May 7 , 2007
Dear Fellow Nebraskans:
I write this week to share news that the landmark legislation passed by Legislature in recent weeks is now law. LB 701 creates a Water Resources Cash Fund (WRCF) for the state and provides for a steady influx of funding to help address Nebraska’s water-related priorities in the years to come.
As I said in my State of the State address at the start of the year, we need to do a better job of planning ahead for the challenges that await us with regard to water. LB 701 ensures that we can begin putting money aside to address the water management challenges we face.
This bill will help our state make substantial progress towards our goal of achieving sustainable water use throughout Nebraska, working with local water users, policymakers, agricultural producers and others. It also helps address our short-term issues in the Republican River Basin and creates a framework for tackling our long-term water challenges elsewhere in the state.
To address short-term water challenges, the bill provides $3 million for DNR to negotiate a one-year lease of surface water rights in the Bostwick Irrigation District to help the state comply with the Republican River Basin Interstate Compact. The bill also provides $2 million to begin a vegetation removal program and gives bonding authority to NRD’s in fully and over appropriated regions in order to generate the funding needed to meet consumptive use targets through 2012. Bonds would be paid off through fees or taxes levied by local NRD’s.
The WRCF will be administered by the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and draw on contributions from several sources, including an annual contribution of $2.7 million in state funding over the next 12 years.
An additional $6 million in General Funds will be allocated to DNR for distribution to NRD’s for regulatory activities in the next two years. We will request an annual contribution of $300,000 from the Nebraska Environment Trust and will direct federal money received for water conservation projects in the coming years to the fund. Finally, the fund will receive deposits beginning in 2012 from revenue generated by a check-off on corn and grain sorghum products, which expires in 2019.
LB 701 provides both the state and Nebraska’s Natural Resources Districts (NRD’s) with the valuable tools needed to help meet our interstate responsibilities and provide some assistance to our affected basins as they struggle to reduce the use of water.
Money dispersed from the fund will be used to help the state continue to comply with interstate compacts and agreements, and reduce consumptive water use in areas declared to be fully or over appropriated.
While there are no easy decisions when it comes to achieving sustainable water use, all those involved in discussions on water policy in recent years agree that we need to work toward a solution. That is why I want to commend the many individuals, organizations and locally elected officials for their commitment to helping Nebraska move forward in a pro-active and positive way. This comprehensive bill would not have been possible without their work and that of the Nebraska Legislature.
By ensuring that our state has the funding necessary to devote to programs that will better manage our water supply, all those involved in supporting this legislation have put the best interests of our state first. LB 701 is vital legislation that will help us take the next step in becoming better stewards of our state’s most valuable natural resource.
