NRD passes $1.6 million budget

Curtis -- The Middle Republican NRD held a public hearing before passing a $1.6 million budget Tuesday.

No one appeared at the hearing in McCook, which was called to receive support, opposition, criticism, suggestions, or observations of taxpayers related to the proposed budget and the setting of the final tax request at a different amount than the prior year tax request.

NRD General Manager Dan Smith reviewed the proposed budget, which has total requirements of $1,654,580 with a cash reserve of $100,000 and a property tax requirement of $874,061.

This would set the levy at 5.3973 cents. The 2005-2006 property tax request was $633,753 and the tax rate was 4.0760 cents. No testimony was received from the public.

Director Joe Anderjaska (Hayes Center) indicated that he hates to see the taxes increase.

In response, Chairman Gayle Haag said, "I agree with Joe in that I don't want to see taxes increase, but I think the budget increase is needed if the District wants to continue to see funding from the State."

The board approved both the budget and the final tax request.

An additional public hearing was held to receive testimony concerning proposed amendments to the Integrated Management Plan controls through District's Ground Water Management Area, Rules and Regulations.

The directors approved the majority of the revisions at the July meeting, after receiving testimony at a June public hearing.

Rule revisions 5-2.11 and 5-3.3 were delayed so that a special industrial water use committee could meet with representatives from District Economic Development groups.

Curtis Heapy, Medicine Valley Economic Corp., presented testimony in favor of the revision, which allows the board more opportunity for consideration when a new request is made. Heapy thought that this would be beneficial for new industry.

In addition, a new definition of replacement well has been adopted that reflects a change in the statutes and several changes

relating to the metering program were made in June. No changes were made to allocations and no changes were made to the

number of certified acres. They remain the same as they have been for the last two years.

Wayne Madsen, former NRD board member and member of the Nebraska Well Drillers Association, presented comments concerning the

revised rule 4-7.3 during the open forum of the regular board meeting. Madsen read this rule concerning additional

allocations. Madsen also read rule 4-7.4 concerning water-short years. Madsen said, "I think you should have decreased

certified acres instead of approving variances for additional acres. Two bills were presented last year in the legislature

to take the authority to control ground water from NRDs and give the authority to the State." Though these bills failed,

Madsen is concerned that if the District does not start following the rules that are in place, more bills like these will be

presented again.

In response, Chairman Haag reported that the agreement with DNR was that water short years would not be recognized until

after the first allocation period.

Jason Kennedy of the NRCS McCook field office presented the NRCS report. Kennedy gave an update on the recent EQIP program

that provided for the permanent retirement of irrigated acres. Funding was limited to 2,640 acres basin-wide. Nearly 1,200

of those acres were enrolled in the MRNRD. In this program a conservation easement will be filed to permanently retire

irrigated acres for a payment of $675 per acre over three years. Federal, state and district funds were used to support this

program. The recent budget approved by the board of directors provided for $110,000 of district funds to be used in this

program. Kennedy passed on a comment from NRCS State Conservationist Steve Chick that, "this program was Federal, State, and

Local government working together at its best."

Smith reported on the Republican River Compact Administration (RRCA) meeting in Phillipsburg, Kansas that he and Assistant

Manager Bob Merrigan attended. The RRCA is comprised of one member each from the States of Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska.

The purpose of the RRCA is to administer the compact on the Republican River. At the meeting, Kansas indicated that they

recognized Nebraska efforts to comply but that they were still being shorted on water. Nebraska continues to show a 42,000

acre-foot overuse. Smith said that many producers have indicated they pumped almost twice as much water in the 2006 crop

year than in 2005. "It is difficult to guess the impact of this situation. Kansas may well go back to the courts and demand

that Nebraska comply with the settlement. They may also recognize that Nebraska has tried to comply and do nothing. I

imagine their action will be somewhere between these two extremes." The settlement requires arbitration between the states

before anyone goes back to the courts. Smith expects the District should know Kansas' intended course of action by May of

2007.

District Technicians finished taking water samples. Annual samples have been done in the Special Protection Area in

Hitchcock and Red Willow counties. This year, the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality requested that the sampling

area be increased to cover the entire District. Maps showing these samples were handed out to Directors. This information

is forwarded on to the State.

Merrigan reported that district technicians Rich Karre, Tom Hanson, and Dennis Peterson will begin reading and servicing

meters in the district starting the beginning of October. The flow meters in Hitchcock and Hayes County will be serviced

this year. Irrigators who typically remove their meter from the well after irrigation season are asked to let the MRNRD

office know where the meter is stored so the meter can be read.

The next regular meeting will be on October 10 at 8:00 p.m. at the NRD Office in Curtis, Nebraska.

Full text of the meeting minutes, kept current, is available during regular business hours at the NRD office in Curtis or on

the web at www.mrnrd.org