By Russ Pankonin
    The Imperial Republican
     Patrons in the Upper Republican Natural Resource District (URNRD) will get the opportunity to provide input on the district's new integrated management plan (IMP) Thursday, Nov. 1.
     The board voted during their regular meeting last week to set a special hearing for 7:30 p.m., Nov. 1 at the Lied Imperial Library to review the IMP and get input from patrons throughout the district.
     Getting a final draft of the IMP completed that was agreeable to both the URNRD and the Department of Natural Resources has proved to be no small task.
     A special meeting was held two weeks ago to discuss the first draft, seen by the whole board for the first time.
     Some changes were made to the plan following that meeting, with further discussion taking place during last week's meeting.
     Even after adoption of the draft earlier in the meeting, the board voted to reconsider and brought the IMP back up for further changes before adopting it a second time.
     The primary change dealt with a situation in which the Upper, Middle and Lower NRDs were all within their proportional share of depletions but the state remained out of compliance with the compact settlement with Kansas.
     Jasper Fanning, manager of the URNRD, said the particular language serves as a catch-all for such an unforeseen circumstance.
     In that case, the percentage of any further net depletions to stream flow would be assigned to the districts as previously agreed.
     That breakdown includes 44 percent to the Upper, 30 percent to the Middle and 26 percent to the Lower.
     However, Fanning said it is highly unlikely that the three districts would all be in compliance and the state would remain out of compliance with the compact settlement.
     It is possible the board could consider the IMP for final adoption at their November meeting, which will be either Nov. 6 or 13.
     People interested in obtaining a copy of the IMP can contact the URNRD office in Imperial. The NRD office will also e-mail a draft copy upon request.
     Fanning said that once the IMP is complete, work will continue on the rules and regulations for the next allocation period.
     Discussions during the special meeting two weeks ago indicated the groundwater committee is considering leaving the allocation at its present level, 13.5 inches, but reducing irrigated acres by five percent.
     Fanning said work is underway by the committee on the new rules and regs, which must be published, followed by a hearing before adoption.
    Board accepts new building bid
     On a 7-3 vote, board members voted to approve a negotiated bid with Rhoads Construction Company of Goodland, Kan., for the construction of a new 9,400 square-foot facility on East 5th Street in Imperial.  Working with the architect and the contractor, the NRD was able to change some materials without affecting the building to reduce the cost by nearly $34,000. That will bring the cost of the building down to about $95 per square foot.
      Board member Jeff Wallin has frequently expressed his opposition to a new building and did so again last week.
     "I believe we have burdened the taxpayers enough this year," he said, referring to an increased levy and an occupation tax on irrigated acres to pay for surface water purchase bonds.
     Another member, Kerry Bernhardt, asked about the projected cost to remodel the existing facility and seek the purchase of adjoining property.
     The architect said remodeling and adding on to a neighboring building would still run about $95 per square foot.
     Board member Tom Terryberry said if the board spends money on a remodel it would probably end up needing more space, resulting in a new building anyway.
     He noted there's never a good time to build a new facility and said the district would get no return on money spent on the existing facility.
     Wallin, Bernhardt and Mick Strand voted against accepting the bid while Terryberry, Dean Large, Donn Gengenbach, Greg Pelster, Terry Martin, Tom Gaschler and Mike Mosel voted to accept. Tim Schilke was absent.
     The negotiated price was $896,009 with a construction period of 270 days.
    Water for pipeline testing granted
     Board members approved the use of 25 million gallons of water for testing a portion of the new 42-inch natural gas pipeline under construction across Nebraska.
     The pipeline company reached agreements with Leon Shaw of Grant and the Grant Golf Club to pump the water from their wells.
     Of the 25 million gallons, 10 million will come from Shaw and the other 15 million gallons from the Grant Golf Club.
     If any additional water is needed for the testing, it will be charged against the allocations of Shaw and the golf club.
     Golf club spokesman John Long of Grant said they reduced their pumping by nearly 20 million gallons this summer due to flooding on the course in early June.
     As a result, he felt they should be able to remain within their allocation.
     The water will be moved through various sections of the pipeline, to as far west at Sedgwick County, Colo., for the pressure testing.
     In granting the request, once testing is complete, the board required the pipeline company to discharge the water from the pipeline in the vicinity from where it's initially being pumped.
     Pipeline officials said their disruption of irrigated fields this summer during construction likely reduced overall pumping along the pipeline corridor.
     As a part of compact compliance efforts, the board requested the company provide an estimate of reduction in consumptive use due to their construction.