Letter to the Editor

Leases required

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Dear Editor,

The final settlement stipulation (Kansas v. Nebraska and Colorado, Dec. 15, 2002) states on page 27:

2. Nebraska action in water-short year administration:

a. To accomplish this limitation, Nebraska may use one or more of the following measures:

Item V. dry year leasing of water rights that divert at or above Guide Rock.

The State of Nebraska issued the closing notice on all reservoirs Jan. 1, 2013, and is now releasing that water to help meet compact compliance.

The settlement stipulates that the surface water is to be leased. Nebraska needs to follow the language of the settlement and pay surface water irrigators for our appropriated surface water rights, which became vested property rights at the time of appropriation. The State of Nebraska did not negotiate a dry year leasing of water rights from the irrigation districts and ordered the release of the water without a lease.

Dale Helms,

Holbrook, Nebraska

Comments
View 1 comment
Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.
  • Right!

    -- Posted by dennis on Tue, Apr 9, 2013, at 9:53 PM
Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: