Kansas Prepares for Battle
Many of us have heard variations of the following quotes from the DNR and from several NRD board members and managers.
* “We expect Kansas to have a bit of mercy – we have tried hard to comply.”
* “Kansas buys a lot of corn from Nebraska and they don’t want to shut us down.”
* “We have done a lot – moratoriums, reduced allocations, CREP, EQIP, surface water buyouts, and then there is the drought, Kansas will understand and we shouldn’t panic.”
* “Its complicated, we are working on it. Trust us. Kansas has indicated privately that they may not push us too hard on this.”
Nebraska will fail to honor its agreement with Kansas on Dec 31, 2007. The primary question for this area is what happens when we fail? Will Kansas return to Court and force some or all the irrigation wells off?
For two years WaterClaim has been raising the alarm saying there is a problem, all of the things we have been doing are not nearly enough, and that we think there is a high risk that communities in the Republican River Basin will be turned into ghost towns if Kansas forces the issue.
Currently water policy makers at first denied that there was a problem and now hope that Kansas will accept our failure. The official line is that we have tried hard and Kansas has indicated that they appreciate what we have done. So don’t worry, everything is under control.
There is just one little problem with the official line. On September 20, 2006, the Topeka Capital Journal reported that “State attorneys and agriculture officials Tuesday urged legislators to prepare for expensive legal wrangling to force Nebraska and Colorado to comply with court-ordered agreements on water consumption.”
You can read the full story online at Topeka Capital Journal. You will have to register to read the story. It is worth registering to read. The story refutes Nebraska’s official line. There are a number of statements made by various Kansas officials that affirm the WaterClaim warnings.
The following are some of the key quotes. Please read the full story in context at the Capital Journal site linked to above. Decide for yourself if Kansas will have mercy while we fail to comply.
“Staff members with the Kansas attorney general's office and the state Department of Agriculture told a joint House-Senate committee it may be necessary to return to federal court to make certain the neighboring states abide by pacts on water flow into Kansas.”
"We must be vigilant to protect the victories we won in court," said David Davies, deputy attorney general.
Constantine Cotsoradis, assistant agriculture secretary, said drought in the Midwest made it difficult for states to comply with water flow arrangements. However, he said, maneuvering by irrigators in Nebraska and Colorado contributed to shortages that left some Kansans "little or no water" for crops.
"This is an ongoing battle," Cotsoradis said. "I don't use that term loosely."
Sen. Mark Taddiken, R-Clifton, and chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said Kansas must aggressively defend its water rights.
"Water is like gold," he said. "It's an economic lifeline."