Minutes: Northwest Kansas Groundwater Management District 4

July 13, 2006 Board Meeting

 

 

1. OPEN MEETING, ATTENDANCE AND AGENDA

The July board meeting was opened at 10:10 a.m. CDT, July 13, 2006 in the district office, Colby, KS by President Scott Maurath.

Board members present for some or all of the meeting were: Dave Mann, Bill Nondorf, Dave Rietcheck, Monty Biggs, Scott Maurath, Mitch Baalman, Lon Frahm, Roger Zweygardt and Jeff Deeds.

Board Members absent were: Doug David and Jon Friesen.

Others present for some or all of the meeting were: Wayne Bossert, Ray Luhman and Dan Simmering – GMD 4 staff; and Scott Ross and Mark Billinger - DWR.

One agenda item - 5. a. Set 2007 Assessment Rates - was added upon a motion by Dave Mann, a second by Jeff Deeds and a unanimous vote.

2. CONSENT AGENDA

Monty Biggs moved for approval of the consent agenda including: 1) the June 8, 2006 minutes; and 2) the June financial reports including the June, 2006 expenditures totaling $23,880.22. Bill Nondorf seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

3. MANAGER'S REPORT

In addition to the written manager's report in the board packet several other items were reported on:

1) The extra outline by John Peck on water law was provided by Lon Frahm. This was John Peck's presentation at the KGS Field Tour recently conducted.

2) The July/August newsletter is 2 weeks late - awaiting the board's decision today regarding the NRCS quick response areas.

3) All the Basin Advisory Committees are transitioning to their new organization per the state water plan directions. The Upper Republican BAC decided on July 11, 2006 to recommend to the KWA an 11-member committee, which allows them 4 locally specified positions above the 7 core positions specified in the SWP. They decided that the 4 positions should represent: the local GMD; local units of government; an irrigation farmer; and a dryland farmer. They are recommending that the GMD position be appointed by the Northwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 4 Board, and be either the manager, a board member or a former board member who lives in the URBAC area. As such, GMD 4 will need to appoint that person today (needed by the August, 2006 KWA meeting). After discussion, Dave Mann nominated Lon Frahm and that nominations immediately cease and a unanimous ballot be cast for Lon Frahm. Bill Nondorf seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

4) The 2005 season overpump letters were about to go out. There were about 50 from GMD 4.

4. UNFINISHED BUSINESS

  1. Enhanced Management Discussions: Staff brought the board up to speed from the last meeting (see July Board Packet information). After the board reviewed the various maps prepared by staff, Dave Rietcheck moved that last month's motion (…to adopt the process of using 1997-2002 percent decline greater or equal to 9% OR sections equal to or greater than a 1997-2002 2-mile reported water use density equal to or greater than 1000 acrefeet…) be replaced by the following motion: That 1996-2002 data sets for both parameters (percent decline and reported water use density) be used, and that area adjusted reported water use values be used, and that both the high and medium priority area triggers be specified as follows: High priority areas shall include all GMD 4 sections showing 9% or greater decline between 1996 and 2002 OR more than 275 AF/square mile reported 2-mile water use density; and Medium priority areas shall include all GMD 4 sections showing between 6% and 8.99% decline between 1996 and 2002 OR between 150 and 274 AF/square mile reported 2-mile water use density. Low priority areas shall be all remaining GMD 4 area. Bill Nondorf seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

b. NRCS Quick Response Areas: Staff had recommended a 4-township area in SW Sherman county that includes the north half of township 9-39, all of townships 9-40 through 9-42, and the north half of township 10-42. In discussion various alternatives were considered including adding townships 8-39 and 8-40 to the staff recommended area; eliminating the north half of township 9-39 from the staff recommended area, and a few combinations of both. After more discussion, Dave Rietcheck moved to designate the staff recommended area - the north half of township 9-39, townships 9-40, 9-41, and 9-42, and the north half of township 10-42 - as the Sherman County quick response area in addition to the 4-township Thomas County area previously designated and approved for next year. Mitch Baalman seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

5. NEW BUSINESS

a. 2007 Assessment Rates:

Lon Frahm moved that the following resolution, numbered AR-06-3, be adopted:

WHEREAS the board of directors held a lawful budget hearing on June 8, 2006 and considered all public testimony offered and duly adopted a 2007 total operating budget of $652,481.20; and

WHEREAS KSA 82a-1030 requires that a land assessment and/or water user charge be levied in order to fund the approved budget; and

WHEREAS there exists as of July 13, 2006 2,724,953 acres of land eligible for assessment and 860,158.3 acre-feet of water eligible for the water user charge for the 2007 operating budget;

WHEREAS $240,528.25 already exist in the district accounts and need not be assessed for, leaving $411,952.95 needing assessment support;

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED THAT the land and water assessments shall be set at:

$.05 per acre of assessable land; and

$.32 per assessable acre-foot of water.

Monty Biggs seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

 

 

 

6. DWR REPORT – Scott Ross reported that GMD4/DWR have completed compliance checks on about 1200 meters in GMD4 (out of the estimated 1600 total) and that the process is going extremely well thus far with about 4% of the total inspections getting compliance deficiency letters. Of this 4% getting letters, about 95% are for missing seals - a reasonably easily corrected deficiency. There have been only about a dozen serious spacing issues. They have found 1 person pumping without a meter and this case has been taken care of.

Scott also reported on their pilot satellite telemetry program in which they are outfitting 45 or 46 wells with meter loggers that can be accessed via the internet. These sites are running about $1500 total (logger, cable and communications) and about $13 per month for periodic pulse info.

Scott reported that the only impairment complaint active in his field office area is the Binning complaint in Rawlins County.

The Republican River Compact was updated and it was reported that Nebraska appears to be somewhere between 104,000 and 106,000 AF short of meeting their compact allocation requirement. Colorado is about 6,000 AF short. These actual values will be at issue and may be finalized at the up-coming RRC meeting in P'burg, KS on August 9 and 10, 2006.

Finally, Mark Billinger reported that the modeling contract for the Solomon had a minor issue crop up and is still being worked on though nearing completion.

7. OPEN SESSION - PUBLIC QUESTIONS/COMMENTS

No issues presented.

8. SET NEXT MEETING DATE AND CONSIDER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

August 10, 2006 and September 7, 2006 are the next board meetings.

9. ADJOURNMENT

Mitch Baalman moved for adjournment at 12:00 p.m., July 13, 2006. Dave Rietcheck seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

 

Respectfully submitted:

 

 

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Dave Mann, Secretary