NRD objects to television special

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

CURTIS -- Members of the Middle Republican Natural Resources District have taken issue with some of the information presented in a public television special.

Some of the briefing materials presented to the panel that took part in the NET?Television special, "Your Water: A By the People Special," were inaccurate, they said at a Dec. 12 meeting.

The Nov. 30 program was an hour-long broadcast where state senators gathered to talk about the state's future water policy.

The program seemed to lead people to think that nothing proactive has ever happened in the basin, NRD board members said.

The panel believed that 800 new wells were drilled in the basin after the summer of 1998, however, this number reflects wells registered and does not reflect the fact that a significant number of these wells were replacement wells, and many were existing wells that simply had not been registered, according to NRD officials.

In 1998, the official position of the State of Nebraska was that the compact did not apply to groundwater, and that Nebraska would win the Kansas lawsuit over Republican River water.

"We still struggle in trying to help others understand that we have been active in the basin and that given time our controls will have a positive benefit," NRD manager Dan Smith said.

The district also held a public hearing to receive testimony for a variance from the District's Ground Water Management Area Rules and Regulations, and Smith reviewed the variance request.

Ron Johnson, representative for PEI Lincoln Ethanol, presented testimony. The request was for three well permits for three separate wells, south of the highway between Dickens and Wallace, north of Red Willow Creek. Observation wells in this area show 10 to 11 feet of decline since 1974.

PEI Lincoln Ethanol proposes to drill three 700 gallon-per-minute wells to be used for the new ethanol plant. The three existing wells are currently being tested. At least one well will be capped and the other two may be used. No more than three wells will be used at a time; they will be rotated to keep them active. Current ownership of this property is Murray Farms and Hasenauer.

Asked how much water is returned to the system, Johnson said, "Thirteen percent is sent back out. For 1,100 acre feet of use, two hundred of that is returned to the system."

In addition, over 400 acre-feet of existing uses will be retired.

The board approved three well permits, contingent upon change of ownership of the property and the decommissioning of existing wells as a condition of drilling the new wells. Additionally, the board agreed that monitoring for areas of sharp decline surrounding the plant might need to occur.

Baker Corp. made a transfer request to the board. The transfer request had been previously considered by the board. This new transfer permit is being considered by DNR. Previous water reductions have not been credited to industrial use for the Trenton Ethanol plant. The board acknowledged that the current use at the Trenton Ethanol plant is from a previous retirement of acres certified to Baker Corp. These previously certified acres may not be transferred or otherwise be used, other than the current industrial use, in the future.

During the open forum portion of the meeting, Chad Taylor, from Nebraska Game and Parks Commission out of Cambridge, expressed concern that some of the species being offered by the NRD‚s tree program are contributing to the numbers of invasive species that landowners and producers are trying to control. He encouraged board members and employees to re-evaluate the trees offered through the tree program. Director Don Roberts, McCook, expressed concern about finding a species equally hearty and easy to establish in creating windbreaks. Roberts asked Taylor for an alternative to cedars in

establishing windbreaks. Taylor offered to do the research on alternative species if the board and staff decide to readdress the tree list.

Mark Billinger, Depart-ment of Water Resources in Kansas, introduced himself to the board. He spent the week attending meetings in the Republican basin.

District Conservationist Doug Whisenhunt reported on NRCS activities. "The budget does not look very good for the NRCS," he said.

Whisenhunt said there are currently two proposals being considered. The proposed budget from the House will cause NRCS to lose 17 positions, with no money for operations. The version from the Senate will allow NRCS to keep those 17 positions.

Whisenhunt reported that applications are currently being taken for 2007 EQIP. There is no matching incentive this year and

the new ranking program does not allow for any extra conditions. „Invasive species removal is going to allow more range

contracts and ranking is weighted so that all invasive removal applications will be funded,‰ said Whisenhunt. CRP has been

seeded in and payments are being processed. Whisenhunt concluded his report by announcing burn schools scheduled for Spring

2007. One will be held in McCook in April. There may also be schools in Osceola and Chadron.

Kara Gall reviewed the Information and Education Report. Gall submitted a proposal to the board to purchase an educational

tool with the funds given to the district by the Attorney General office. Each NRD throughout the state received $3,000 to

spend on environmental education efforts. Gall proposed the district purchase an Enviroscape Watershed/Nonpoint Source model,

which teaches the watershed concept in addition to point and nonpoint source pollution. The model tracks pollution from

nonpoint sources, including: residential areas, forestry areas, transportation, recreation, agriculture and construction, as

well as from industry as a point source. Students learn about best management practices by using felt buffer strips as

vegetation, clay to create berms and other methods to show conservation and water pollution prevention measures at work.

Director Joe Anderjaska (Hayes Center) asked Gall in which situations the model might be used. Gall said „We‚ll use this for

our annual 5th Conservation Craze as well as all our spring conservation programs. The model will be available for district

teachers and students to check out, and classroom demonstrations will be possible.‰

Assistant Manager Bob Merrigan reviewed the livestock waste control applications. An application was received from Nebraska

Pork Partners for a farrowing facility in Frontier County, east of Stockville. They are looking to improve their existing

operation, not add on to it. A motion was made by Peters and second by Fornoff to accept the livestock waste control

application.

The board reviewed meter repairs, readings and inspections. Smith reviewed the meter report in the packets. Discussion was

held on the number of wells per county. Questions on how the different programs will affect the numbers. Smith explained

that CREP will not affect the number of active wells; only EQIP (retiring of irrigated acres) will make the well status

inactive.

Assistant Manager Bob Merrigan reported that he was able to order a 2-year supply of mulch, at a ten percent discount.

The next meeting will be Tuesday, January 9, 2006 at 1:30 p.m. at the Community Building at the Red Willow Fairgrounds in

McCook, 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.

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