By Russ Pankonin
    The Imperial Republican
     Negotiations between the Upper Republican Natural Resource District and the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources appear to be leading to some type of agreement on allocations for the district.
     During their regular meeting Tuesday, Sept. 4, the board learned that DNR has conceded that NRD's rules and regulations, which include the groundwater irrigation allocations, do not need to be part of the integrated management plan approved by DNR.
     By removing the rules and regulations and accompanying allocation from the IMP, the NRD and DNR will not have to agree on allocations before the NRD can move forward with setting allocations.
     Instead, the URNRD will develop rules and regulations that will keep the district within its 44 percent share of depletion of Nebraska's total allowable depletion under the terms of the Republican River Compact Settlement with Kansas.
     NRD Manager Jasper Fanning said Tuesday night that based on what irrigators pumped in 2005 and 2006, the district would not be facing drastic allocation changes. That assumes average rainfall conditions exist going forward, he noted.
     In a resolution passed by the board, they agree to stay within their 44 percent depletion level in both average and below-average rainfall years.
     In years of below-average rainfall, the resolution authorizes the use of stream-flow enhancement or augmentation projects to help the district stay within its 44 percent depletion factor.
     The remainder of state's depletion under the compact settlement is divided among the Middle and Lower Republican NRDs.
    Reversal of DNR position
     The reversal of DNR's position not to make allocations part of the IMP marks a positive step for the NRDs to be able to set their own allocations within compact compliance depletion factors.
     Negotiations between the basin NRDs and DNR have been nothing short of contentious since DNR said that lower allocations would be required as part of the next IMP period, beginning next year.
     Initially, DNR said allocations in the URNRD would have to drop to as low as 8.5 inches in normal precip years and 5.5 inches in dry years to achieve compliance.
     In the other districts, the reductions were even greater.
     That touched off a fire storm across the Republican Basin, pitting NRDs against the DNR.
     According to DNR's water model, all irrigation wells in the basin could be shut down for five years and it would still not bring Nebraska into compliance.
     During the August compact meeting between Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado, Kansas insisted that groundwater pumping in Nebraska had to be curtailed.
     Ann Bleed, head of DNR, 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.
     Fanning said the district must stay within its depletion factor and begin addressing other issues, such as the lag effect on stream flow created by years of groundwater pumping.
     Instead of arguing over allocations, Fanning said DNR put the responsibility for compliance and depletion factors back on the NRDs.
     Fanning said this method keeps the local NRDs in control of allocations, rather than the state.
     Under provisions of LB 962, if DNR and the NRD would not have been able to agree on an acceptable allocation, the issue would have gone before the Inter-related Water Board.
     This board, comprised of five members-two appointed by the governor and three more appointed from a list submitted by the Natural Resources Commission-would have determined what the allocation should be.
     Instead, the control will remain local.
     A further report on other action by the NRD board, including budget approval and building bids, will appear in next week's edition.