate and maintain
state-permitted wastewater treatment works, systems and other facilities
relating to the treatment of wastewater within the boundaries of the dis-
trict;

      (g) cooperate with and enter into agreements with the secretary of
the United States department of agriculture or the secretary's duly au-
thorized representative necessary to carry out the purposes of its organ-
ization; and (2) to accept financial or other aid which the secretary of the
United States department of agriculture is empowered to give pursuant
to 16 U.S.C.A., secs. 590r, 590s, 590x-1, 590x-a and 590x-3, or and amend-
ments thereto.

      (c) Each such district shall have the power to;

      (h) acquire loans for the financing of up to 95% of the cost of the
construction or purchase of any project or projects necessary to carry out
the purposes for which such district was organized and to execute notes
and mortgages in evidence thereof with interest, or combined interest
and mortgage insurance charges, which shall not exceed 13%, except that
for purposes of interim financing, interest or combined interest and mort-
gage insurance charges shall not exceed 14%. Any district shall have the
same power to acquire loans for the refinancing of up to 95% of the
original cost of any such project or projects. The balance of the cost of
construction shall be acquired by subscription, donation, gift or otherwise
than through the medium of loans, except that in the case of cooperative
corporations and corporations not for profit being converted to water
districts as provided for in K.S.A. 82a-631 to 82a-635, inclusive, and
amendments thereto, the district may assume 100% of the indebtedness
of the corporation, providing the corporation originally raised at least 10%
of the construction cost by means otherwise than through the medium of
loans. (d) Any such loan may be secured by any or all of the physical assets
owned by the district, including easements and rights-of-way, except that
no district organized under this act shall have any power or authority to
levy any taxes whatsoever.

      New Sec.  3. A rural water district organized under K.S.A. 82a-612
et seq., and amendments thereto, may provide for any election of the
district to be conducted by mail ballot in accordance with the bylaws of
the district.

      Sec.  4. K.S.A. 82a-626 is hereby amended to read as follows: 82a-
626. (a) The term of office of every member elected to an original board
shall be until the date of the annual meeting of the participating members
of either the first, second or third year following the year of the incor-
poration of the district and until their successors are elected and have
qualified, and as nearly as possible the terms of an equal number of
directors on any such board shall expire on each of said such dates.

      (b) Except as provided by the bylaws of the district pursuant to sec-
tion 3, and amendments thereto, at the annual meeting of each year after
the year of the election of the original board members, elections shall be
held to elect directors to fill any position on the board, the term of office
of which has expired, and any director so elected shall hold office for a
term of three years and until such director's successor is elected and has
qualified. For the purpose of election of board members and for such
other purposes as the bylaws may prescribe, annual meetings of partici-
pating members shall be held by each district between January 1 and
April 1 of each year following the year of incorporation of such district.
The board of directors shall cause notice of the time and place of each
annual meeting and the purpose thereof to be mailed to each of its par-
ticipating members or shall cause such notice to be published in a news-
paper of general circulation within the district. Every such notice shall
be mailed or published not less than 10 nor more than 30 days prior to
any such meeting. Each participating member shall be entitled to a single
vote, regardless of the number of benefit units to which such member
has subscribed.

      Sec.  5. K.S.A. 82a-1028 is hereby amended to read as follows: 82a-
1028. Every groundwater management district organized under this act
shall be a body politic and corporate and shall have the power to:

      (a) Adopt a seal;

      (b) sue and be sued in its corporate name;

      (c) rent space, maintain and equip an office, and pay other adminis-
trative expenses;

      (d) employ such legal, engineering, technical, and clerical services as
may be deemed necessary by the board;

      (e) purchase, hold, sell and convey land, water rights and personal
property, and execute such contracts as may, in the opinion of the board,
be deemed necessary or convenient;

      (f) acquire land and interests in land by gift, exchange or eminent
domain, the power of eminent domain to be exercised within the bound-
aries of the district in like manner as provided by K.S.A. 26-501 to 26-
516, inclusive, and any acts amendatory thereof or supplemental thereto
the eminent domain procedure act, except that any land holdings acquired
pursuant hereto or in accordance with the provisions of the next preced-
ing subsection shall not in the aggregate exceed one thousand (1,000)
1,000 acres. In any case where a district has land holdings in excess of
the described limitation, the district shall dispose of such excess in a
reasonable and expeditious manner;

      (g) construct, operate and maintain such works as may be determined
necessary for drainage, recharge, storage, distribution or importation of
water, and all other appropriate facilities of concern to the district;

      (h) levy water user charges and land assessments, issue general and
special bonds and incur indebtedness within the limitations prescribed by
this act;

      (i) contract with persons, firms, associations, partnerships, corpora-
tions or agencies of the state or federal government, and enter into co-
operative agreements with any of them;

      (j) take appropriate actions to extend or reduce the territories of the
district as prescribed by this act;

      (k) construct and establish research, development, and demonstra-
tion projects, and collect and disseminate research data and technical
information concerning the conservation of groundwater;

      (l) install or require the installation of meters, gauges, or other meas-
uring devices and read or require water users to read and report those
readings as may be necessary to determine the quantity of water with-
drawn;

      (m) provide advice and assistance in the management of drainage
problems, storage, groundwater recharge, surface water management,
and all other appropriate matters of concern to the district;

      (n) adopt, amend, promulgate, and enforce by suitable action, ad-
ministrative or otherwise, reasonable administrative standards and poli-
cies relating to the conservation and management of groundwater within
management of the district which are not inconsistent with the provisions
of this act or article 7 of chapter 82a of the Kansas Statutes Annotated,
and all acts amendatory thereof or supplemental thereto article 10 of
chapter 82a of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and amendments thereto,
or the Kansas water appropriation act;

      (o) recommend to the chief engineer rules and regulations necessary
to implement and enforce the policies of the board which relate to the
conservation and management of groundwater within the district, are
within the authority of the chief engineer and are not inconsistent with
the provisions of article 10 of chapter 82a of the Kansas Statutes Anno-
tated, and amendments thereto, or the Kansas water appropriation act.
Such rules and regulations Within 90 days after receipt of a final draft of
proposed rules and regulations recommended by a groundwater manage-
ment district, the chief engineer shall: (1) Approve or reject the proposed
rules and regulations for adoption; and (2) either initiate procedures pur-
suant to the rules and regulations filing act to adopt the approved pro-
posed rules and regulations or return the rejected proposed rules and
regulations, together with written reasons for the rejection, to the ground-
water management district. Proposed rules and regulations recommended
to the chief engineer shall be of no force and effect unless and until
adopted by the chief engineer to implement the provisions of article 7 of
chapter 82a of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and all acts amendatory
thereof or supplemental amendments thereto. All such rules and regula-
tions adopted shall be effective only within a specified district;

      (p) recommend to the department of health and environment, the
state corporation commission or other appropriate state agency such other
rules and regulations, not inconsistent with law, which relate to the con-
servation and management of groundwater within the district and are
within the authority of such department, commission or other agency.
Within 90 days after receipt of a final draft of proposed rules and regu-
lations recommended by a groundwater management district, the de-
partment, commission or other agency shall: (1) Approve or reject the
proposed rules and regulations for adoption; and (2) either initiate pro-
cedures pursuant to the rules and regulations filing act to adopt the ap-
proved proposed rules and regulations or return the rejected proposed
rules and regulations, together with written reasons for the rejection, to
the groundwater management district. Proposed rules and regulations
recommended to the department, commission or other agency shall be of
no force and effect unless and until adopted by the department, commis-
sion or other such agency. All such rules and regulations adopted shall be
effective only within a specified district;

      (q) enforce by suitable action, administrative or otherwise, rules and
regulations adopted as provided by subsection (o) or (p);

      (p) (r) enter upon private property within the district for inspection
purposes, to determine conformance of the use of water with established
rules and regulations, including measurements of flow, depth of water,
water wastage and for such other purposes as are necessary and not in-
consistent with the purposes of this act;

      (q) (s) select a residence or home office for the groundwater man-
agement district which shall be at a place in a county in which the district
or any part thereof is located and may be either within or without the
boundaries of the district. The board shall designate the county in which
the residence or home office is located as the official county for the filing
of all official acts and assessments;

      (r) (t) seek and accept grants or other financial assistance that the
federal government and other public or private sources shall make avail-
able and to utilize the same to carry out the purposes and functions of
the district; and

      (s) (u) recommend to the chief engineer the initiation of proceedings
for the designation of a certain area within the district as an intensive
groundwater use control area.

      Sec.  6. K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 82a-1030 is hereby amended to read as
follows: 82a-1030. (a) In order to finance the operations of the district,
the board may assess an annual water user charge against every person
who withdraws groundwater from within the boundaries of the district.
The board shall base such charge upon the amount of groundwater al-
located for such person's use pursuant to such person's water right. Such
charge shall not exceed $.60 $1 for each acre-foot (325,851 gallons) of
groundwater withdrawn within the district or allocated by the water right,
except that the annual user charge for the fiscal year of the district be-
ginning on or after July 1, 2001, and before July 1, 2002, may be in an
amount not exceeding $.65 a groundwater management district may as-
sess a greater annual water user charge not exceeding $1.50 for each acre-
foot of groundwater withdrawn within the district if more than 50% of
the authorized place of use for such groundwater is outside the district.
Whenever a person shows by the submission to the board of a verified
claim and any supportive data which may be required by the board that
such person's actual annual groundwater withdrawal is in a lesser amount
than that allocated by the water right of such person, the board shall assess
such annual charge against such person on the amount of water shown
to be withdrawn by the verified claim. Any such claim shall be submitted
by April 1 of the year in which such annual charge is to be assessed. The
board may also make an annual assessment against each landowner of not
to exceed $.05 for each acre of land owned within the boundaries of the
district. Special assessments may also be levied, as provided hereafter,
against land specially benefited by a capital improvement without regard
to the limits prescribed above.

      (b) Before any assessment is made, or user charge imposed, the board
shall submit the proposed budget for the ensuing year to the eligible
voters of the district at a hearing called for that purpose by one publication
in a newspaper or newspapers of general circulation within the district at
least 28 days prior to the meeting. Following the hearing, the board shall,
by resolution, adopt either the proposed budget or a modified budget
and determine the amount of land assessment or user charge, or both,
needed to support such budget.

      (c) Both the user charges assessed for groundwater withdrawn and
the assessments against lands within the district shall be certified to the
proper county clerks and collected the same as other taxes in accordance
with K.S.A. 79-1801, and acts amendatory thereof or supplemental
thereto, and the amount thereof shall attach to the real property involved
as a lien in accordance with K.S.A. 79-1804, and acts amendatory thereof
or supplemental thereto. All moneys so collected shall be remitted by the
county treasurer to the treasurer of the groundwater management district
who shall deposit them to the credit of the general fund of the district.
The accounts of each groundwater management district shall be audited
annually by a public accountant or certified public accountant.

      (d) Subsequent to the certification of approval of the organization of
a district by the secretary of state and the election of a board of directors
for such district, such board shall be authorized to issue no-fund warrants
in amounts sufficient to meet the operating expenses of the district until
money therefor becomes available pursuant to user charges or assess-
ments under subsection (a). In no case shall the amount of any such
issuance be in excess of 20% of the total amount of money receivable
from assessments which could be levied in any one year as provided in
subsection (a). No such warrants shall be issued until a resolution au-
thorizing the same shall have been adopted by the board and published
once in a newspaper having a general circulation in each county within
the boundaries of the district. Whereupon such warrants may be issued
unless a petition in opposition to the same, signed by not less than 10%
of the eligible voters of such district and in no case by less than 20 of the
eligible voters of such district, is filed with the county clerk of each of the
counties in such district within 10 days following such publication. In the
event such a petition is filed, it shall be the duty of the board of such
district to submit the question to the eligible voters at an election called
for such purpose. Such election shall be noticed and conducted as pro-
vided by K.S.A. 82a-1031, and amendments thereto.

      Whenever no-fund warrants are issued under the authority of this sub-
section, the board of directors of such district shall make an assessment
each year for three years in approximately equal installments for the pur-
pose of paying such warrants and the interest thereon. All such assess-
ments shall be in addition to all other assessments authorized or limited
by law. Such warrants shall be issued, registered, redeemed and bear
interest in the manner and in the form prescribed by K.S.A. 79-2940, and
amendments thereto, except they shall not bear the notation required by
said statute and may be issued without the approval of the state board of
tax appeals. Any surplus existing after the redemption of such warrants
shall be handled in the manner prescribed by K.S.A. 79-2940, and amend-
ments thereto.

      Sec.  7. K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 82a-1903 is hereby amended to read as
follows: 82a-1903. (a) (1) On or before November 15, 1999, the chief
engineer of the division of water resources of the department of agricul-
ture, in accordance with K.S.A. 77-420 and amendments thereto, shall
submit to the secretary of administration and the attorney general pro-
posed rules and regulations containing all current standards, statements
of policy and general orders that: (A) Have been issued or adopted by
the chief engineer; (B) are of general application and have the effect of
law; and (C) are not contained in current rules and regulations adopted
by the chief engineer.

      (2) If any standard, statement of policy or general order described in
subsection (a) (1) is not submitted as required by subsection (a), such
standard, statement of policy or general order shall be void and of no
effect after November 15, 1999, until adopted by rules and regulations.

      (b)  (1) On or before March 1, 2000, each groundwater management
district shall submit to the chief engineer of the division of water re-
sources of the department of agriculture recommended rules and regu-
lations containing all current standards, statements of policy and general
orders that: (A) Have been issued or adopted by such district; (B) are of
general application within the district and have the effect of law; and (C)
are not contained in current rules and regulations adopted by the chief
engineer.

      (2) If any standard, statement of policy or general order described in
subsection (b)(1) is not submitted as required by that subsection, such
standard, statement of policy or general order shall be void and of no
effect after March 1, 2000, until adopted by rules and regulations.

      (c) Any standard, policy or order of a groundwater management dis-
trict which is within the authority of the chief engineer, other than an
administrative standard or policy relating to management of the district,
shall be void and of no effect after January 1, 2003, unless adopted by
rules and regulations of the chief engineer as provided by subsection (o)
of K.S.A. 82a-1028, and amendments thereto. Any standard, policy or
order of a groundwater management district which is within the authority
of another state agency, other than an administrative standard or policy
relating to management of the district, shall be void and of no effect after
January 1, 2004, unless adopted by rules and regulations of such agency
as provided by subsection (p) of K.S.A. 82a-1028, and amendments
thereto. 
Sec.  8. K.S.A. 82a-619, 82a-626 and 82a-1028 and K.S.A. 2001 Supp.
19-3552, 82a-1030 and 82a-1903 are hereby repealed.
 Sec.  9. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.

Approved May 17, 2002.
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