The Emperor's Clothes
One of the things the Attorney General of Nebraska is charged with is defending the State of Nebraska against lawsuits. On August 23, 2006, the Nebraska Attorney General’s office told the Water Policy Task Force that the Task Force would not discuss the Republican River Basin or the value of water.
There is one reason for this demand by the Attorney General’s office. It believes Nebraska will return to Court on the Kansas issue and its job is to minimize the damage to Nebraska. Any discussion by an official body of the State is likely to be used by Kansas against Nebraska. The AGs office will try to minimize the value of water and the economic report given to the Task Force by Ray Supalla undermines this effort.
The problem with the State’s position is it ignores reality. The State’s position is naked and very obvious to Kansas and anyone else who cares to look.
Kansas has access to the same information that Nebraska has. It has the exact same data. It knows how much water Nebraska uses. It uses the same software model and can make the same analysis and predictions that Nebraska can. Kansas has economists that are capable of computing the value of water. The State of Nebraska’s attempt to hide the facts is a failure.
The DNR, the Attorney General’s office, the NRDs, and the Governor’s office are public entities that represent the public. The decisions they make have broad consequences. Tthe public these offices represent have a right to know what the facts are, what the possible solutions are, and what the ramifications of those decisions are. Hiding the information will not lessen Nebraska’s legal responsibilities.
The official State position on the Republican River Basin issue is no comment. Privately, representatives from the DNR, the AG, the Governor’s office, and the NRDs say that there are indications from Kansas that Kansas will not force the issue and that the public shouldn’t be concerned. In spite of numerous closed meetings between the Governor’s office, the DNR, and the NRDs, there is no plan in place -- no solution that the public can look to for keeping Nebraska in compliance with the Agreement it made with Kansas.
The question you should ask yourself is, do you think Kansas will ask the Court to enforce the judgment it already has against Nebraska? If you think Kansas will have mercy on Nebraska, then sleep well. If you think Nebraska should act to comply with the Court order instead of relying on the good will of Kansas, then your only option is to elect new NRD board members and a State Legislator, as they will be the only people you can choose that will be in a position to do what is necessary.