SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO AM) - State Senator Jason Frerichs of Wilmost says a delicate balance is at stake over the issue of public access to lakes that have flooded over private land.
Frerichs is a member of a summer committee that meets for the first time today to discuss access over non-meandered lakes.
Frerichs says the state can't just take private property so lawmakers have to work out some kind of arrangement to "give just compensation to landowners should there be access granted to the public on these non-meandered bodies of water."
He says there have been previous legislative attempts to settle the issue but he believes a fresh approach is needed. Frerichs says that may include a new program that most likely will have to be voluntary.
He says it's imperative that lawmakers clearly explain what any new legislation would accomplish. It's important that the public and landowners understand what the bill's intent is.
Frerichs says it's the landowners who "ultimately have the most at stake, they're paying taxes on this land and they have a deed to the property below the water."
Governor Daugaard says he may call a special session of the legislature if the committee can agree on a workable bill.
The committee was authorized by the legislature's Executive Board after the State Supreme Court ruled that state agencies can't allow public access to lake that have flooded over private property. Landowners in Day County sued Game, Fish and Parks over the issue and several lakes have had public access closed.
(Thanks Jerry Oster, WNAX Yankton)