The task force shall do the following:
(1) Review the responsibilities of landowners and state and local authorities under current laws relating to the drainage of land, including the following:
- (A) IC 36-9-27 , IC 36-9-27.4 , and IC 14-27-8 , the laws concerning drains, drainage boards, and drainage maintenance and repair districts.
- (B) The law concerning federally regulated wetlands, including Sections 404 and 401 of the federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344 and 33 U.S.C. 1341).
- (C) IC 13-18-22 , the law regulating wetland activity in state regulated wetlands.
- (D) IC 14-28 , the Indiana flood control law.
(2) Determine:
- (A) whether authority over drainage matters is shifting from county drainage boards to state authorities;
- (B) the extent to which the objective inherent in the drainage law, that of simply draining agricultural land, is yielding to conservation and pollution control objectives;
- (C) whether the delays and costs associated with regulatory requirements applying to farm conservation projects are too great; and
- (D) whether floodway permit requirements should apply to the installation of fences and the removal of embedded tree limbs and stumps on farmland located in floodways.
- (3) Determine whether the balance between state authority and local authority over drainage of agricultural land favors state authority more in Indiana than in neighboring states.
As added by P.L.7-2022, SEC.1.