ALMA — A resolution passed July 16 by the Lower Republican Natural
Resources Board of Directors opposing LB962, the state’s new water
law, doesn’t sit well with state Sen. Ed Schrock of Elm Creek.
He said Thursday that it won’t sit well with the rest of the Legislature,
either.
He sponsored the bill in the 2004 legislative session and was co-chairman
of the 49-member Nebraska Water Policy Task Force that recommended the
elements of LB962, after studying state water laws and issues for 18 months.
“The Legislature doesn’t look at the resolution kindly,”
Schrock said at Thursday’s meeting of the Nebraska Republican River
Management Districts Association in Alma. “It will be used against
you in getting money in the future. The chairman of the Appropriations
Committee took notice.”
The chairman is Sen. Roger Wehrbein of Plattsmouth.
Schrock explained that a “chunk” of the $2.5 million appropriated
with LB962 is earmarked for the Republican River Basin’s water-related
activities.
Clearly frustrated by the Lower Republican directors, Schrock said, “LB962
is not the problem down here. The problem was that Kansas filed suit against
the state (requiring measures to comply with the 1943 Republican River
Compact). It didn’t file suit against the Lower Republican NRD. I
think 962 is good legislation.”
Answering another criticism from the July 16 LRNRD meeting, he said, “The
state doesn’t want to control the water. If we had had 962 five years
ago with its proactive intent, the state may not have been sued by Kansas.”
Schrock said he was most troubled by the action of LRNRD director and
task force member Nelson Trambly of Campbell.
Although Trambly was part of the unanimous vote for the anti-LB962 resolution,
Schrock said Trambly previously “stood up and praised the task force
for the work it did.”
With seven of the 49 task force members coming from the Republican Basin,
Schrock said the area that has only 3 percent of the state’s population
had one of every 7 task force members.
“We have to make this work,” said task force member Jim Miller
of Superior, who also is on the Nebraska Bostwick Irrigation District
Board. “It was difficult to get to LB962, but that legislation gives
us the tools we need to help those share the loss in basins that are fully
or over appropriated. As a member of a task force, you have to forget
your own interests.”
At the July 16 LRNRD meeting, Schrock and Sen. Tom Baker of Trenton were
criticized for meeting the day before with Gov. Mike Johanns and DNR officials.
Schrock said he requested the meeting with the governor because he understood
there was unrest in the Lower Republican NRD.
“Maybe we were set up for a train wreck no matter what we did,”
Schrock said. “I do believe that even if you don’t respect the
person (working on an issue), you should respect the office.”
Another action taken by the LRNRD directors July 16 was to extend the
deadline for reporting additional irrigated acres in the district to Dec.
31.
Director Dave Walton of Franklin said Thursday the board already was committed
to that date and now will have to work those added acres into a potential
water allocation system.
“We should have dealt with the problem sooner,” Walton said
about imposing a moratorium on expansion of irrigated acres in the LRNRD.
“That problem has just proliferated.
“I think peoples’ problem with LB962 is frustration,” he
continued. “People seem to think there is no end to the resource,
but there is. We have been too wasteful over the years and we failed to
do a good job of keeping our people informed.”
