WaterClaim Comments on LB 701
WaterClaim has long said that Nebraska must act to protect the State and the Basin from the consequences of a bad agreement with Kansas. The Legislature’s response was to give the NRDs a blank check that can be written on the account of the residents of the Basin. We hope this money will be spent in a way that protects the State and the Basin. We are concerned that some of the planned projects will be an ineffective use of the money. There are still some major problems with the agreement and the computer simulation that the policy makers need to consider before they make a multi-year and multi-million dollar commitment on behalf of the taxpayers.
LB 701 does not solve the problem nor does it put in place the mechanisms that will make sure Nebraska stays in compliance in the future. Unless the water allocations allowed to Nebraska increase via either increased precipitation or corrections in the computer simulation, the Republican River Basin will continue to have a water crisis that is largely political in nature.