News Release from
The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District

Date: April 2, 2007
Contact: Tim Anderson, Public Relations Manager
Phone: (308) 995-8601

April 2007 Board Meeting Summary

(HOLDREGE, Neb.) -- The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District's board of directors unanimously directed legal staff at Monday's monthly meeting to begin preparation of administrative actions to present to the North Platte Natural Resources District to protect inflows to Lake McConaughy.

The action is intended to include recognition of the impact of groundwater pumping on flows in the North Platte River as the North Platte NRD prepares its integrated management plan for water resources. Central has long maintained that groundwater development above Lake McConaughy is interfering with inflows to the reservoir, the source of water for Central's irrigation and hydropower project.

LB 962, passed by the 2004 Nebraska Legislature, requires NRDs and the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to develop integrated management plans addressing hydrologically connected surface water and groundwater in river basins designated as fully or over-appropriated. The North Platte River in Nebraska's Panhandle is designated as over-appropriated by the DNR.

Central's Public Relations Manager Tim Anderson said LB 962 provides a tool to address conflicts between uses of surface water and groundwater, as well as principles of fundamental fairness when resolving such conflicts.

"Central would like to see these tools and principles put to work in resolving issues concerning our water rights and inflows to Lake McConaughy," Anderson said.

In a related matter, the board voted 12-3 to postpone a decision on whether to begin legal proceedings against groundwater users in the Pumpkin Creek watershed. Directors Robert Garrett of Minden, Dave Rowe of Johnson Lake, and Doyle Lavene of Bertrand cast the dissenting votes. It is the third time Central has postponed a vote on pursuing legal remedies in the Pumpkin Creek watershed.

Pumpkin Creek is a tributary of the North Platte River above Lake McConaughy and is at the center of another legal battle pitting the owner of the Spear T Ranch against neighboring groundwater users. In 2005, the Nebraska Supreme Court overturned a Morrill County District Court ruling and returned the case to the district court, in effect saying that Spear T could collect damages against its neighbors if it could prove that groundwater pumping had depleted flows in Pumpkin Creek and interfered with the ranch's ability to divert water from the stream for irrigation.

The case remains pending before the Morrill County District Court.

Central attempted to intervene in the case, citing groundwater pumpers' interference with return flows to the North Platte River that can be stored in Lake McConaughy. The Supreme Court denied Central's motion to intervene last summer, prompting Central to consider filing litigation on its own.

Central's board first considered filing legal action against Pumpkin Creek groundwater users last September, but delayed the decision until the December meeting. After encouraging meetings with the North Platte NRD, which is responsible for groundwater management in the North Platte and Pumpkin Creek basins, Central voted at the December meeting to delay a decision on litigation until the April board meeting.

Monday's action further delays consideration of litigation until June 2 to allow time for discussions with the North Platte NRD to produce acceptable results.

The board's motive for delaying a decision on litigation is influenced by signs of progress in negotiations with representatives of the North Platte NRD's board of directors, said Anderson.

"There are meetings scheduled over the next few weeks that have the potential to produce results which could make a lawsuit unnecessary," he said. "A portion of the board believes that we've waited long enough to initiate legal action, but right now the majority is willing to allow administrative measures one more chance to succeed."

Also at Monday's meeting:

• Conservation Director Marcia Trompke reported that 92.5 acres in pivot corners irrigated by Central customers have enrolled in the "Conservation Corners" Program, a voluntary pilot program intended to create incentives for establishment of wildlife habitat in the area and reduce irrigation water use. Yearly payments for the five-year program range from $125/acre if public access is allowed to $100/acre without public access. Central agreed to pay an additional $25/acre to its customers who enroll in the program.

• Irrigation Water Management Specialist Curtis Scheele gave a report covering his activities over the past year, including work with the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP), on-farm demonstration sites, ultrasonic water measurements and other duties. Central, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Tri-Basin NRD jointly fund the specialist position.

• Lake McConaughy's elevation as of Monday was 3216.7 feet above mean sea level with a volume in storage of 627,900 acre-feet (36 percent of capacity). The lake's water level and storage volume are 4 feet and 70,800 acre-feet, respectively, lower than on April 2 last year.

Inflows during March averaged just over 800 cubic feet per second (cfs), about 60 percent of the historical average for the month.

Snowpack accumulation in Wyoming's upper North Platte Basin was 76 percent of the 30-year average, 82 percent in the lower North Platte Basin, and 100 percent of average in Colorado's South Platte River Basin.

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