News Release from
The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District

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

July 2, 2007 Board Meeting Summary

(HOLDREGE, Neb.) -- The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District's board of directors made several revisions to its annual budget at Monday's monthly meeting necessary to implement projects to control invasive species at Lake McConaughy, remove accumulated debris from the portals of the lake's main outlet structure, and make immediate repairs at the Kingsley Hydroplant.

The first revision added $255,000 to the budget to carry out a salt cedar management project at Lake McConaughy. Central has committed $105,000 toward the project and secured contributions of $75,000 from the Nebraska Attorney General's office (part of funds stemming from an environmental lawsuit settlement), and $75,000 from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

Central has also submitted an application to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture for additional grant funds to expand the project intended to control invasive plant species -- primarily salt cedar -- that has proliferated at Lake McConaughy in recent years. If fully funded, control measures including herbicide application and mechanical vegetation removal would be implemented on more than 3,300 acres. Work is tentatively scheduled to begin between mid-August and mid-September.

The board also added $40,500 to the budget to fully fund a $280,500 project to remove debris that has accumulated near the base of the outlet tower at Lake McConaughy. The debris, mostly sediment and rock that has slid down from the lower face of the dam, is partially blocking the portals of the tower through which water is released from the reservoir.

The material is not interfering with operations at this time, reported Gothenburg Division Manager Kevin Boyd, but its removal is recommended while the lake is at lower elevations to ease the process. The project is scheduled to begin after the end of the current irrigation season.

Finally, the directors approved the addition of $59,600 to the budget for repair of a 13.8-kilovolt bus at Kingsley Hydro that failed last week. The bus carries power from the hydroplant's generator to the main step-up transformer.

In other activity during the meeting:

• After considerable discussion, the board passed a motion to include an increase in irrigation service rates in the 2008 operating budget, but deferred a final decision on the rate increase, if any, to the budget approval process in December 2007.

Director Robert Johnson of Hastings, whose original motion included a $2/acre increase to the current rate of $24.49/acre, said his motion was intended to convey a commitment on the part of the board to evaluate rate increases for next year. Johnson's motion also included a provision for a meeting with irrigation customers after the current irrigation season to discuss the proposed increase.

Director Robert Petersen of North Platte offered an amendment to Johnson's motion that excluded mention of a specific rate increase, but retained the intention to explore an increase as part of next year's budget. Petersen's amendment passed unanimously and the amended motion passed on a 9-4 vote with directors Robert Dahlgren and Doyle Lavene of Bertrand, Dudley Nelson of Axtell and Scott Olson of Minden voting against the measure. Directors Geoff Bogle of Elwood and O.J. McDougal of Hastings were absent.

The dissenting directors all cited concerns about raising irrigation rates before the District can guarantee a full supply of irrigation water.

"I haven't been on the board very long (since 1999)," said Director Johnson, "but it seems that we have not seriously discussed raising irrigation rates during that time. Given our budget circumstances, I think we would be remiss to delay consideration of a rate increase."

The last increase in Central's delivery rate occurred prior to the 1997 irrigation season.

• The board approved a contract with the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), subject to legal approval, to implement a project to improve water circulation at Lake Ogallala with the goal of improving the distribution of dissolved oxygen in the lake. To achieve the results, a channel will be dredged in selected portions of the lake bed that will carry oxygen-laden water to areas where dissolved oxygen content is at lower levels.

Funds for the project come from an Environmental Protection Agency Section 319 grant, the Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, the Nebraska Public Power District and Central. The contract with DEQ stipulates that Section 319 funds shall not exceed $465,480, while total project costs will be more than $800,000.

In a related matter, the board approved a contract, subject to legal review, for an amount not to exceed $54,300 with Olsson & Associates to provide the project design and inspections for the Lake Ogallala project.

The project is subject to acquisition of necessary permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

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