2005 Senate Bill 854 ↩

Senate Roll Call 683: Passed

To “encourage” large groundwater users in an area to establish a water use committee to “assist in long term water resources planning” using a watershed approach, and to adopt voluntary use restrictions if necessary to avoid adverse impacts on the resource. If the Department of Natural Resources determines there is reasonable scientifically-based evidence that adverse resource impacts are occurring or are likely to occur from large quantity withdrawals it can order the committee to meet and create voluntary use restrictions, or itself recommend such restrictions. If these are not adopted by the users the department can order a particular user to restrict a withdrawal if clear and convincing scientific evidence shows there is a substantial and imminent threat of an adverse impact on the resource.