By Russ Pankonin
    The Imperial Republican
     Constituents of 44th District Senator Mark Christensen no doubt wondered what was going on last week when he did not vote to advance his newly-amended bill, LB 701, out of committee.
     Fact is, Christensen supports the bill and will vote for it. However, it was just a matter of circumstances that caused him to withhold his vote.
     The newly-amended bill addresses a number of water issues in the Republican River basin. The new amendment brings several other pieces of legislation into it, increasing the likelihood of passage in some form, Christensen said Monday.
     Much of the debate on the floor of the Legislature Tuesday was devoted to first-round discussion of LB 701.
     The amendment to LB 701 was split into four different sections on the floor to aid debate.
     The first vote came on the portion giving NRDs bonding authority, which passed on a 36-0 vote.
    Circumstances of committee vote
     It was just a matter of circumstances that kept him from voting to advance the bill out of committee.
     After a lengthy hearing Wednesday, April 4, members of the Natural Resources Committee met in executive session to further discuss the amendment.
     Christensen felt he was making progress on getting some changes made to the bill before advancing it out of committee.
     Late in the day, the speaker called the committee members back to the floor. Rather than come back, several senators changed their vote to advance the bill out of committee rather than resume to continue discussion.
     As a result, the changes that Christensen sought got left out of the bill so he choose not to advance it without those.
     Some of the changes Christensen sought included limiting total fees and/or levies to not exceed more than $10 per irrigated acre.
     He also wants to see a sunset on the bill if no action is taken by the NRDs within two years; integrate some form of agreement to insure the basin NRDs work together; and insure the NRDs seek long-term water buyouts rather than annual.
    Third re-write of bill
     This marks the third time the bill has been totally rewritten. Despite the changes, it incorporates a number of the ideas Christensen advanced in his first two versions.
     One of the biggest impacts under Amendment 938 of the bill is that irrigators in the Upper, Middle and Lower Republican Basins can be assessed an occupation tax of $10 per irrigated acre.
     These funds will be used to finance surface water buyouts, both short- and long-term, through the sale of bonds.
     The bill also includes the authority for an additional levy authority of 10 cents for $100 of valuation.
     Christensen sought to cap fees by providing either the occupation tax or the levy, but not to exceed an amount of $10 per irrigated acre.
     He explained for bonding purposes, the basin can achieve a better bond rating, and perhaps a lower interest rate, by having the ability to use both funding methods.
     The additional levy authority could generate an additional $4 million. However, the goal of the NRDs is to keep the spending at a cap of $10 per irrigated acre, Christensen said.
     There has to be some trust in the NRDs to manage this, Christensen said. If they don't follow up on their intent, then NRD members will have to be held accountable through the election process.
    Other elements of the bill
     Other elements of the bill include $2 million in funding to control vegetation within 100 feet of the banks of any river or stream channel in the basin.
     This was originally included in LB 458, introduced by Sen. Tom Carlson of Holdrege. It was rolled into LB 701.
     The bill also includes general fund expenditures from the state of $2.7 for the governor's proposed Water Cash Fund and $3 million for the purchase of surface water from the Nebraska Bostwick Irrigation District.
     Presently, basin NRDs are seeking to lease the surface water from the Frenchman-Cambridge Irrigation District stored in Harry Strunk Reservoir near Cambridge.
     Money from the per-irrigated acre fee would be used to pay for the water purchase.
     The water would help the basin strive toward compliance with a 2002 settlement with Kansas over Republican River flows. Presently, the state is at a deficit to Kansas of about 130,000 acre feet from 2004-06.
     Christensen still believes the water model used by the Department of Natural Resources to determine water supply and compliance needs to be audited regularly to insure it's working correctly.
     Recently, an accounting error discovered in the model will reduce the deficit by 8,000 acre feet.
     The bill will carry the emergency clause, meaning that if it gets 30 votes on final reading, it will become law immediately. However, if the bill garners only 25 votes, it would not take effect until September.
    Christensen resigns position
    as WaterClaim employee
     Prior to being elected to the 44th District seat, Christensen was employed by WaterClaim, a non-profit water advocacy group based in Imperial.
     Christensen built his campaign around water issues in the basin, an issue followed closely by WaterClaim.
     Until just recently, Christensen remained employed by WaterClaim. However, as his involvement in the water bill continued to grow, his employment with WaterClaim began creating some wrong perceptions with his colleagues in the Unicameral.
     Politics is a lot about perception, Christensen said. As a result, he felt is was necessary to break formal ties with WaterClaim.
     "I wanted to break the perception that I was owned by WaterClaim. I'm an independent thinker," he said.
     He said his resignation does not affect his friendship with founder Steve Smith, who lobbies on behalf of WaterClaim.
     Christensen said WaterClaim still provides some of the best information on water issues which will help in crafting better legislation.
     He said the loss of income from WaterClaim will force him to seek other employment in addition to his duties as a state senator.
     He said that outcome will play a role in whether he returns to farming or not next year.