WaterClaim

On April 22, 2008, Kansas sent a letter to Nebraska detailing what it felt the damages should be for Nebraska's overuse. This was an estimate that Nebraska requested that Kansas make.

Cover Letter

Attachment 1 - Estimated Cost of Compliance

Attachment 2 - Analysis of Measures Required for Compliance

Attachment 3 - Analysis of Shutdown Effects

The $72 million that Kansas is requesting covers the damages caused by Nebraska being out of compliance in 2005 and 2006. It does not include the costs Kansas will estimate at a later date for the 2007 overage or the 2003-2007 overages.

Posted by Steve Smith at 09:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Now that Ann Bleed has resigned, we have renewed our effort to get some of the problems in the computer simulation regulating the Republican River corrected. As Bleed was a part of the negotiating team and technical staff that created the Model and adopted it, she had little incentive to correct the problems. Doing so could have been seen as an acknowledgment that some errors had been made in creation of the simulation.

Now that Bleed is gone there in a new opportunity to get a fresh set of eyes to look at the problems in the simulation and perhaps correct the most egregious.

http://www.waterclaim.org/dnr/lettertogovernor.htm

Posted by Steve Smith at 10:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

• Colorado will comply with the Republican River Basin Compact by pumping water to the Nebraska State line.
• Water rights for approximately 15,000 acre feet a year.
• 9,500 acres of irrigated land idled and used for compliance.
• Water rights purchased from land owners for approximately $5,263 an acre.
• Cost per acre foot for the water is approximately $3,333.
• Cost to build the pipeline is approximately $1,400 per acre foot.
• Tax on irrigated acres to the landowners of the Colorado portion of the Republican River Basin are $14.50 an acre
• Subject to approval by the Colorado Legislature and the State of Kansas
• Pipeline construction to begin in fall of 2008 and projected completion date of July 2009

Posted by Steve Smith at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is a copy of the letter Nebraska sent to Kansas regarding the Republican River Basin

Nebraska Letter to Kansas

Posted by Steve Smith at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Links to the briefs filed with the Lancaster District Court regarding LB 701.

Updated to include the reply briefs.

The files are in PDF format.

Plaintiff's Brief

Attorney General Brief

Plaintiff's Reply Brief

Joint Defendant's Reply Brief

Cities Amicus Brief

Posted by Steve Smith at 08:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What can the Legislature do to help fix the Republican River Basin water problem?

• Cause the water that is currently in the reservoirs to be used to eliminate the accumulated overages Nebraska has with Kansas, rather than used on Nebraska crops in 2008.
• Cause, not just allow, Nebraska to set up a mechanism to use surface water or stream augmentation programs or some combination, when needed, for compliance purposes.
• Protect the water placed in the stream for compliance purposes from diversion.

Most of the money necessary for these things is already in place if the price paid for the surface water is at or near market value.

If the Legislature takes no action, then it is very likely that:

• Kansas will win
• Nebraska will pay damages
• A large number of wells will be shut off - specifically the 330,000 acres close to the streams
• The economy of the Republican River Basin will be severely hurt – especially the 20 communities next to the river
• A Federal Court will take control from Nebraska, and one individual with little knowledge of the area will make water policy

There are many excuses given by those who don’t want a solution as to why this or that can’t happen. And, unfortunately, some of those who say they want a solution are actively blocking any idea that will actually work. But, a solution is doable if the Legislature causes it to happen.

Just resolving payment on the 2007 water purchase, which is currently being blocked by a lawsuit by the Friends of the River, which includes several surface irrigators, will not solve the problem. The IMPs passed by the NRDs at the request of the State and being touted by the State as a solution will not be nearly enough.

Posted by Steve Smith at 06:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You can listen to a NET Radio interview with David Aiken on the water issue by Sarah McCammon

Radio interview

David Aiken, a water law expert at UNL, says the State is in a weak position.

“We have no leg to stand on. We are out of compliance. And there is no excuse for being out of compliance except that we didn’t want to do it. So, Kansas is holding all of the high cards.”

Aiken says he expects land values to take a hit and irrigated farm land to be taken out of production at least for a time. He thinks the State will be forced to clamp down on irrigation to avoid a Court battle with Kansas which would be even costlier. He says there is a silver lining, at least for some farmers.

“The bright spot is that at least corn prices are high; so even if pumping is cut back dramatically, corn farmers in the Republican River Basin will make more money for at least the next couple of years, even with dramatically less water than they have made for a long time in the past.”
________________

What Mr. Aiken fails to note is that along with the huge jump in commodity prices there has also been a huge jump in input costs. Ask any farm banker. He will tell you that the risk to the farmer has jumped dramatically because of the huge run up in costs that have accompanied the jump in crop prices. So his statement that farmers will make more money even with less water is not correct.

Posted by Steve Smith at 10:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Attached is a copy of the letter Kansas has sent to Nebraska and Colorado, which initiates the legal process that may return the issue to the US Supreme Court.

Remember this is not a new lawsuit but simply the enforcement process of an existing judgment.

The steps Kansas must go through are:

1. Call for an administrative review by the RRCA, which this letter causes to happen.
2. Ask for non-binding arbitration.
3. Ask the US Supreme Court to take control.

Download letter

Posted by Steve Smith at 04:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is for Chase County only as I only have access to all of the data I need for Chase County. It would be helpful to have this type of thing for other counties as well.

Chase County Water Balance

Posted by Steve Smith at 06:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

MRNRD sets 5 year allocation McCook Gazette

NRDs do not know how to pay for surface water purchase McCook Gazette

Stream Augmentation Nebraska Net Radio

Posted by Steve Smith at 11:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A group of individuals have filed suit attempting to block the property taxes allowed by LB 701. They are not attempting to block the occupation tax that is on irrigated acres.

Continue reading "Lawsuit against LB 701 filed" »

Posted by Steve Smith at 04:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Colorado proposes to shut groundwater irrigation on all wells within three miles of all Republican River Basin streams in Yuma and Kit Carson counties.

Copy of the rules are suppose to be posted before the meetings at:

Web Site

Posted by Steve Smith at 09:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Meetings with representatives from Colorado Division of Water Resources will be in the following locations:

Holyoke: October 3 Peerless Theater 2:00 pm
Wray: October 3 Wray City Hall 7:00 pm
Yuma: October 4 Church of Nazarene 9:00 am
Idalia: October 4 Homestead Hall 2:00 pm
Burlington: October 4 Community and Education Center 7:00 pm

Copy of the rules are suppose to be posted before the meetings at:
Web Site

Posted by Steve Smith at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rocky Mountain News has a story about what the Colorado Governor's Water Task Force recommend regarding irrigation.

It seems that the favorite suggestion of every task force is to ask for more money for more studies, funded by the people they are studying. I wonder if it has something to do with the people that are chosen for the Task Forces in the first place.

Few Colorado farmers will take comfort in their recommendations.

Farmers have adopted a "live and let live" attitude. As a result, there is no organized resistance to those who have decided to take the water for their own purposes.

Posted by Steve Smith at 11:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Wall Street Journal has a story on ethanol and water that quotes Mike Clements of the Lower Republican NRD

Posted by Steve Smith at 03:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Friends of the River are challenging the constitutionality of the property tax being levied for Compact compliance with Kansas regarding the Republican River. They are basing this challenge on the idea that the Nebraska Constitution prohibits the use of property tax dollars for State purposes. Most agree that Compact compliance is a State responsibility. This seems to imply that the use of property tax dollars, as permitted in LB 701, is unconstitutional.

However, Article VII, Section 1 of the Nebraska Constitution says:
The Legislature shall provide for the free instruction in the common schools of this state of all persons between the ages of five and twenty-one years. The Legislature may provide for the education of other persons in educational institutions owned and controlled by the state or a political subdivision thereof.

Continue reading "Is LB 701 Constitutional?" »

Posted by Steve Smith at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From Nebraska Statutes

Section 46-719
Interrelated Water Review Board; created; members; powers and duties.

(1)(a) The Interrelated Water Review Board is created for the purposes stated in subsections (2) through (5) of this section. The board shall consist of five members. The board, when appointed and convened, shall continue in existence only until it has resolved a dispute referred to it pursuant to such subsections. The Governor shall appoint and convene the board within forty-five days of being notified of the need to resolve a dispute. The board shall be chaired by the Governor or his or her designee, which designee shall be knowledgeable concerning surface water and ground water issues.

Continue reading "Interrelated Water Review Board Procedures" »

Posted by Steve Smith at 04:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The MRNRD will hold a hearing on water allocations at the City Auditorium at West 5th and C Street in McCook, Nebraska on August 30th 2007 at 7:00 PM.

The NRD will take testimony on what the allocation should be. Reportedly the MRNRD will propose setting the allocation at 60 inches over 5 years. Which works out to 12 inches a year.

The full notice can be seen on the MRNRD web site.

Posted by Steve Smith at 09:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Understanding Nebraska’s Obligations in the Republican River Compact
by Attorney General Jon Bruning

Recent comments by Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison at the Republican River Compact meeting have created some concern in Nebraska about the future. Keeping in mind that no one can predict the future, here is the history of the compact and the legal landscape as it exists today.

Continue reading "AG on Compact Compliance" »

Posted by Steve Smith at 02:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Governor's agent says Nebraska has no plans on how to comply with the Republican River agreement requirements. She says this in spite Basin NRD plans that would keep the State in compliance.

The Basin NRDs released a statement in response.

Read the response

It is good to see the NRDs publicly call the DNR on the games it is playing. If the NRDs remain united on requiring accurate information and consistent policy from the DNR, it will go a long way to solving the fundamental problem. Our only complaint with the NRDs is that until now they had allowed the DNR to tell different stories to different people and change the "facts" as they went along.

Posted by Steve Smith at 01:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Republican River Compact Administration Meeting

Held in Junction City Kansas Conference Center

The web site for the center is http://www.junctioncitycourtyard.com/meetingsevents.aspx

The motel is reportedly full so if you plan on staying overnight you may need to find other accommodations.

The purpose of the meeting is for the three States to meet and discuss Compact Compliance.

The meeting and workshop are open to the public

The agenda for the meeting is as follows:

Continue reading "RRCA Annual Meeting" »

Posted by Steve Smith at 07:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Governor Heineman released a letter to the Water Policy Task Force on Monday, July 30.

Page 1

Page 2

Posted by Steve Smith at 02:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The system used to measure compliance with the Republican River agreement with Kansas has some serious problems.

This is the information WaterClaim presented at the Legislative Hearing held on July 31, 2007.

Model Problems

Posted by Steve Smith at 01:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Two articles by the McCook Gazette on the MRNRD tax plans

MRNRD tax plans

Opposition to the MRNRD tax plans

Posted by Steve Smith at 10:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This turned out to be a re-announcement of what was done in May. Kind of like holding your Grand Opening a year after you really opened. Just a publicity stunt.

The Beatrice Sun reports an AP story that there has been another purchase of surface water from the same people that water was purchased from just a few weeks ago.

The story is a bit contradictory as it reports that the State made the purchase but also notes that only the NRDs have the authority to levy the taxes to make the purchase.

The McCook Gazette reports the same story but gives a different impression.

Posted by Steve Smith at 07:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Sterling Journal has a rather blunt report on the State of Colorado plans to force the shutdown of irrigation wells in the Republican Basin.

Posted by Steve Smith at 11:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For more information on Harlan County Reservoir visit the Bureau of Reclamation web site.

Posted by Steve Smith at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

McCook Gazette on MRNRD water purchases

Posted by Steve Smith at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The people who negotiated the agreement with Kansas decided that flood water should not count as credit towards Nebraska's compliance with the Republican River Compact. The definition of flood flows is given below.

From Accounting Procedures

Continue reading "Flood Flows Don't Count" »

Posted by Steve Smith at 07:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of the key players in the Republican River Basin dispute is resigning.

Hutchinson News story

Posted by Steve Smith at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

KHAS TV story on efforts by an RC&D to persuade landowners to allow the government to enter private property to kill Russian Olives and Salt Cedar.

Posted by Steve Smith at 04:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

First let me say that the trees on the Republican River do need to be managed. There is a very big need to remove much of the overgrowth. Before that happens, I think it would be very wise of the NRDs to think long and hard before that take on the responsibility of removing that vegetation. However, it appears that the NRDs are eager to not only manage tree removal but to pay for it with taxes on groundwater irrigators.

The Bureau of Reclamation did a study that reported that the trees exist because the dams were put in and stopped the floods. They didn't mention prairie fires also being eliminated but between the elimination of floods and fires, the trees took off and now overwhelm the river.

LB 701 provides $2 million dollars in 2007 and another $2 million in 2008 of State money for doing vegetation management studies. Only weed management entities and NRDs can apply for the vegetation removal grants and they must contribute 40% in matching funds. While I am all in favor of managing trees, I am concerned about the NRDs choosing to accept financial responsibility for managing what will be a multi-decade and multi-million dollar solution with no end in sight. My napkin method of estimating the cost of removing enough trees to do what is necessary is about $100 million over the next 10 years.

LB 701 does not obligate the NRDs to accept the responsibility for something they did not cause. Before they take that responsibility, I encourage them to look very closely at what the costs to the local tax payers will be, especially when the State funding disappears in two years. Measure that against the benefits of cleaning up a problem caused by someone other than the NRDs. Perhaps it is worth it but I suspect that our current NRDs boards are making some commitments that are going to haunt us in the future.

What happens if the NRDs don’t apply for the grant from the State? Nothing. Is that a good thing? Or are we better off establishing the idea that the NRDs should use taxes from groundwater irrigators to remove trees along the river?

Continue reading "Choping Down Trees" »

Posted by Steve Smith at 03:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chris Thom has sent out an email showing the effects of terraces. This is the spring overflight.

A winter overflight can be seen at this previous post.

A thank you to the Thoms of T&L Irrigation for providing the images that speak much louder than words.

Posted by Steve Smith at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The McCook Gazette carries a letter to the editor from Dan Smith, manager of the Middle Republican NRD

Posted by Steve Smith at 04:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Beatrice Sun is reporting that the State is offering Bostwick Irrigation District $5.6 million dollars to not irrigate with surface water. Those with both groundwater and surface water will be able to continue to irrigate with the groundwater for 2007. If another deal is made in 2008, the new law would prohibit the irrigation via any method if the surface water was purchased. The NRDs oppose this clause in the law because they believe it will raise the price of water.

The price paid per acre foot of water is twice as much in 2007 as compared to 2006. $320 an acre foot as compared to $167 an acre foot last year. As the NRDs and DNR have chosen to ignore any alternative ways of staying in compliance the surface irrigation districts are in a position to set the price at whatever rate they please. The only risk they run by setting too high of a price is that the NRDs choose not to pay and hence running the risk that the State will fail to comply and that they would be shut off. So far, the NRDs have indicated that they are willing to pay much more than the surface irrigation districts are demanding.

The surface irrigators don't want to make a permanent sale and hence kill their golden goose. The State doesn't want to force the sale. As a result the NRDs will pick up the check for whatever the surface irrigators decide to set the price of water at. The NRDs have the authority to raise much more money than what is required by the surface irrigators at this time meaning that they can set the rate higher next year if more water is needed and there is little the groundwater irrigator can do other than pay.

Beatrice Sun story

Posted by Steve Smith at 05:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A story out of the Denver Post about how Colorado plans to comply.

The Rocky Mountain News reports the same story but one could get a very different impression of the same facts.

Posted by Steve Smith at 10:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LB 701 creates a vegetation management task force. The task force will set policy on how vegetation is managed in the Republican and Platte river basins. They will determine which plants are removed, how they are removed, and how much is paid to remove them. If you want to be one of the decision makers, you should apply for a seat on the task force.

Continue reading "Vegetation Task Force" »

Posted by Steve Smith at 04:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

McCook Gazette report on Middle Republican NRD board meeting

Posted by Steve Smith at 04:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

H.R. 1025: Lower Republican River Basin Study Act

A bill originally introduced by Tom Osborne, then carried by Jerry Moran and cosponsored by Adrian Smith.

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of implementing a water supply and conservation project to improve water supply reliability, increase the capacity of water storage, and improve water management efficiency in the Republican River Basin between Harlan County Lake in Nebraska and Milford Lake in Kansas.

Posted by Steve Smith at 02:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What I think the market in the Republican River Basin will do in reaction to LB 701.

Report

Posted by Steve Smith at 01:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Web page with details of surface water lease

Posted by Steve Smith at 10:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ag Journal Story on Colorado plans. It appears that Colorado is hoping for more time and that more people might sign up for CREP and EQIP. There is nothing in the story that suggests that Colorado has any realistic plans on how comply. Reducing pumping in Colorado works the same way as it does in Nebraska. It will not result in compliance. WaterClaim has posted multiple reports showing that a change in pumping is of very little benefit. There seems to be a lack of comprehension of how the computer simulation works that controls the entire thing. Because it is complicated, too many pubic officials have ignored their responsibility to become experts on behalf of the people they represent.

Colorado regulators might want to review the HINDERLIDER v. LA PLATA RIVER & CHERRY CREEK DITCH CO., 304 U.S. case.

I expect that Colorado will do what Nebraska is doing. Take all available surface water and put it in the stream. That means draining Bonny Reservoir. The Hinderlider case demonstrates that can be done without compensation.

Posted by Steve Smith at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It looks like Colorado may take the same approach as Nebraska to satisfy Kansas.

Denver Post story

I find it strange that policy makers prefer to take the drastic actions they are rather than take a look at a couple of problems we have found in the Model or to import water.

A study of why our water policy makers all chose to jump off the cliff when other options were available should be an interesting read for a future generation that wants to avoid the same mistakes this one is making.

Posted by Steve Smith at 09:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gov. Heineman Signs Landmark Water Legislation Into Law

(Lincoln, Neb.) Gov. Dave Heineman signed LB 701 into law today, which provides for the funding of the state’s water-related priorities and includes the creation of a Water Resources Cash Fund (WRCF).

“LB 701 will help our state make substantial progress in our goal of achieving sustainable water use throughout Nebraska,” Gov. Heineman said. “I want to applaud the work of our State Senators, in particular the leadership of Speaker Mike Flood, Senator Mark Christensen and Senator LeRoy Louden. This bill addresses both our short-term issues in the Republican River Basin and creates a framework for addressing our long-term water challenges.

Continue reading "Governor's Press Release on 701" »

Posted by Steve Smith at 08:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Heineman to Sign Christensen Tax Increase Today, May 1

This headline came from a web site controlled by Senator Christensen's opponent in the election. Keep that in mind when you read the comments. Even so, what it says is accurate.

swnber.net

Posted by Steve Smith at 02:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The red line, in this Chart, shows that Nebraska would have been in compliance each year since 1981 if it eliminated all surface irrigation in critical years. The critical years were 1991, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and probably 2006. In order for Nebraska to get full credit for the elimination of consumptive use caused by surface irrigation, it must purchase or lease all surface water from any particular reservoir. One reason is that between 33% and 50% of the surface water consumptive use is caused by evaporation from the reservoirs. Nebraska believes that it can pass all of the costs of evaporation to Kansas if Nebraska uses none of the surface water.

Continue reading "Is Buying Surface Water Alone Enough?" »

Posted by Steve Smith at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The reason that I have been saying LB 701 does not fix the fundamental problem is that just buying surface water alone is not enough. To keep the State in compliance, surface irrigators cannot divert water out of the stream when allocations are low, and the stream must be supplemented with extra water during the worst of times.

WaterClaim has long advocated the transfer of water from the Platte to the Republican River Basin as being the most cost-effective. However, it is possible to achieve similar results by drilling wells within the Republican River Basin and pumping that water into the stream. It just depends on where those wells are placed. There are signs that the NRDs and the DNR are realizing that is what needs to be done.

A public statement by the NRDs of what they now intend to do would go a long way toward relieving some of the fears and would help their own public relations. Perhaps they will do that someday. Once they provide the details, they might find that we, the people -- their employers -- can support what they are doing.

Posted by Steve Smith at 07:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

View Graph

Posted by Steve Smith at 10:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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.

Posted by Steve Smith at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

(Lincoln, Neb.) Gov. Dave Heineman issued the following comment regarding the Legislature’s passage of LB 701. The bill provides for the funding of the state’s water-related priorities and includes the creation of a Water Resources Cash Fund.