LRNRD overrides deadline to certify

By GINGER JENSEN
Hub Regional Correspondent

ALMA — Each time someone testified Friday morning in Alma against an immediate moratorium on developing new irrigated acres, as imposed by a new Nebraska water law, there was loud applause from the more than 150 people attending a Lower Republican Natural Resources District public hearing.

Under LB962, which took effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday, there was an automatic suspension of new water uses in river basins identified by the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources as full appropriated, including all of the Republican Basin and the Platte Basin west of Elm Creek.

LB962 leaves authority over groundwater in the hands of NRDs and authority over surface water to DNR. The NRDs and DNR must prepare integrated water management plans for fully appropriated basins, and there are provisions for a five-member Interrelated Water Review Board to resolve disputes between the two.

Elements of LB962 also relate to Nebraska’s responsibilities to meet terms of the Kansas v. Nebraska lawsuit settlement and Republican River Compact compliance.

After hearing testimony from about 15 irrigators Friday, the LRNRD Board of Directors voted unanimously to override the LB962 acre moratorium deadline and give irrigators until Dec. 31 — the board’s original deadline — to certify the total number of irrigated acres in the district.

Only one person testified in favor of the immediate stay on new acres.

Ray Winz of rural Holdrege, who is a farmer, irrigator and member of the board of directors for the Tri-Basin NRD based in Holdrege, said the expansion of new acres in the Republican Basin should have been shut down three years ago.

He said new development will result in water being wasted by irrigating land that never has been irrigated. “Every acre we add now will reduce the amount of water that can be applied to the historically irrigated acres,” Winz said.

In response, Kenneth Schoen, who farms northwest of Oxford, said he has a sodbusting plan approved and will extend his current pivot system into a draw so that he can irrigate an additional eight acres.

Rod Steinkruger of Franklin said he was planning on the LRNRD’s Dec. 31 deadline to allow time to pick up a few more irrigated acres on his land.

Doug Rawson of Oxford testified that if the LB962 deadline wasn’t extended, economics would force his family to stop farming at the end of this year.

Don Adams of Lincoln, representing the groundwater irrigators’ organization Nebraskans First, said NRDs have managed groundwater in Nebraska, and that shouldn’t be changed.

“Regulations must not be controlled at the state level,” Adams said. “The end product of the (Water Policy) task force could ruin local control.”

He described LB962 as one of the most disputed pieces of legislation he has ever encountered. Adams commended the LRNRD directors for acting on behalf of their constituents.

State Sen. Ed Schrock of Elm Creek told people who stayed after the hearing for the LRNRD’s regular board meeting that LB962 was his bill, but it was drafted by the 49 members of the Water Policy Task Force, who had studied state water laws and policies for 18 months.

He understands that the legislation has caused a lot of unrest. “I believe there are a lot of good things in LB962,” Schrock said, “and there are a lot of tough issues we have to deal with.”

He said the bill can be changed. Recommendations for changes must be presented by mid-November to the Legislature’s Natural Resources Committee, which he serves as chairman.

Schrock encouraged anyone interested in the issues to attend meetings of the task force.

LRNRD Director Jim Moore of Bloomington emphasized the importance of staying informed.

“Tell your friends and neighbors about what happened today,” Moore said. “Pay attention to what happens. This deal isn’t over. There are some things that will have to happen to make this work for all of us.”

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