News

Protecting Missouri water: export permits begin

The director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources says work is underway to implement a new water export law in Missouri.

Kurt Schaefer says any water exported out of the state now requires a permit.

“We’re at the early stages and we’ll have lots of public notice and public input as we develop that rule.”

The Missouri Legislature passed a bill earlier this year that requires a permit to export water out of the state. The bill was signed into law this summer and the law went into effect at the end of August. It’s an effort to protect the state’s water resources by limiting large-scale exports.

The effort has the support of several state ag groups and Schaefer says…

“You’ve got a lot of ag operations in state of Missouri. Whether it’s center irrigation, pivot irrigation or anything else, farmers can use a lot of groundwater. And the idea of maybe some other state coming in and and tapping into that groundwater or Missouri River water to the detriment of those farmers was a real concern.”

Schaefer says there are some exemptions to the law, especially if you have land in both sides of the state line.

“It depends on the quantity of water and that’s what we’re going to determine right now,” he says. “If you use over 100,000 gallons of water in the state of Missouri in a year, you are required to register as a large water user. There also are exemptions in that state law for entities that are along the border. For example, if you’re a town that’s on the border of Missouri and Iowa and you’re using water from Missouri for municipality, some of it going to Iowa, for example, that’s exempt.”

Water export permit applications are now available.

Brownfield’s interview with Dru Buntin (recorded in mid-October).

Brownfield’s interview with Kurt Schaefer.