Editorial

LB701 is not final answer for water issue

Friday, April 27, 2007

Whatever the outcome, those of us who call the Republican River valley home can be assured, we went above and beyond in our effort to help Nebraska meet water obligations to Kansas.

The problem is, there's no guarantee Kansas will be impressed.

And, there's no guarantee the rest of Nebraska will get off as relatively unscathed as LB701 is designed to accomplish.

Passed with an emergency clause that makes it take effect immediately after it is signed into law, the bill should be signed into law on Tuesday, according to a spokeswoman for Gov. Dave Heineman.

The plan is described as a "painful but necessary antidote for water shortages in the Republican basin." Pain is something we'll truly be feeling next year if the Natural Resources Districts take full advantage of their power to impose a $10 per acre fee on irrigated land, and 10 cents per $100 of assessed property value on all Republican River basin residents, or an extra $100 a year in property taxes on a $100,000 house.

The extra fees could raise up to $16 million a year to buy and lease water to send to Kansas, reduce water-consuming vegetation along the river, pump more water back into the river, and other steps.

That should be enough to convince Kansas we are serious about meeting our obligations.

But as Jasper Fanning, manager of the Upper Republican Natural Resources District says, the only thing that will truly convince Kansas is Nebraska actually being in compliance.

In the end, if all the jokes about sending of our floodwater to Kansas have any merit, it's to prove that the answer to the Republican River problem lies with a power higher than the Nebraska Legislature.

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