By Russ Pankonin
    The Imperial Republican
     Since its inception, Imperial Senator Mark Christensen's water bill, LB 701, set forth the direction to address water issues in the Republican River basin.
     After two previous drafts have been gutted, the bill has new life in yet its third form.
     Water interests in the basin, working with Christensen, the Legislature's Natural Resources Committee and Speaker Mike Flood, appear to have crafted a comprehensive bill to address a number of needs for the basin and state.
     Negotiation and compromise appear evident in an amendment to LB 701 that will meld several pieces of water legislation into one comprehensive bill.
     Members of the Natural Resource Committee held a hearing on the revisions Wednesday, April 4. Depending on committee action, Christensen said it's possible the bill could hit the floor of the Legislature late this week or early next week.
     Christensen said Speaker Flood plans to designate LB 701 as one of his super priority bills, meaning it's likely to find its way up the agenda rather quickly.
    Elements of the plan
     The newly amended LB 701 will carry a number of items, the first being LB 458, which was Holdrege Senator Tom Carlson's bill to control vegetation in the Republican River streams and rivers. Included is $2 million in funding for the vegetation control effort.
     The bill also incorporates Gov. Dave Heineman's water cash fund, proposed in LB 322.
     The fund is a long-term fund aimed at collecting more than $125 million to address water problems in the state. Initial funding this year would include $2.7 million in state general funds, plus $300,000 from the Environmental Trust Fund.
     In addition to this $3 million, another $3 million of state funding is being proposed in LB 701 for a possible lease of surface water from the Nebraska Bostwick Irrigation District, which stores its water in Harlan Co. Dam near Alma.
    Per-irrigated-acre fee or levy authority added to plan
     The Upper, Middle and Lower Republican Natural Resource Districts, along with the state, are negotiating with the Frenchman/Cambridge Irrigation District to purchase their surface water this year, as well as permanently.
     This water, along with water from Bostwick and other surface irrigation districts, would be used to help the state increase water availability to Kansas to meet terms of a 2002 settlement with that state over Republican River flows.
     To pay for the water, the bill allows for the implementation of an occupation tax on irrigated ground of up to $10 per acre and/or additional levy authority for the NRDs of up to 10 cents per $100 of valuation.
     Christensen said Tuesday the new amendment did not initially include a maximum funding cap equal to $10 per-irrigated-acre. However, he was asking that change be made.
     During a special meeting of the Upper Republican NRD Monday, the board adopted a motion to support language limiting the funding to $10 per-irrigated-acre, using any combination of per-acre fees and additional levy, but not to exceed an amount equal to the $10 per-acre fee.
     URNRD Manager Jasper Fanning said the levy authority was added at the request of the other basin NRDs.
     By having some levy authority, some of the funding could be derived from property taxes in combination with the per-acre fee, spreading some of the burden throughout the entire district.
     The board also approved language supporting the newly amended LB 701 as a whole.
    Bonding authority for the NRDs
     The new amendment also gives the basin NRDs the authority to sell bonds to provide the up-front money necessary to complete the lease of surface water this year. Bonds could also be sold to retire surface water permanently.
     The per-acre fee and/or tax levy funds would be used to pay off the bonds.
     Christensen said he wants to see a sunset clause of two years put on the per-acre fee/levy if the NRDs are unable to obtain a long-term agreement to retire surface water.
     Christensen said he prefers a permanent buy-out versus an annual buy-out of surface water.
     This year, the water from the Frenchman/Cambridge district will be relatively expensive compared to previous buy-outs. This is due in large part to the potential for $4 corn.
     Christensen said a permanent solution provides a better long-term solution.
     If drought conditions ease and surface water is available, the water could still be sold by the NRDs to the irrigation districts.
     Because the districts have federal contracts for operation, the districts will still have to be maintained. Those expenses will be included in the fees paid to retire the water.
    Funding for water cash fund
     Long-term funding of the governor's water cash fund is also included in LB 701.
     State funding through general funds is being sought through 2012. Beginning in 2013, funding would come from corn check-off funds.
     Several state farm organizations have lined up against the check-off portion of the funding proposal for the cash fund. That could provide for some dissension on the bill.
     In addition, it's possible some other funding bills could get tacked on the LB 701 once it hits the floor.
    Still no guarantees
     Despite these efforts to insure Nebraska stays in compliance in 2007 with the compact settlement with Kansas, there are no guarantees that Kansas won't still launch litigation against the state.
     During Monday's URNRD meeting, Jeff Wallin reminded the board of just that fact.
     Fanning agreed these efforts provide no guarantees. However, without some of these actions, a greater uncertainty occurs.
     And even with these actions, the Department of Natural Resources said additional reductions in allocations are likely. What these could be still remains unknown.
     Cedric McDaniel of Imperial said the state needs to understand that it's the people in the basin that get hammered, not the state.
     The state put people in the basin under the gun when they agreed to the compact settlement, he said.
     They need to realize how this is going to further impact irrigators in the basin, he added.