Frank v. Kansas Department of Agriculture

Leben, J.:

T.W. Frank obtained a permit from the chief engineer of the Kansas Division of Water Resources to build a groundwater pit on his land. As a condition of the permit, he built an embankment to prevent surface water from entering the pit. But the chief engineer later concluded that Frank had done something that Kansas law prohibited and his permit didn’t authorize: obstructing a stream. Since 1929, a Kansas statute has prohibited stream obstructions without a permit from the Division of Water Resources’ chief engineer. See K.S.A. 2007 Supp. 82a-301.

The chief engineer has adopted a…