Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

8115.01000
     Sixty-eighth
     Legislative Assembly                    HOUSE BILL NO. 1073
     of North Dakota
     Introduced by
       Energy and Natural Resources Committee
       (At the request of the Department of Water Resources)
  A BILL for an Act to amend and reenact section 61-03-21 of the North Dakota Century Code,
  relating to the department of water resources authority to require operating plans for dams.
  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NORTH DAKOTA:
      SECTION 1. AMENDMENT. Section 61-03-21 of the North Dakota Century Code is
  amended and reenacted as follows:
      61-03-21. Plans of operation for reservoirs - Adequate structure.
      Every operator of a water storage reservoir operator in North Dakota having a capacity of
  more than one thousand acre-feet [1233481.84 cubic meters] annually shall file with the
  department, between the first and fifteenth day of February, an operating plan for the reservoir
 for the calendar year in which the plan is filed. The operator of the reservoir shall cooperate with
 the department to make all water releases compatible with the best interest of the greatest
 number of downstream water users and affected landowners. If the department declares an
 emergency in connection with the operation of the reservoir, the operator promptly shall submit
 to the department a separate interim operating plan for the reservoir. The interim operating plan
 must be coordinated and integrated with the suggestions and plans of the department to serve
 the affected persons during the emergency. The department may require the reservoir operators
 to maintain adequate structures and operate themthe structures in a manner to prevent waste,
 promote the beneficial use of water, and not endanger the general health and welfare of
 affected persons affected by the reservoirs. If an operator fails to maintain and operate
 adequate structures, the department shall set a place and time for hearing and serve notice
 upon the operator to show cause why the operator's water permit should not be canceled. A
 copy of any order canceling the water right must be filed in the office of the recorder in the
 county or counties where the land to which the right is appurtenant is located. An appeal may
 be taken from the decision of the department in accordance with chapter 28-32.
                                               Page No. 1                         23.8115.01000
Statutes affected: 
PREFILED: 61-03-21
Enrollment: 61-03-21