{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-224.71-120","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 224.71-120","heading":"Agriculture water quality plans -- Monitoring -- Water priority","body":"protection regions -- Plan modifications.\nEach agriculture operation shall establish an agriculture water quality plan as follows:\n(1) In the case of an agriculture operation which alr eady has in place a conservation\nplan, compliance plan, or forest stewardship management plan, the agriculture water\nquality plan for that agriculture operation shall be the conservation plan, compliance\nplan, or forest stewardship management plan until the time the statewide agriculture\nwater quality plan for agriculture is developed, approved, and incorporated into the\nexisting plan.\n(2) All persons engaged in agriculture operations are encouraged to follow the best\nmanagement practices provided by the Soil and Water Conservation Commission in\nthe \"Agriculture Best Management Practices Manual\" until the statewide agriculture\nwater quality plan is developed and approved.\n(3) The approved statewide agriculture water quality plan shall establish the applicabl e\nrequirements to be used by the technical agencies in assisting persons engaged in\nagriculture operations in the revision and modification of their conservation plans,\ncompliance plans, or forest stewardship management plans. Within five (5) years of\nthe approval of the statewide agriculture water quality plan, persons engaged in\nagriculture operations across the state shall implement the applicable requirements\nof the statewide plan. A person engaging in agriculture operations where water\npollution has be en documented by the cabinet shall be presumed to be in\ncompliance with KRS 224.71 -100 to 224.71 -140 if that person has timely and\nproperly implemented the applicable requirements of the statewide agriculture water\nquality plan. If it is determined that the plan does not prevent the documented water\npollution, it shall be the responsibility of the Agriculture Water Quality Authority,\nnot the agriculture operations, to identify the necessary modifications to the plan to\nprevent the documented pollution. The Commonwealth of Kentucky, through the\nconservation districts, shall assure that technical assistance is made available to\nassist persons engaged in agriculture operations with the implementation of the\nstatewide plan requirements. The Commonwealth of Kentu cky recognizes the\npublic benefit of providing the financial resources necessary to protect groundwater\nand surface water and may make available cost share dollars to assist persons\nengaged in agriculture operations with the implementation of their plans a s\nresources become available. The time for compliance with an agriculture water\nquality plan may be extended based on the availability of technical and financial\nassistance.\n(4) To ensure the success of agriculture's plan to protect groundwater and surface water,\navailable statewide monitoring data shall be used to identify trends in water quality\nacross the state and to complement the groundwater assessment program of KRS\n247.088. This data shall help identify water protection priority regions, develop a\nscientific water quality database, and develop sensitivity map information. As\npriority areas are identified on a regional or local basis, efforts shall be made to\nconduct an intensive monitoring program by the Division of Water, in cooperation\nwith Kentucky Geological Survey, and the Agriculture Water Quality Authority, to\ninvestigate known or suspected instances of groundwater pollution.\n(5) The cabinet's Division of Water shall notify in writing the local conservation\ndistricts, the Soil and Water Conserv ation Commission, and the Agriculture Water\nQuality Authority that water pollution from agriculture operations within a region\nhas been documented through data collected from monitoring efforts. The Division\nof Water, working with the Agriculture Water Qua lity Authority, shall designate\nwater priority protection regions where it is documented that agriculture is\ncontributing to water quality pollution problems. If the cabinet's Division of Water\nidentifies water pollution in a region, the authority shall reevaluate the effectiveness\nof the best management practices, and the applicable provisions of the statewide\nagriculture water quality plan in effect for agriculture operations in that region.\nWorking with the Soil and Water Conservation Commission and the conservation\ndistrict, the Agriculture Water Quality Authority shall develop a regional agriculture\nwater quality plan and assist persons engaged in agriculture operations in the\nidentified region in taking the appropriate steps to modify their agriculture  water\nquality plan.\n(6) Upon notice from the cabinet's Division of Water that water pollution from\nagriculture operations has been documented in a water priority protection region of\nthe state, the Soil and Water Conservation Commission and local conserva tion\ndistricts shall provide notice to persons engaging in agriculture operations within\nthe region of the availability of any technical and financial assistance. The notice\nshall also state that, in order to qualify for any available assistance, the perso n\nengaging in agriculture operations shall comply with the regional water quality plan.\nThe notice shall be in a form which shall not limit the ability of a person engaged in\nagriculture operations to participate in state and federal assistance programs. T he\nDivision of Water and the conservation districts, in consultation with the\nAgriculture Water Quality Authority, shall set the time for implementation of the\nregional water quality plan.\n(7) A person engaging in agriculture operations in an agriculture w ater priority\nprotection region shall implement the regional plan with assistance from the\ncommission, the conservation districts, and the Division of Water.\n(8) Persons engaged in agriculture operations may obtain modifications of any\nstatewide or regiona l agriculture water quality plan by submitting the proposed\nmodification for review to the appropriate conservation district in accordance with\nthe procedure established in the statewide agriculture water quality plan. The\nconservation district shall revie w proposed modifications and make a\nrecommendation to the Agriculture Water Quality Authority for consideration. If the\nauthority recommends approval of the modification, the cabinet's Division of Water\nshall approve or disapprove the modification on at le ast a quarterly basis, unless\notherwise provided in the statewide agriculture water quality plan.\n(9) A person engaging in agriculture operations who is in a water priority protection\nregion where water pollution has been documented by the cabinet shall be presumed\nto be in compliance with KRS 224.71 -100 to 224.71 -140 if that person has timely\nand properly implemented the practices required by the portions of the regional\nagriculture water quality plan which apply to that person's activities.\n(10) Where the re is documented evidence of a violation of water pollution laws or\nadministrative regulations traceable to a specific agriculture operation, the\nprovisions of KRS 224.71-130 shall govern the resolution of the violation.","path":[],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=10527","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:52:42Z","sha256":"f0099fbde056c1c61736a8c74dff505fdf93542e3f5616f801c1f24caca47c4f","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-224.71-110","next":"us-ky/krs-224.71-130"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}