North Dakota 2025-2026 Regular Session

North Dakota House Bill HB1544 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	25.1264.01000
2	2	Sixty-ninth
3	3	Legislative Assembly
4	4	of North Dakota
5	5	Introduced by
6	6	Representatives D. Johnston, Heilman, Hendrix, Koppelman, Nehring, VanWinkle
7	7	Senator Wobbema
8	8	A BILL for an Act to amend and reenact sections 61-32-03 and 61-32-03.3 of the North Dakota
9	9	Century Code, relating to drainage permits.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NORTH DAKOTA:
11	11	SECTION 1. AMENDMENT. Section 61-32-03 of the North Dakota Century Code is
12	12	amended and reenacted as follows:
13	13	61-32-03. Permit to drain waters required - Penalty.
14	14	1.Any person, before draining a pond, slough, lake, or sheetwater, or any series thereof,
15	15	which has a watershed area comprising eighty acres [32.37 hectares] or more, shall
16	16	first secure a drainage permit to do so. Any person, before draining a pond, slough,
17	17	lake, or sheetwater, which has a watershed area comprising less than eighty acres
18	18	[32.37 hectares] but from which the drainage flows directly onto the property of
19	19	another landowner without first obtaining prior written consent from the downstream
20	20	landowner, shall first secure a drainage permit.
21	21	2.The permit application must be submitted to the department of water resources. The
22	22	department shall refer the application to the water resource district or districts within
23	23	which is found a majority of the watershed or drainage area of the pond, slough, lake,
24	24	or sheetwater for consideration and approval, but the department may require
25	25	applications proposing drainage of statewide or interdistrict significance be returned to
26	26	the department for final approval.
27	27	3.A permit may not be granted until an investigation discloses the quantity of water
28	28	which will be drained from the pond, slough, lake, or sheetwater, or any series of those
29	29	water bodies, will not flood or adversely affect downstream lands. If the investigation
30	30	shows the proposed drainage will flood or adversely affect lands of downstream
31	31	landowners, the water resource board may not issue a permit until flowage easements
32	32	Page No. 1 25.1264.01000
33	33	HOUSE BILL NO. 1544
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60	60	are obtained. The flowage easements must be filed for record in the office of the
61	61	recorder of the county or counties in which the lands are situated. An owner of land
62	62	proposing to drain shall undertake and agree to pay the expenses incurred in making
63	63	the required investigation. This section does not apply to the construction or
64	64	maintenance of any existing or prospective drain constructed under the supervision of
65	65	a state or federal agency, as determined by the department of water resources.
66	66	4.Any person draining, or causing to be drained, a pond, slough, lake, or sheetwater, or
67	67	any series of those water bodies, which has a watershed area comprising eighty acres
68	68	[32.37 hectares] or more, without first securing a permit to do so, as provided by this
69	69	section, is liable for all damage sustained by any person caused by the draining, and
70	70	is guilty of an infraction. As used in this section, sheetwater means shallow water that
71	71	floods land not normally subject to standing water. The department of water resources
72	72	may adopt rules for temporary permits for emergency drainage.
73	73	SECTION 2. AMENDMENT. Section 61-32-03.3 of the North Dakota Century Code is
74	74	amended and reenacted as follows:
75	75	61-32-03.3. Smaller subsurface water management systems - Notification and
76	76	conditions - Penalty.
77	77	1.A person may not install a subsurface water management system comprising less than
78	78	eighty acres [32.37 hectares] of land area until the person has notified the board of the
79	79	water resource district within which is found a majority of the land area of the system
80	80	and, if the planned subsurface water management system will flow onto the property
81	81	of a downstream landowner, all affected downstream landowners of the following
82	82	information:
83	83	a.The system's total acreage and legal description of the land being drained;
84	84	b.The outlet locations and types; and
85	85	c.The flow direction from each outlet location.
86	86	2.A person required to notify the board and downstream landowners under subsection 1
87	87	shall install the subsurface water management system such that:
88	88	a.Pump and control structures at pump outlets are installed no closer than
89	89	twenty-five feet [7.62 meters] from the top of the back slope of an assessment
90	90	drain;
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124	124	b.Proper erosion controls are installed and maintained at all outlets; and
125	125	c.Pumps and control structures at project outlets are closed or turned off during
126	126	critical flood periods.
127	127	3.a.A person seeking to install a subsurface water management system under this
128	128	section which is required to provide notice to a downstream landowner under
129	129	subsection 1 shall provide the notice through certified mail with a proof of delivery
130	130	signed by the downstream landowner.
131	131	b.The downstream landowner has sixty days from the receipt of the notice to
132	132	deliver a written objection to the person seeking to install the subsurface water
133	133	management system and the board of the water resource district in which the
134	134	majority of the land subject to the planned system is located.
135	135	c.If the downstream landowner:
136	136	(1)Fails to timely deliver the written objection, the person may install the
137	137	subsurface water management system.
138	138	(2)Timely delivers the written objection, the water resource district in which the
139	139	majority of the land subject to the planned system is located shall require
140	140	the person to complete and file a permit application as required under
141	141	section 61 - 32 - 03.1.
142	142	d.Upon receipt of the permit application, the water resource district shall review,
143	143	analyze, and issue permits in the same manner as provided under section
144	144	61 - 32 - 03.1.
145	145	4.If a subsurface water management system for which notification is required under
146	146	subsection 1 will discharge into the watershed area of an assessment drain, the water
147	147	resource board that receives the notice may require the relevant property to be
148	148	included in the assessment district for the assessment drain in accordance with the
149	149	benefits the property receives, provided the property is not assessed already for the
150	150	assessment drain. The water resource district also may include the property in the
151	151	assessment district and determine the benefits and assessment amounts under
152	152	chapters 61-21 and 61-16.1, without conducting the reassessment of benefit
153	153	proceedings under sections 61-21-44 and 61-16.1-26, provided the property is not
154	154	assessed already for the assessment drain.
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188	188	4.5.The board of the water resource district within which the subsurface water
189	189	management system is located may order the system's owner or operator to bring the
190	190	system into compliance with subsection 2 if the board finds the system violates that
191	191	subsection.
192	192	5.6.A person that violates this section is guilty of an infraction.
193	193	6.7.This section applies only to subsurface water management systems that drain, in
194	194	whole or in part, platted or unplatted lands used for raising agricultural crops or
195	195	grazing farm animals.
196	196	7.8.This section does not apply to a subsurface water management system that
197	197	discharges into a body of water completely encompassed by land owned by the
198	198	person that owns the land drained by the system.
199	199	8.9.The information that must be provided to a board of a water resource district under this
200	200	section is an exempt record under section 44-04-18.
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