Water not just a local problem

Dear Editor,

In reading the Gazette, I see that the State of Nebraska is going to get off with a slap on the wrist.

This new water LB 701 proposal is going to tax every acre of dry land and every acre of irrigated land.

Every house (a house valued at $100,000 will pay an extra $100 in taxes) for lord only knows how long.

Every building in McCook and surrounding towns, the same. They are giving the power to do this taxing to the NRD. This is the same bureaucracy that has been mismanaging our water supply for the last 20 to 30 years.

We have no idea how long it will take to pump all the water from the aquifer, but this plan will allow them to do just that. The taxes will go on and on.

This plan will let the eastern part of Nebraska off the hook except for a pittance they plan to pay up front. The state is as guilty as the NRD for our pumping.

They have known for over 40 years that we have been depleting the water and just ignored the fact and did nothing.

The legislature failed to act as was discussed in the editorial published in the World Herald on March 25 of this year. For 40 years, they have taken all of our increased irrigation production taxes, except for real estate and spent the bulk of it in eastern Nebraska.

It is now time to pay up and all of a sudden it becomes "a local problem."

This 701 is supposed to ease the pain on our valley, well ... the pain will begin with your new taxes the next time around, and no one can guarantee you that there is any cure in sight -- not even Smith or Christensen. The only thing that is guaranteed is that Mr. Heineman and Ms. Bleed won't have to collect any money from eastern Nebraska.

To put the NRD in charge of taxation is having all farmers on the board of directors.

They will dictate to the people in towns what their share of taxes will be to subsidize some irrigation operations that are probably not sustainable.

Ms. Bleed said "This package in and of itself will not get us to where we need to be for the longer term."

To be specific, they have no pumping restrictions in this package and will no doubt manage the water as they have in the past 20 years.

The water table will continue to drop until the big blast they are saving us from will pop up and bite us anyway.

We know pumping at the present allowable rate will NOT stop the decline. But, they saved us for awhile, except for all those increased taxes.

Handing the management back to the NRD without controls will amount to the same misuse as before.

Another thing to mention are the ethanol plants. They pump enough water to cover several farms.

Are they being taxed at the same rate as the residents of McCook and surrounding towns? They should be paying much more than the farmers.

The Constitution of Nebraska grants the first right to domestic consumption, second to agriculture and the third to industrial. There might be some constitutional issues arise with passage of this bill.

Owning over 300 acres of irrigated land, the pain I am suffering, and will continue to suffer, is no small item.

I don't care if Kansas ever gets any water, I would just like to see the water table stabilize and I'd maybe get my pasture well back. A Band-Aid that costs millions to see if it will work, isn't a satisfactory solution.

Tom Kiplinger,

McCook