Volume 45 - Issue 11 - March 12, 2026
State of Kansas
Department of Agriculture
Division of Conservation
Permanent Administrative Regulations
Article 13.—KANSAS SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT REDUCTION INITIATIVE
11-13-1. Definitions. Each of the following terms, as used in this article of the division of conservation’s regulations, shall have the meaning specified in this regulation:
(a) “Body of water” means federal, state, or local reservoir or lake.
(b) “Bottomland timber establishment” means the trees planted in floodplains adjacent to perennial streams to provide wildlife habitat and other benefits.
(c) “Commission” means the State Conservation Commission.
(d) “CRP” means the conservation reserve program administered by the USDA farm service agency.
(e) “Director” means the executive director of the division of conservation, Kansas department of agriculture or the executive director’s designee.
(f) “Farmable wetland or farmable wetland buffer” means land eligible for restoration by improving the land’s hydrology and vegetation.
(g) “Filter strip” means a strip or area of grass for removing sediment, organic matter, and other pollutants from runoff and wastewater and for providing food and cover for wildlife.
(h) “FSA” means the farm service agency in the USDA.
(i) “Grassed waterway” means a designated strip of grass that is designed to convey runoff and gully erosion for the purpose of improving water quality and providing wildlife habitat.
(j) “Habitat buffers for upland birds” means a narrow band of native grasses, legumes, forbs, or shrubs, or any combination of these, to provide habitat for bobwhite quail, ring-necked pheasant, and other upland birds and to limit the amount of nutrients, sediment, pesticides, and other contaminants entering water bodies.
(k) “The initiative” means the Kansas sediment and nutrient reduction initiative and the application requirements for the program specified in this article of the division of conservation’s regulations.
(l) “NRCS” means natural resources conservation service.
(m) “Practices” means the use of cultural techniques or structures installed or constructed on land for the purpose of improving or maintaining water quality.
(n) “Riparian herbaceous cover” means grasses, sedges, rushes, ferns, legumes, and forbs tolerant of intermittent flooding or saturated soils, established or managed as the dominant vegetation in the transitional zone between upland and aquatic habitats.
(o) “Secretary” means the secretary of the Kansas department of agriculture, or the secretary’s authorized representative.
(p) “Shallow water areas for wildlife” means wet areas that have been developed or restored and include 6-18 inches of water depth for wildlife.
(q) “Tree and shrub establishment” means establishing woody plants by planting, by direct seeding, or through natural regeneration.
(r) “Unfarmable field” means the remaining portion of a field in which 51 percent or more of the total acreage has been enrolled in CRP.
(s) “USDA” means United States department of agriculture.
(t) “Wetland restoration” means the restoration of constructed wetlands for the purpose of intercepting tile runoff, reducing nutrient loss, improving water quality, and enhancing agricultural production practices. (Authorized by and implementing K.S.A. 2-1915; effective June 1, 2018; amended March 27, 2026.)
11-13-2. Initiative requirements for new applications; funds for existing contracts. On and after the effective date of this regulation, all new applications for the initiative shall be required to meet the requirements in this article of the division of conservation’s regulations. These requirements shall be known as the Kansas sediment and nutrient reduction initiative, which consists of the new requirements for the Kansas water quality buffer initiative. All persons with parcels currently enrolled in the initiative with contracts whose terms have not yet expired shall continue to be paid through funds made available under K.S.A. 2-1915, and amendments thereto, and any other available sources. (Authorized by and implementing K.S.A. 2-1915; effective June 1, 2018; amended March 27, 2026.)
11-13-3. Selection of applicants for initiative; program eligible areas. (a) Funding may be distributed to the initiative applicants in eligible areas for proposed projects that meet the eligibility requirements specified in K.S.A. 2-1915 and K.S.A. 2-1933, and amendments thereto.
(b) Program eligible areas shall be set on an annual basis by the director, in consultation with the commission, and approved by the secretary, based on the following factors:
(1) Sedimentary and nutrient loading of a body of water;
(2) watershed or drainage area impact on the water quality of a body of water;
(3) security of publicly used water; and
(4) nutrient impacts on the recreational uses and aquatic life of a selected body of water.
(c) Program eligible areas shall include the watershed and drainage area of a selected body of water.
(d) The program eligible areas for the next fiscal year shall be announced annually at the commission’s March monthly meeting or at a meeting thereafter that occurs before the end of the fiscal year. The program eligible areas shall be posted on the Kansas department of agriculture, division of conservation website. (Authorized by K.S.A. 2-1915; implementing K.S.A. 2-1915 and 2-1933; effective June 1, 2018; amended March 27, 2026.)
11-13-4. Haying and grazing. (a) Any eligible initiative applicant shall be allowed to hay or graze a filter strip without penalty after development of a grazing management plan developed in cooperation with the USDA-NRCS.
(b) Any eligible initiative applicant that is authorized to hay or graze, or both, pursuant to an existing CRP contract may conduct these activities upon initiative-eligible land without penalty. (Authorized by K.S.A. 2-1915; implementing K.S.A. 2-1915 and 2-1933; effective June 1, 2018; amended March 27, 2026.)
11-13-5. Practices eligible for incentive payments. (a) Any of the following practices may be eligible for incentive payments:
(1) Grassed waterways;
(2) shallow water areas for wildlife;
(3) filter strips;
(4) riparian buffers;
(5) wetland restorations;
(6) improvements to farmable wetland or farmable wetland buffers by utilizing any of the practices listed in this regulation or any other conservation practice approved by the director;
(7) bottomland timber establishment;
(8) habitat buffers for upland birds;
(9) tree and shrub establishment;
(10) riparian herbaceous cover;
(11) field borders; or
(12) other conservation practices that assist in reducing sediment and nutrient loads in water bodies approved by the director.
(b) Participants may receive payments through the initiative in addition to any CRP payments. (Authorized by K.S.A. 2-1915; implementing K.S.A. 2-1915 and 2-1933; effective June 1, 2018; amended March 27, 2026.)
11-13-6. Incentive payments; refunds. (a) Incentive payments under the initiative shall be made on a one-time basis. Each incentive payment shall be an upfront payment on all eligible acres enrolled.
(b) Incentive payments shall be set annually by the director, in consultation with the commission, at the commission’s March monthly meeting, or at a meeting thereafter that occurs before the end of the fiscal year, based on the following factors:
(1) CRP rental rates;
(2) land rental rates from the annual USDA-NASS Kansas county cash rent value statistics;
(3) current land values;
(4) current commodity prices; and
(5) availability of funds.
(c) Any application meeting the requirements of this article may be approved contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds in RW fund 1800-1260, or any other fund that may apply to this program. Funds will remain available until expended to depletion.
(d) The director may make a single lump sum payment for the remaining amount of any contract. Upon a participant’s receipt of a lump-sum payment, the participant shall still be responsible for meeting the requirements of all other terms and practices contained in the contract.
(e) Any acres determined to be in an unfarmable field may be eligible for the one-time incentive payment if the applicant agrees to establish and maintain permanent vegetative cover for the duration of the contract.
(f) A refund of the incentive payment shall be required from any initiative participant who fails to meet or maintain the initiative requirements. (Authorized by K.S.A. 2-1915; implementing K.S.A. 2-1915 and 2-1933; effective June 1, 2018; amended March 27, 2026.)
Michael M. Beam
Secretary
Kansas Department of Agriculture
Doc. No. 053958
