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Committee hears broad testimony on study of wetlands, inundated lands and taxation
Summary
The committee received testimony on House Concurrent Resolution 3018 directing a study on water and wetland regulations and taxation of inundated lands; testimony highlighted Devil's Lake impacts, inconsistent tax treatment, legal questions about submerged-title and recommendations to narrow study scope.
The Senate Agriculture and Veterans Affairs Committee heard testimony on House Concurrent Resolution 3018, a concurrent resolution directing legislative management to consider a study of water and wetland regulation and the taxation of inundated lands in North Dakota.
Representative Mike Belz, who introduced the measure, told the committee inundated ground is not limited to Devil's Lake and estimated "about a million acres" affected in the prairie pothole region; he argued that restoring 20% of that acreage could return roughly 200,000 acres to production, and at $500 per acre that would represent about a $100 million impact to the state.
Testimony in favor came from elected officials and agricultural groups. Kathy Frelich (District 15) and Lance Gavey (North Dakota Farmers Union) described producer hardships: aging owners who retain land that is underwater and continue to pay taxes on it, questions about whether submerged patent lands belong to the state, and access problems such as inundated roads to cemeteries. Representatives of the Corn Growers and Soybean Growers associations supported a study to bring clarity to regulatory and tax treatment across counties.
Aaron Carranza of the Department of Water Resources provided neutral testimony and recounted existing legal frameworks: North Dakota acquired title to navigable waters at statehood (1889), court decisions and attorney general opinions address reliction and submergence, and the state has determined that title to submerged lands reverts to the state and that loss is uncompensated. Carranza noted gaps where courts have not adjudicated specific questions and recommended narrowing the study scope to focus on "taxation, title interests, and conveyance of submerged lands" rather than a broad, general study of water management.
Committee members discussed study language, and Carranza pointed to an earlier department-funded interim study on water management delivered in December 2024. The committee closed the hearing without taking final action and indicated it will revisit the matter, including possible amendment language to narrow the study terms.
