701 Wednesday
LB 701 was voted on today and passed the first step. It goes from General File to Select File. There are two more steps. These are Select File and then Final Reading. If it passes those next two steps and the Governor does not veto it, then it becomes law.
Senator Flood and Christensen said on the floor today that they expected amendments to deal with accountability, co-mingled wells, the price paid for surface water, and a clear statement of what the Legislature intends to do and to point out that the State could take the water without compensation but that it is providing or allowing compensation because it wants to help keep southwest and south central Nebraska alive.
Select File debate will happen in a few days, perhaps some time next week. I expect that debate will be much more interesting than what has been heard so far.
Senator Chambers said that he didn’t believe the farmers had a right to the water. The water is owned by the State and that the farmers are stealing it from the State. He believes the water should be sent to Kansas without compensation because the gaters are bad abusive people for putting a burden on the State and then expecting a hand out. That is the short version of his dislike of irrigators. He obviously misunderstands some things.
The good news is that a lot of urban Senators recognize the problem and want to help. Their willingness to help is very appreciated.
It is my belief that a water bill must pass this Legislative session. While I do not like the current version of LB 701, I believe that if it is amended to include some of the things that we have suggested, such as accountability, assurances that the NRDs will cooperate for a long term solution, that the problems we have found in the Model are rectified, and that good reports and forecasts are made public, that we can support the Legislation.
If the Legislature fails to take action this year, I believe the consequences for the State and the residents of the Basin could be catastrophic. Even bad Legislation may be better than no Legislation.
In 2005 Colorado paid Kansas $35 million on a water dispute similar to the Nebraska/Kansas dispute. That amounted to $82 an acre foot for the water plus interest. Inflation would push that cost higher.
Nebraska is currently 136,000 acre feet over the amount of water it is allowed to use. Deciding what dollar amount to multiply the 136,000 acre by to guesstimate the amount Nebraska might owe is difficult. The Court could use any of a number of different rates. In 2006 Nebraska paid Bostwick Irrigation District $960 an acre foot for water. If that number is used, then the cost could be as high as $103 million. If the CO/KS number of $82 is used, then the amount might be as low as $11 million. But even more important than the damage dollars is the economic costs if a judge orders the shutdown of some or all irrigation wells. The input costs on irrigated corn are about $625 an irrigated acre depending on a lot of variables. The input costs for dryland wheat are about $150 an acre. Converting from irrigation to dryland removes about $470 an acre in economic activity of which about $200 of that would have stayed in the local community. Most of the economy is based on the economic activity associated with irrigation. Remove irrigation without compensation by an order of the Legislature or the Judge and there are wide scale bankruptcies not only of individuals but of public institutions.
It is important that Nebraska take aggressive steps toward solving this problem and reducing the future economic costs. It is important for both the Basin and for the State. Both have a great deal at risk.