SESSION OF 2025
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 2111
As Amended by House Committee on
Agriculture and Natural Resources
Brief*
HB 2111, as amended, would make changes to the
Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) of the
Division of Water Resources (DWR), Kansas Department of
Agriculture (KDA).
[Note: CREP is a federal and state partnership created
to enhance water conservation efforts in the Upper Arkansas
River corridor, from Hamilton County to Rice County.
Enrollment in CREP is voluntary, and a producer must enroll
in the program to participate. The producer receives rental
payments and other incentive payments to permanently retire
state water rights on their enrolled acres.]
Enrolled CREP Acres
The bill would increase the aggregate total number of
acres in the state enrolled in CREP from 40,000 to 60,000,
with the exception of the last eligible enrollment that would
exceed 60,000.
The bill would clarify that:
●The aggregate total number of acres enrolled in all
CREPs in any one Kansas county could not
exceed 25 percent of the statewide acreage cap,
with the exception of the last eligible enrollment
that would exceed the cap for any one county;
____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
https://klrd.gov/ ●An acreage would not be eligible for CREP
enrollment if it is otherwise ineligible for enrollment
under federal law; and
●No more than 1,600 acres could be enrolled in
CREP in one county in the same calendar year
unless the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation
with the Chief Engineer of the DWR, certifies the
Chief Engineer has determined:
○The acreage is in an area where an
impairment is occurring and enrolling the
acreage in CREP will be responsive to the
impairment; or
○The acreage is less than five miles from a
portion of the aquifer with less than ten years
of usable life.
CREP Land Practices
The bill would allow DWR, if approved by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, to approve a CREP contract that
allows for the establishment of native grasses, routine
grazing, dryland farming, or limited irrigation practices for the
purpose of meeting water quantity goals.
Administration Criteria
The bill would require DWR to administer each CREP
established for the purpose of meeting water quantity goals,
in accordance with the following criteria:
●All acreage that is an authorized place of use of an
irrigation water right and is proposed to be enrolled
in CREP shall have been irrigated at a rate of not
less than ½ acre-foot per acre per year for three
out of the five years immediately preceding the
year that the acreage is offered for enrollment, as
determined by DWR;
2- 2111 ●The water right or water rights used for the acreage
proposed to be enrolled in CREP shall not have
been the subject of any sanctions or penalties by
DWR that are in effect or pending determination at
the time that the acreage is offered for enrollment;
and
●The owner of the water right or water rights for
which the acreage that is proposed to be enrolled
in CREP is an authorized place of use, or the water
use correspondent for such water right shall have
submitted the annual water use report required by
KSA 82a-732 for each of the most recent ten years.
Exceptions to Eligibility Criteria
The Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the
Conservation Program Policy Board and State Conservation
Commission and the Kansas Farm Service Agency office,
could grant exceptions to the eligibility criteria if the acreage
proposed to be enrolled in CREP satisfies one or more of the
following conditions:
●Located in an area designated as a high-priority
area for water conservation pursuant to KSA 2024
Supp. 82a-1044;
●An authorized place of use of a high flow capacity
water well;
●An authorized place of use of a water right that was
not utilized in accordance within the time frame in
law due to circumstances involving bankruptcy,
probate, or other legal matters, excluding those
related to any enforcement sanctions or penalties
by DWR that are in effect or pending determination
at the time that the acreage is offered for
enrollment in CREP; or
3- 2111 ●An authorized place of use of a water right that is
or has been enrolled in a water conservation
program, including, but not limited to, the USDA
environmental quality incentives program (EQIP) or
a water conservation area pursuant to KSA 81a-
745, or has been assigned a water quantity
allocation pursuant to an Intensive Groundwater
Use Control Area (IGUCA) or a Local Enhanced
Management Area (LEMA).
Reporting Requirements
The bill would update the KDA’s reporting requirements
to the Legislature. The KDA would be required to report the
following information to the Senate and House Committees
on Agriculture and Natural Resources:
●The acreage enrolled in CREP during the
preceding five years;
●The dollar amounts received and expended for
CREP during the preceding five years; and
●An assessment of whether each of the program
objectives identified in the agreement with the
Farm Services Agency has been met.
The bill would also update the additional information that
KDA would be required to report for each CREP that would
be established with the purpose meeting water quantity goals:
●The total amount of water, measured in acre-feet,
that was permanently retired in CREP during the
preceding five years;
●The change in groundwater water levels in the
CREP area during the preceding five years;
●The total annual water usage in the CREP area
during the preceding five years; and
4- 2111 ●The average annual water use, measured in acre-
feet, under each water right for which an
authorized place of use is enrolled in CREP during
the preceding five years.
Technical and Conforming Amendments
The bill would also make technical and conforming
amendments in continuing law.
Background
The bill was introduced by the House Committee on
Water at the request of the Chief Engineer, Division of Water
Resources, KDA.
House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources
In the House Committee hearing, proponent testimony
was provided by the Assistant Secretary of Agriculture and a
representative of The Nature Conservancy.
The proponents stated the bill would provide new
flexibility for CREP participants, which producers have been
requesting. As of September 30, 2024, a total of 142 state
CREP contracts on 24,140 acres have been approved by the
State. These contracts have resulted in the permanent
retirement of 49,146 acre-feet of annual water appropriation
on 174 water rights from 217 wells. The contracts represent a
total of $1.9 million in one-time state sign-up incentive
payments to producers since the program was passed by the
Legislature in 2007.
Written-only proponent testimony was provided by
representatives of the Kansas Association of Conservation
Districts and Kansas Farm Bureau.
5- 2111 Neutral testimony was provided by a representative of
the Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association and Kansas
Grain and Feed Association.
The neutral conferee explained that water conservation
is a laudable goal, especially in heavily water-appropriated
areas in the Upper Arkansans and Rattlesnake Creek basins;
however, when the CREP legislation was passed in 2007, a
cap was agreed to, so that no more than 25 percent of a
county’s acres could be enrolled, which meant no more than
10,000 acres. The bill would expand this cap to 15,000 acres.
The conferee further explained it was historically understood
and appreciated that the enrollment of too many acres in one
county could harm the agricultural sector, local tax base, and
local economy of that county.
Written-only neutral testimony was provided by a
representative of the Kansas Cooperative Council.
No other testimony was provided.
The House Committee amended the bill to not allow
more than 1,600 acres to be enrolled in CREP in one county
in the same calendar year unless the Secretary of Agriculture,
in consultation with the Chief Engineer of the DWR, certifies
the Chief Engineer has determined the acreage is in an area
where an impairment is occurring and enrolling the acreage in
CREP will be responsive to the impairment; or the acreage is
less than five miles from a portion of the aquifer with less than
ten years of usable life.
Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill, as introduced, the KDA and Kansas
Water Office indicate enactment of the bill would have no
fiscal effect.
Conservation Research Enhancement Program; CREP; water; conservation
6- 2111