Gov. Dave Heineman, at right, visits with area farmers, at left, Seth and Dave Spicer, during his stop at the Chase County Fair last week. Also on hand was State Senator Mark Christensen from Imperial. (Republican photo)

    By Russ Pankonin
    The Imperial Republican
     Everyone's anxious to see what the next move will be in a complicated game of chess over water in the Republican River Basin.
     On Wednesday, Aug. 15, Gov. Dave Heineman came to Imperial to visit the Chase County Fair and the topic everyone wanted to talk about was water.
     Ironically, his visit came on the same day that the three states in the Republican River Compact-Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas- met to discuss compliance with a 2002 settlement over Republican River water.
     At that meeting, Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison made it clear Kansas wants its share of water from the compact. He also promised some type of action to force Nebraska and Colorado to come into compliance with the 2002 settlement.
     "You will see some action by the state of Kansas that will be fairly quick and fairly decisive to begin the process of enforcing this agreement," the Kansas AG said.
     To top it off, a group called Friends of the River is being organized by several McCook men to challenge the constitutionality of LB 701. The bill was passed by the Legislature this year to address compact compliance options and ways to pay for it.
    Fanning attends compact meeting
     Jasper Fanning, manager of the Upper Republican Natural Resource District in Imperial, attended the compact meeting in Junction City, Kan., last week.
     He briefed the compact on the actions that have been taken by the NRDs in the basin towards compliance, such as acreage reduction.
     He also addressed the purchase of surface water and other options authorized by LB 701, such as vegetation management and stream augmentation to aid compliance efforts.
     However, Fanning said Kansas is serious and expects Nebraska and Colorado to comply with the compact settlement.
     Both Nebraska and Colorado have exceeded their allocations under the terms of the settlement.
     However, Fanning said the states still can't agree on the exact numbers of what that overage is.
     Even after Nebraska found an error in the groundwater model used for the accounting purposes, Fanning said Kansas appears unwilling to concede on any compact accounting issues.
     He said Kansas believes that Nebraska must curtail groundwater pumping in the basin to put more water in the streams for delivery to Kansas.
     Ann Bleed, head of Nebraska's Department of Natural Resources, told the compact members that curtailing groundwater pumping won't have much immediate effect but does have an impact over a longer period of time.
     Her agency is seeking to reduce groundwater allocations in the basin NRDs.
    Heineman here to listen
     Gov. Heineman quizzed a number of farmers and ag industry representatives during his visit on what a workable solution will be.
     He said he believes that lower irrigation allocations are probably a necessity. However, numerous people said that wasn't the immediate answer and would only damage the local economies.
     He was urged by several to give the options developed in LB 701, such as vegetation management and water augmentation, some time to work first.
     Julie Ferguson of Imperial told the governor that allocations of 8.5 inches in average years and five inches in dry years would bankrupt them as farmers.
     She introduced her kids to the governor, stating that if a five-inch allocation was implemented and they went bankrupt as a result, she wanted them to know it would be the governor who was responsible.
     Heineman responded that he doesn't want economic hardship and bankruptcy for farmers but also noted that he's working within the bounds of a compact and settlement that he was not a party to.
     Heineman said later that as governor, he stands ready to hear the harsh criticism of his constituents. That's part of what the job of being governor is all about, he added.
     Prior to leaving, he met privately with Imperial Mayor Annie Longan and several farmers and ag representatives on the water issue, seeking additional input.
    So what's next?
     As it stands now, Nebraska and Colorado are awaiting Kansas' next move. Morrison indicated he would act "fairly quickly and decisively" in seeking compliance from the two states.
     Fanning said the compact settlement has an arbitration process that must first be initiated.
     Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning told the Imperial Republican Tuesday there are "no easy answers" to the situation.
     "We are very focused on this issue in this office," he said, noting they watch it closely on a daily basis and are always ready to respond.
     He praised farmers in the Republican Basin for their efforts and strides to reduce water use in the basin, especially during a drought period.
     Much of that came from voluntary efforts to use less water, he noted, adding that he was proud of what was done towards reaching compliance.
     "Nobody wants to get back into court," Bruning said.
     He said there is a dispute resolution process that must be started first and he feels he has a good working relationship with Kansas and its attorney general.
     "I still hope we can work with them," Bruning said.