Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 391-3-28-.09 - Non-Voluntary Irrigated Acreage Reductions

(a) If the Director determines that the total number of non-irrigated acres needed during a given year cannot be sufficiently obtained through the irrigation reduction auction held in accordance with Rule 391-3-28-.08, the Director is authorized to issue an order, in accordance with rules adopted by the board, requiring certain Permittees not to irrigate a specified number of acres of irrigated land until the end of the calendar year. When issuing such orders, the Director shall begin with the Permittees whose surface water withdrawal permits were issued most recently and then work chronologically backward with each order issued. A Permittee who is issued such an order shall be compensated for such restriction if such Permittee applied to the Division for a surface-water withdrawal permit prior to December 1, 1999, received a surface-water withdrawal permit from the Division prior to December 1, 2000, and is able to demonstrate actual previous irrigation on the same acres of land which the owner has been ordered not to irrigate. The per acre dollar amount received by a Permittee pursuant to this section shall be equal to the average agreed upon sum per acre paid pursuant to the irrigation reduction auction during the same year. The amount of the payment shall be that average offer to sell price multiplied by the acreage determination. The total amount of irrigated land chosen by the Division on a non-voluntary acreage reduction basis may be limited by the amount of money present in the drought protection fund. Additional acreage may only be selected if the resulting monetary liability does not exceed the total amount of money remaining in the drought protection fund.

(b) Strong consideration shall be given by the Division to the different and recognizable impacts caused by the type of withdrawal and the water source for the various Permittees. In this regard, the retirement of irrigated acres under permits to divert surface waters from perennial streams will have a greater impact on protecting river flows than the suspension of irrigation from ground water or those surface water users using non-perennial streams or withdrawing from ponds not on streams. Therefore, because of the direct and immediate impact caused by surface water withdrawals on the Flint River and its tributaries, the Director's orders to not irrigate from surface water permit holders withdrawing water from perennial streams shall take precedence over similar orders not to irrigate from those surface water users using non-perennial streams or withdrawing from ponds not on streams. For suspension of groundwater irrigation withdrawals, the Director shall consider, based on geologic studies, the degree to which the withdrawal will affect stream flow in the Flint River or its tributaries. The Director's orders to not irrigate from those permitted wells determined to have the greatest impact will have precedence over similar orders not to irrigate from those ground-water withdrawals determined to have a lesser impact.

(c) Additional consideration during the non-voluntary phase of selection may be given to different priorities for the suspension of irrigation on these irrigated lands, as established by the Director. This may take into account annual versus perennial crop types, planted versus non-planted acreage or any other relevant factors determined.

(d) The steps to implement this non-voluntary approach are as follows:

(1) If insufficient irrigation suspension acreage has been offered the Division during the auction, either because no further offers are being tendered by auction certificate holders or their representatives, or because the Director's chosen maximum offer to sell price has been reached, the Director may then determine the amount of additional remaining agricultural acreage which may be removed from irrigation during that particular severe drought year.

(2) The Director may then issue an order to existing agricultural permit holders requiring designated Permittees not to irrigate a specified number of acres of irrigated land until the end of that calendar year. Acceptance of this Division order does not impact the ability of the permit holder to continue to farm this acreage without irrigation. The priority for selection shall again be considered in terms of the water source, irrigated acreage amount, date of withdrawal application and by withdrawal source type.

(3) The Division may begin sending suspend irrigation orders to those permit holders who have most recently been issued an agricultural withdrawal permit from the affected area in question, and then move through all the agricultural withdrawal permits granted, stepping chronologically backwards through the list by application date, until sufficient acreage totals have been reached to fulfill the previously calculated amount of acreage needed to be taken out of irrigation that severe drought year. Permit holders selected must meet the eligibility requirements established above.

(4) If more permit holders than required are found with the same application submission date, then the appropriate number of permit holders and their acreage shall be selected by consideration of equivalent acreage impacts, or if more remain than can be approved, with a selection by random draw or lottery.

(5) The selection and notification process shall be completed on or before March 30 of any officially announced severe drought year.

(6) Any permit holder meeting the eligibility requirements above and who receives a suspend irrigation order shall be compensated from the drought fund at a rate equal to the average agreed upon offer to sell price per acre paid to all other auction certificate holders during that announced severe drought year times their number of certified acres.

Notes

Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 391-3-28-.09

O.C.G.A. Sec. 12-5-540 et seq.

Original Rule entitled "Payment for Irrigated Acreage Reduction" adopted. F. Jan. 20, 2006; eff. Feb. 9, 2006. Repealed: New Rule entitled "Non-voluntary Irrigation Acreage Reductions" adopted. F. June 23, 2006; eff. July 13, 2006.