By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Local government, local accountability. Tuesday morning, the Barton County Commission passed Resolution 2024-18, which sets a policy for the county on water conservation, use, and administration, that requires local coordination from any federal agency that negatively impacts Barton County residents. County Counselor Patrick Hoffman laid out the issue prior to the board's 5-0 vote in approval.
"Their rules require them to communicate with local government about local issues, but only if our local rules require them to," he said. "We're kind of putting it in place that if there was a federal agency doing something with water that we had a concern about, we would invite them or require them to come to our meeting and discuss it with us."
Barton County is one of 30 counties that make up the Kansas Natural Resources Coalition (KNRC), which gives counties a larger voice when it comes to policy. Tuesday's resolution was a response to the ongoing water-rights issue involving Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, the Rattlesnake Creek, and landowners. Hoffman said the issue does not directly relate to Barton County, but KNRC legal counsel has advocated for a resolution like the one passed Tuesday.
"At this time, today, we don't have an issue that we're aware of that we're concerned about," Hoffman said, "but if tomorrow, a year from now, three years from now, something came up that we're concerned about, we would ask that federal agency to come here directly and be accountable to the people."
The resolution establishes that no federal water rights should be exercised in any way that diminishes the availability of use of water for agriculture in Barton County.