Applications for permits to appropriate water; fee

82a-708a. Applications for permits to appropriate water; fee. (a) Any person may apply for a permit to appropriate water to a beneficial use, notwithstanding that the application pertains to the use of water by another, or upon or in connection with the lands of another. Any rights to the beneficial use of water perfected under such application shall attach to the lands on or in connection with which the water is used and shall remain subject to the control of the owners of the lands as in other cases provided by law. (b) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (d), (e) and (f), each application for a permit to appropriate water, except applications for permits for domestic use, shall be accompanied by an application fee fixed by this section for the appropriate category of acre feet in accordance with the following: Acre FeetFee 0 to 100$200 101 to 320$300 More than 320$300 + $20 for each additional 100 acre feet or any part thereof On and after July 1, 2028, the application fee shall be fixed by this section for the appropriate category of acre feet in accordance with the following: Acre FeetFee 0 to 100$100 101 to 320$150 More than 320$150 + $10 for each additional 100 acre feet or any part thereof The chief engineer shall render a decision on such permit applications within 150 days of receiving a complete application except when the application cannot be processed due to the standards established in K.A.R. 5-3-4c. Upon failure to render a decision within 180 days of receipt of a complete application, the application fee is subject to refund upon request. (c) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (d), (e) and (f), each application for a permit to appropriate water for storage, except applications for permits for domestic use, shall be accompanied by an application fee fixed by this section for the appropriate category of storage-acre feet in accordance with the following: Storage-Acre FeetFee 0 to 250$200 More than 250$200 + $20 for each additional 250 storage-acre feet or any part thereof On and after July 1, 2028, the application fee shall be fixed by this section for the appropriate category of storage-acre feet in accordance with the following: Storage-Acre FeetFee 0 to 250$100 More than 250$100 + $10 for each additional 250 storage-acre feet or any part thereof The chief engineer shall render a decision on such permit applications within 150 days of receiving a complete application except when the application cannot be processed due to the standards established in K.A.R. 5-3-4c. Upon failure to render a decision within 180 days of receipt of a complete application, the application fee is subject to refund upon request. (d) Each application for a term permit pursuant to K.S.A. 82a-736, and amendments thereto, shall be accompanied by an application fee established by rules and regulations of the chief engineer in an amount not to exceed $400 for the five-year period covered by the permit. (e) For any application for a permit to appropriate water, except applications for permits for domestic use, that proposes to appropriate by both direct flow and storage, the fee charged shall be the fee under subsection (b) or subsection (c), whichever is larger, but not both fees. (f) Each application for a permit to appropriate water for water power or dewatering purposes shall be accompanied by an application fee of $100 plus $200 for each 100 cubic feet per second, or part thereof, of the diversion rate requested in the application for the proposed project. (g) All fees collected by the chief engineer pursuant to this section shall be remitted to the state treasurer as provided in K.S.A. 82a-731, and amendments thereto. History: L. 1957, ch. 539, § 3; L. 1973, ch. 414, § 1; L. 1982, ch. 4, § 17; L. 1985, ch. 339, § 1; L. 1989, ch. 310, § 1; L. 2001, ch. 160, § 17; L. 2002, ch. 181, § 21; L. 2004, ch. 85, § 16; L. 2009, ch. 51, § 2; L. 2014, ch. 133, § 9; L. 2017, ch. 86, § 13; L. 2022, ch. 9, § 9; July 1. Law Review and Bar Journal References: "Legal Aspects of Water Storage in Federal Reservoirs in Kansas," John C. Peck, 32 K.L.R. 785 (1984). "The Parting of the Waters—The Dispute Between Colorado and Kansas Over the Arkansas River," Mark J. Wagner, 24 W.L.J. 99 (1984). "Title and Related Considerations in Conveying Kansas Water Rights," John C. Peck, 66 J.K.B.A. No. 9, 38 (1997). "Attention Kansas Water Right Holders: Be Nice to Your Neighbors, They're Policing Your Water Rights [Hawley v. Kansas Dep't of Agric., 132 P.3d 870 (Kan. 2005)]," Tyler A. Darnell, 46 W.L.J. 429 (2007). CASE ANNOTATIONS 2. Water right principles discussed in challenge to the authority of public wholesale water supply district. Shipe v. Public Wholesale Water Supply Dist. No. 25, 289 Kan. 160, 210 P.3d 105 (2009).