46-716. Integrated management plan; surface water controls.

(1) The surface water controls that may be included in an integrated management plan and may be adopted by the Department of Natural Resources are: (a) Increased monitoring and enforcement of surface water diversion rates and amounts diverted annually; (b) the prohibition or limitation of additional surface water appropriations; (c) requirements for surface water appropriators to apply or utilize reasonable conservation measures consistent with good husbandry and other requirements of section 46-231 and consistent with reasonable reliance by other surface water or ground water users on return flows or on seepage to the aquifer; and (d) other reasonable restrictions on surface water use which are consistent with the intent of section 46-715 and the requirements of section 46-231.

(2) If during the development of the integrated management plan the department determines that surface water appropriators should be required to apply or utilize conservation measures or that other reasonable restrictions on surface water use need to be imposed, the department's portion of the integrated management plan shall allow the affected surface water appropriators and surface water project sponsors a reasonable amount of time, not to exceed one hundred eighty days unless extended by the department, to identify the conservation measures to be applied or utilized, to develop a schedule for such application and utilization, and to comment on any other proposed restrictions.

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