An Act To Ensure the Rights of Citizens to Groundwater in the State

CONCEPT DRAFT SUMMARY

This bill is a concept draft pursuant to Joint Rule 208.

This bill proposes to change the laws governing groundwater to recognize that the citizens of the State collectively own the State's groundwater. The bill establishes the State as the trustee and steward of the State's groundwater on behalf of the citizens of the State and requires the State to endeavor to ensure that the groundwater will always be available to the benefit of all the citizens of the State. It also directs the State to take all reasonable measures to ensure an adequate supply of usable groundwater for the citizens of the State and to monitor the level of sustainability of the groundwater and protect against uses of groundwater that are detrimental to aquifers, bodies of surface water or wetlands or to public health and welfare.