Staff Analysis of the Legislation
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This legislation makes several revisions to the Flint River Drought Protection Act. Among those, it calls for the Department of Agriculture and the State Soil and Water Conservation Commission to work with EPD to look at enhancing programs and incentives to support agricultural water efficiency measures, support pilot projects on innovative irrigation technologies, identify ways for measuring agricultural uses of water, and encourage the retirement of unused surface and ground water farm permits. The EPD Director may modify all farm water permits to reach scheduled efficiencies by 2020 in "affected areas" (all areas in which groundwater flow affects the Flint, or where drainage into Spring Creek, Ichawaynochaway Creek, Kinchafoonee Creek and Muckalee Creek occurs). If the state is augmenting stream flows to help protect aquatic life habitat, the EPD Director can notify downstream surface water permit holders not to use the increased flows in said affected areas. Several other provisions are included. |