Yet, our society is based on the courts.  Agencies can ignore the law and can even make laws and regulations that violate people's constitutional rights, if no one stands up and challenges these policies. The court will not seek out injustices to cure; rather, the court waits for someone to come to it and ask for protection.  If you never ask, then the rich and powerful can abuse their position and create and impose unfair policies.

The plans of the NDNR, if implemented, will cause an estimated $50,000,000 economic hit to the region.  This translates to about 2,000 people losing their jobs.  It means the value of the land that has its access to water reduced by half will lose a substantial portion of its value.  As this land is converted to dry land, its contribution to the tax roles goes down substantially.  This means the schools and roads will lose much of their base.  At the same time, the water authorities are asking the legislature to allow them to double the property tax to help fund this plan. 

There are other far less expensive solutions than what are planned.  Yet, these options are not being considered.  Other viable ideas are presented to the water authorities, but those ideas do not match the agenda and are ignored.  The people in power have a plan.  The plan is to reduce aquifer use and to use the river as a lever to accomplish this. 

There are several ways to avoid the consequences of this devastating plan. 

1. Massive civil disobedience.  This is often threatened by individuals, but it is highly unlikely to be supported by the populace.  After the first person or two goes to jail, the rest are likely to comply.
2. Persuading the local NRD officials that other options should be considered.  This should be possible to do; but, the people that sit on the board now have an agenda and have not shown any evidence of wanting to consider any other plan other than to accept the NDNR plan.  Because these are elected officials, their votes reflect the will of the people who elected them.  It is felt that, surely, people would not keep in office someone with whom they disagree.
3. Court.  Even though the public has elected a group of people to implement the rules, it does not mean that the rules are fair or that they are consistent with the Constitution of either the State or the United States.  This course can only be successful if enough people fund the process. 

Of the three options, option number 2 (where we persuade our neighbors who sit on the local NRD board to act in the best interest of the area) would be best.  However, since the local NRD boards have yet to challenge the NDNR agenda, option 3 is the only viable option remaining. 

In the State of Nebraska, a complaint is typically filed with the District Court.  There are 12 District Courts in Nebraska. 

Appeals from the District Court go to the Nebraska Court of Appeals.

Appeals from the Court of Appeals go to the Nebraska Supreme Court. 

http://court.nol.org/publications/citizenGuide.htm for more information on the Nebraska court system.

If we file a petition with the NDNR and it is denied, the law allows one to appeal the decision directly to the Court of Appeals, bypassing the District Court.  The Court of Appeals hears cases 30 days a year.

Path of a typical civil action: