Committee approves bill clarifying certified‑mail notices and appeal timing for water permits

The Department of Water Resources asked the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to approve Senate Bill 2059, which updates and clarifies how the agency notifies parties about hearings and adjudicative proceedings related to conditional water permits and appeals of water resource district decisions.

Andrew Nygren, water appropriation division director at the department, told the committee the bill replaces a reference to service "under the North Dakota rules of civil procedure" with a clear certified‑mail requirement for notifying interested parties of hearing dates and locations. "The bill clarifies how the department will notify the necessary parties about the time and hearing of the or the time and place of the hearing using certified mail," Nygren said. He told the committee the change is intended to be more understandable to constituents than a procedural citation.

Nygren also explained changes that align appeal timing in several sections: the bill removes a conflicting 15‑day notice provision and relies on a 30‑day timeline in the Century Code for appealing decisions, effectively extending appeal time where the older text would have limited it.

Committee members asked whether the department plans to move to all‑electronic notice; Nygren said certified mail remains the department's chosen mechanism and that constituents understand that process better. After brief discussion, Senator Kessel moved a do‑pass recommendation; the motion was seconded and the committee voted unanimously to recommend SB 2059.

The committee named a floor carrier and recorded the unanimous do‑pass recommendation.