Water commission organization and functions

1. North Dakota Century Code section 61-02-04 regulates commission membership. Two commissioners, the governor and the agriculture commissioner, are statewide officials elected for four-year terms. Eight commissioners representing the eight major drainage basins are appointed by the governor for staggered six-year terms. Under North Dakota Century Code section 61-02-05, the governor is the commission's chairman, and the governor designates a vice chairman. 2. From 1941 through July 2021, the state engineer was the commission's statutory secretary. On August 1, 2021, the director of the department of water resources became the commission's statutory secretary. The secretary assists the commission by coordinating commission operations and relieving individual commissioners of administrative detail. 3. The commission's primary functions are to review and consider cost-share requests from project sponsors seeking financial assistance, and to foster and promote water resource development throughout the state, including southwest pipeline project construction, northwest area water supply project construction and operation, and operation and maintenance of the Devils Lake outlets.