Water Bill Already Decided
About seventeen Senators met today to go over the water bill and discuss how the debate will proceed on Thursday. The Thursday debate on water will likely be of everyone complementing everyone on how hard they worked to put the compromise together.
There will be minor adjustments to the existing bill. Oversight will be added in the form of directing the Natural Resources Committee to do what it is already charged with doing. There will be a couple of studies done this summer. Studies are the Legislature’s way of saying they will delay a decision on something. You can usually tell if there is any intention of doing anything real by who gets appointed to the study group, so keep watch of that.
The NRDs will be given the authority to buy irrigated land and retire the irrigation.
The NRDs wrote this bill. The NRDs have portrayed what they developed as having wide support. The Governor was on board because most of the costs, over 90% of the long-term costs, are paid for by a tax that doesn't come out of his budget. The surface irrigators were on board because they were being paid at a rate they couldn't refuse while retaining their ability to irrigate from groundwater wells, if they had them, and retaining their ability to sell the water again in future years. The NRDs were on board because they developed the plan and it put them in control. Yes, they had to pay a very high tax, which most of them would also have to pay personally, but they also got the ability to continue to irrigate at what they hope is nearly the same level they have been. Note that Ann Bleed has repeatedly stated that lower allocations will be required. Few irrigators want to believe her.
If this plan works, it is largely to the credit of the Republican River NRDs and, specifically, to the URNRD executive board for their ability to craft a solution that might work. If the plan fails, it is also the NRDs that deserve the credit.
We will not know for a year or two, or potentially even more, whether or not this works. Each NRD is on its own. Each NRD can succeed or fail on its own. If they fail, the entire State fails, and they will drag every NRD in the State down with them. If they succeed, then they will do so without much glory, as the route they have chosen will have very high taxes, the purchase of water rights from people who didn't want to sell, and a continued reduction of allocations for irrigators. I figure the reductions will possibly be in the neighborhood of ½ to 1 inch less water for the next three year period. But that will be decided by the IMP process over the next several months.
The NRDs are the new power brokers in town. LB 701 shifts the power to the NRDs. Their budgets will multiply. Their authority will multiply. The NRD seat will become one of the most important elected seats in the region. The policies the NRDs set will have far-reaching economic consequences. Some towns will thrive and others will lose, depending on how the NRDs decide to do things.
How can the citizens be involved now? Make sure the NRDs are going the direction you want them to go with your tax dollars. Give them feedback. If you don’t feel like you and your neighbors are being listened to, work to replace Board members. Also, write/call those assigned to oversee their actions. Work together, as citizens with a unified voice, via organizations such as WaterClaim. Learn the facts and help to educate your friends and family on these serious water issues. One of the best sayings on our Capitol building is this one: "The salvation of the state is watchfulness in the citizen."