Kansas Statutes Relating to Soil Erosion Caused by Wind

Chapter 2: Agriculture

Article 20: Soil Erosion Caused By Wind

Statutes

• 2-2001: Legislative declaration
• 2-2002: Duty of landowner
• 2-2003: Data and information to be collected
• 2-2004: Duties of county commissioners
• 2-2005: Same; survey of county; reports; publication of summaries
• 2-2006: Same; hearings; orders concerning land
• 2-2007: Soil drifting fund; creation; tax levy, use of proceeds; issuance of warrants
• 2-2008: Soil erosion caused by wind; work performed for prevention; notice to landowners; special assessments; limitation; division of cost; action by landowner
• 2-2009: Federal cooperation
• 2-2010
• 2-2011: Invalidity of part

2-2001: Legislative declaration. Soil erosion caused by wind storms, dust storms and any plant or weed blowing produced thereby are recognized and declared to be destructive of the natural resources of the state and a menace to the health and well-being of our citizens.
History: L. 1937, ch. 189, § 1; L. 1988, ch. 4, § 1; July 1.

2-2002: Duty of landowner. To conserve the natural resources of the state, and to prevent the injurious effects of dust storms, it is hereby made the duty of the owner of real property in this state to prevent dust, plant or weed blowing therefrom, as nearly as that can be done, by planting of perennial grasses, shrubs, trees, annual or biennial crops, or by cultivation at such times and in such manner as will prevent or minimize erosion of the soil and dust, plant or weed blowing therefrom.
History: L. 1937, ch. 189, § 2; L. 1988, ch. 4, § 2; July 1.

2-2003: Data and information to be collected. To carry out and make effective the purposes of this act it is hereby made the duty of the secretary of agriculture to collect from all available sources data and information respecting soil erosion, dust storms and plant or weed blowing and practical methods of preventing or minimizing them by planting or cultivating the soil, with particular reference to the different kinds of planting and types of cultivation most suitable to the respective types of soil in the different parts of the state taking into consideration topography and climatic conditions thereof, and most effective to accomplish the principal purposes of this act, and to transmit such data and information to the respective boards of county commissioners, members of the legislature, the governor, and make the same available to the general public.
History: L. 1937, ch. 189, § 3; L. 1988, ch. 4, § 3; L. 2004, ch. 101, § 39; July 1.

2-2004: Duties of county commissioners. Further to administer, carry out and make effective the purposes of this act the board of county commissioners of each county, upon knowing or being advised that dust, any plant or weed is blowing from any particular land in the county, are hereby authorized and directed immediately to inspect such land. If it is determined the soil, any plant or weed is blowing therefrom in sufficient quantity to be injurious to the land because of erosion thereof, to nearby land because of dirt blown thereon, to nearby land because of any plant or weed blown thereon or to the public health because of dust therefrom blown into the air, they shall determine what, if anything, can be done to prevent or materially lessen the soil, any plant or weed blowing from such land, and if in their judgment that can be accomplished by prompt cultivation of the soil in some manner, they are authorized and directed to order work to be done and the time when and the type of work to be done. The board of county commissioners may order that the land be disced, listed, chiseled, cultivated, chopped or worked by any other method of control approved by the board. In all cases, where it can be done reasonably, the board of county commissioners shall confer with the owner of the land before determining or ordering work to be done thereon, and advise the owner of their conclusions and give the owner an opportunity to do the work they conclude should be done, but if the owner cannot be consulted without unreasonable delay, or cannot or will not do the work in the manner and within the time it should be done, the board of county commissioners may do the work, or employ someone to do it, and issue its warrants to pay the actual cost thereof, and pay such warrants from the fund hereinafter provided, without regard to any other statute pertaining to the issuing or paying of county warrants.
History: L. 1937, ch. 189, § 4; L. 1988, ch. 4, § 4; July 1.

2-2005: Same; survey of county; reports; publication of summaries. Further to carry out and make effective the purposes of this act it is hereby made the duty of the board of county commissioners of each county to make, or cause to be made, before June 30 of each year, a complete survey of the county with respect to soil erosion and dust, any plant or weed blowing from soil in the county. In doing so they shall ascertain what lands, plants or weeds have blown, and for what time, the kinds of soil of such lands, the kinds of plants or weeds blowing, when the blowing occurred, climatic conditions at the time, and what, if anything, was done to prevent or minimize the blowing, and the result produced by what was done. A report of this survey, accompanied by a map showing the location of the land, shall be filed with the county clerk and a copy sent to the secretary of agriculture, who shall compile and publish by December 1 of each year a summary of such reports and distribute the same to the county officials, members of the legislature, the governor, and upon request to the owners of land reported to have been affected.
History: L. 1937, ch. 189, § 5; L. 1988, ch. 4, § 5; L. 2004, ch. 101, § 40; July 1.

2-2006: Same; hearings; orders concerning land. If this survey discloses certain land in the county to be blowing repeatedly, the board of county commissioners shall consider what measures of a permanent nature can be taken to prevent or minimize the blowing of the soil, any plant or weed thereon. For this purpose the board may conduct a hearing, after having given notice to the landowner of the time and place of such hearing, which notice may be given by registered mail. At such hearing testimony of those who have had experience or made a study of types of soil, types of plants or weeds, erosion of soil by wind, means of preventing the same, and studies or reports of governmental departments or other investigators of the subject may be considered. Respecting the land concerning which such a hearing has been had the board of county commissioners is authorized to determine what treatment of the land is necessary to prevent its blowing, whether it shall be planted to annual, biennial or perennial grasses, shrubs, trees or if cultivated, the manner and times of year of such cultivation, and may order that the land be treated in accordance with this conclusion, and if such orders are not complied with by the owner of the land the board of county commissioners may do or have done the planting or cultivation ordered.
History: L. 1937, ch. 189, § 6; L. 1988, ch. 4, § 6; July 1.

2-2007: Soil drifting fund; creation; tax levy, use of proceeds; issuance of warrants. Each board of county commissioners is authorized to create a soil drifting fund and levy a tax against all taxable tangible property of the county to pay for the cost of work done, or hired to be done, by the board of county commissioners and to pay a portion of the principal and interest on bonds issued under the authority of K.S.A. 12-1774, and amendments thereto, by cities located in the county.
History: L. 1937, ch. 189, § 7; L. 1970, ch. 100, § 3; L. 1979, ch. 52, § 24; L. 1999, ch. 154, § 28; May 27.

2-2008: Soil erosion caused by wind; work performed for prevention; notice to landowners; special assessments; limitation; division of cost; action by landowner.

(a) When work has been done by the county, or by anyone employed by it to carry out its orders respecting the planting or cultivation of any specific tract of land under K.S.A. 2-2004 or 2-2006, and amendments thereto, and warrants issued therefor, the board of county commissioners shall notify the owner of the land, by certified mail or otherwise, of the amount thereof and require the owner to make a showing before them, on a day named, which shall not be less than 30 days after the date of the notice, as to why the cost of the work should not be levied against the land as a special assessment. Unless the owner of the land can show that the work was necessitated by circumstances beyond the owner's control, and which could not reasonably have been anticipated, the expense thereof shall be assessed against the land as a special assessment.

(b) The assessment shall be made by an order of the board of county commissioners, which order shall be recorded in its minutes, and shall be collected as a special assessment. The amount of the assessment shall not exceed $3 per acre for each acre on which work is done for any one year, unless the board of county commissioners determines at its first meeting during any calendar year that $3 per acre is not adequate to cover the actual cost of the work. Upon such determination the board of county commissioners shall fix, at the first business meeting of the board during any calendar year, an amount in excess of $3 per acre which the board determines to be a reasonable assessment per acre to cover the actual cost of the work during such calendar year. If the amount assessed against any such acre in any year exceeds $3 or exceeds the amount fixed by the board of county commissioners in any year to cover the cost per acre of the work for that year, or the total amount assessed against any such acre in more than one year and which is uncollected exceeds $3 or exceeds the amount fixed by the board of county commissioners in any year to cover the cost per acre of the work for that year, such amount shall be collected in annual installments not exceeding $3 or the amount fixed by the board of county commissioners at its first meeting during any calendar year to cover the actual cost of the work per such acre, as applicable.

(c) For good cause shown, the board of county commissioners may divide the cost between the owner of the land and the county. All moneys collected on such special assessment shall be credited to the soil-drifting fund. Any landowner aggrieved at the amount of the assessment against the landowner's land may bring an action in the district court of the county in which the land is situated to test the validity of the assessment or to enjoin its collection, but such action must be brought within 30 days after the assessment is made, and cannot be brought thereafter.

History: L. 1937, ch. 189, § 8; L. 1955, ch. 8, § 1; L. 1987, ch. 11, § 1; July 1.

2-2009: Federal cooperation. The secretary of agriculture is hereby made the agent of the state for the purpose of entering into any agreement with the federal government, or any agency thereof, for cooperation in efforts to prevent soil erosion by wind storms, dust storms and any plant or weed blowing produced thereby, and is hereby authorized to accept any money disbursed for that purpose by the federal government, or any of its agencies, and to distribute such moneys among the counties in accordance with the direction of the federal government or its agency.
History: L. 1937, ch. 189, § 9; L. 1988, ch. 4, § 7; L. 2004, ch. 101, § 41; July 1.

2-2010:
History: L. 1937, ch. 189, § 10; Repealed, L. 1965, ch. 5, § 1; June 30.

2-2011: Invalidity of part. Should the court declare any section or clause of this act unconstitutional then such shall affect only the section or clause so declared to be unconstitutional and shall not affect any other section or clause of this act.
History: L. 1937, ch. 189, § 11; March 24.

Education Resources

• Principles of Wind Erosion and its Control

Emergency Tillage to Control Wind Erosion and Crop Insurance

In some areas of Kansas, emergency tillage of an insured crop to control wind erosion may become necessary. Questions have arisen regarding the impact this practice may have on an insured wheat crop. The Risk Management Agency (RMA) recognizes that in some cases emergency tillage is recommended and beneficial to conserve the soil and minimize further damage to an insured crop. In geographical areas where emergency tillage is a recognized, good farming practice to control severe wind erosion, appraisals are not to be charged as production to count for acreage tilled to control severe soil erosion when the company can document that such tillage was necessary.

Policyholders need to notify their company immediately of their intention to till acreage for the purpose of controlling soil erosion. If the urgency to till is such that company notification is impossible prior to such action, the efforts of the policyholder to provide immediate notification of the tillage undertaken will be considered in determining the compliance with this requirement.

• If the acreage to be tilled is 25% or less of the field or subfield, (accumulative rather than single event), the policyholder can immediately begin tilling upon notifying the agent of such intentions.
• If the acreage to be tilled is more than 25% of a field or subfield, or finds that after tilling is started more than 25% of the field or subfield needs to be tilled, the company must be notified immediately so that such acreage can be inspected prior to tilling.

Insurance companies will need documentation that the emergency tillage was necessary and recommended. Education and Natural Resources Conservation Service information posted on the following site, in addition to advice of agriculture experts, may provide useful information in fulfilling this requirement.

To review RMA’s procedures for severe wind erosion, please see Section 3, Paragraph 1237 on pages 311-313 of the 2019 Loss Adjustment Manual (LAM) Standards Handbook (FCIC-25010). The handbook can be found at: www.rma.usda.gov. Click on “Policy & Procedure”, then “Loss Adjustment Standards”. For additional information, please contact the Topeka Regional Office, USDA Risk Management Agency at RSOKS@rma.usda.gov or (785) 228-5512.

State and Local Resources

• Kansas Forest Service Conservation Tree Planting
• National Agroforestry Center
• Wind Erosion Laboratory in Manhattan
• Wind Erosion Research

Kansas Drought Information

Resources have been compiled from federal, state, and other local agencies and organizations to help Kansas farmers and ranchers cope with drought. Some of these resources have historically included financial and technical assistance to help crop and livestock producers apply conservation practices that reduce the impacts of drought and improve soil health and productivity. Below are examples of such resources:

U.S. Drought Monitor - Kansas Specific. This webpage is designed to be a one-stop resource for you to find timely and important information related to the drought. On this page you can find the most current drought status in your county, burn ban and public safety information, and information on state and federal programs to provide relief to producers and small businesses.

NRCS "I" Factor Map

The Natural Resources Conservation Service "I" Factor Map will help define some of the areas of concern that conservation planners may use when considering what practices may be recommended to lessen wind erosion.

The map indicates all Kansas soils that have an “I” value, or wind erodibility index, of 86 or greater, and will be used primarily when determining if any type of emergency tillage would be beneficial or recommended.

The red-colored areas on the map designate soils that have an "I" value of 134 or greater. These are some of the sandier soils where disturbance is not recommended. While tillage should not be used as a management option on those soil types, mulching, irrigation (where available), or some sort of object to create wind shear (large bales, etc.) may be considered as options. The yellow-colored areas on the map designate soils that have an "I" value of 86. These are soils that should be further evaluated before recommending the use of emergency tillage. The evaluation of these soils will need to take into account the predominate particle size (i.e. classification of “sandy” would cause the soil to have characteristics more like a 134 soil), as well as the ability for the soil to form a stable clod (unfortunately, this is largely dependent on soil moisture).

Kansas Wind Erosion Education Videos

Kansas State University produced educational videos specific for soil erosion control systems in Kansas. According to Kansas State University, "the videos emphasize farming systems which target a goal of zero soil loss from wind erosion. They are intended to provide managers and other conservation partners with a better understanding of the physical principles of wind erosion and its control."

These videos are written and researched by USDA-ARS Engineering and Wind Erosion Research Unit and USDA-NRCS, produced through the Educational Communications Center, Kansas State University, and funded by USDA-NRCS.

Wind Erosion: The Problem
This video will help you better understand the problems associated with wind erosion of soil. This information is provided by the USDA Engineering & Wind Erosion Research Unit in cooperation with Kansas State University.

How to Control Wind Erosion
Many conservation practices can be implemented to control wind erosion of soil. This information is provided by the USDA Engineering & Wind Erosion Research Unit in cooperation with Kansas State University.