(a) Before any construction work on any project may be undertaken by any corporation created under the terms of this article, said corporation shall apply to the Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources for a permit authorizing the proposed development. The corporation shall furnish with the application for permit the following information: preliminary plans consisting of maps, plats, plans and drawings showing the general features of the development or developments it proposes to make, with amount of water which will be required as related to the naturally available supply, the land areas and, if a multiple purpose project, the other clients which will benefit from the development and such other details as may be needed to make clear the extent and scope of the project.
(b) The Director of Irrigation in the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources shall assist in the preparation of the preliminary plans required to be submitted by subsection (a) of this section.
(c) The said Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources shall make or have made a study of the water needs of the project as compared to the available supply and as related to the existing or anticipated needs of other water users in the basin who may be affected by the proposed development, making use of such studies or open public hearings as may, in his judgment, be required. Based on his findings, authority to develop as proposed or as modified for the purpose of protecting and conserving water supplies for others shall be granted. It shall further be the duty of the said Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources to systematically check into the construction and operation of projects for which permits have been granted to ascertain if the corporation is complying with the terms and conditions of the permit.
(d) In the event the corporation is found not to be complying with the terms and conditions of the permit issued by the Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources, said Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources forthwith shall notify the corporation in writing in what manner the terms are being violated, and said corporation shall have 30 days after receipt of said notice to rectify or correct whatever violations are being committed. In the event corrections are not made at the end of the 30-day period or any extension of time which the Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources shall have the authority to give, the Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources shall file a complaint in proper form in the circuit court in the county or counties in which such violation is located for a court order making mandatory the correction which he deems necessary.
Last modified: May 3, 2021