Board waives counsel conflict and approves Zink subsurface water permit with conditions

The Foster County Water Resource Board on June 10 approved Subsurface Water Management System Permit No. 20260003 for Manager Doug Zink while also waiving a conflict of interest for the board's legal counsel.

The board first considered a written letter from counsel Rinke Noonan describing the potential conflict related to representation on the Zink permit application. Manager Alex Stedman moved to waive the conflict; Manager Ronn Stangeland seconded the motion, which the board adopted. Chairman Brent Bachmeier signed the waiver.

After the waiver, Manager Ronn Stangeland moved to approve Subsurface Water Management System Permit No. 20260003 for Doug Zink, with two explicit conditions: (1) disturbed areas must be restored to previous conditions; and (2) the permittee must obtain an amendment for any alterations to outlet locations, any new outlets, or improvements that would result in drainage of additional acres. Manager Alex Stedman seconded. The motion passed with Manager Doug Zink recorded as abstaining from the vote; the remaining managers voted in favor. The board directed Rinke Noonan to send the notice of decision to the DWR and to Doug Zink.

The action resolves the permit application subject to the stated restoration and amendment requirements. The minutes record that the waiver was presented in the form of a letter from Rinke Noonan; the board approved the waiver before voting on the permit. No public testimony for or against the permit was recorded in the minutes. The board did not specify a timeline for compliance with the permit conditions in the meeting record.

Procedural next steps recorded in the minutes are that counsel will distribute the decision to the Department of Water Resources and to the permittee. The board set no further hearings or appeals in the minutes and the matter will proceed under the terms of the permit and any applicable DWR processes.