MINUTES OF THE
NEBRASKA NATURAL
RESOURCES COMMISSION MEETING
SEPTEMBER 25,
2001
KEARNEY, NEBRASKA
Those in attendance were:
LeRoy Pieper, Chair Roger
Korell, Member
Wayne Davis, Member Roger
Patterson, Director
Joe Hergott, Member Jim
Cook, Staff
Richard Jiskra, Member Steve Gaul, Staff
Wayne Madsen, Member Tom
Pesek, Staff
Jim Van Marter, Member Gayle Starr, Staff
Don Roberts, Member Mike
Onnen
Arlond Garratt, Member Eric Dove
Robert Hahn, Member Steve
Chick
Frank Bartak, Member Bobbi
Kriz-Wickham
Garry Anderson, Member Ken Berney
Vince Kramper, Member Dan Gillespie
Clint Johannes, Member Marty
Marx
Beverly Donaldson, Member Jim Gonsier
Don Larson, Member Tom
Mountford
Ray
Rieker
Commission
Chair, LeRoy Pieper, called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. in a conference
room at the Holiday Inn in Kearney, Nebraska.
NOTICE OF
THE MEETING
Notice
of the meeting was placed in the LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR and the KEARNEY HUB on
September 18, 2001, notifying the public of the meeting.
INFORMATIONAL MATERIAL
The
following items of informational material were distributed during the course of
the meeting and a copy of each is attached to the file copy of the minutes.
1.
Nebraska
Resources Development Fund Present Financial Status Report.
2.
Nebraska
Resources Development Fund Quarterly Report.
3.
Draft
letter to Leon Koehlmoos on Lake Ericson Project.
4.
Status
of Small Watersheds Flood Control Fund.
5.
Summary
of Auctioneer Bids for Sale of Tract at Upper Little Nemaha 36
6.
Soil
& Water Conservation Fund, Expenditures by Month.
7.
Nebraska
Soil and Water Conservation Fund Status Report.
8.
Republican
Basin Water Meter Program Status Report.
9.
Natural
Resources Water Quality Fund Receipts.
10.
Water
Well Decommissioning Cash Fund.
11. NRCS report to the NNRC and
NARD.
MINUTES
It was noted
that the motion on page 4 of the minutes referred to the Middle Republican
Basin and it should say only the Republican Basin. Motion was made by Kramper and seconded by Jiskra to approve
the minutes with the above noted correction.
Motion carried.
Aye: Madsen, Van Marter, Johannes, Hahn, Roberts, Hergott, Davis,
Jiskra, Donaldson, Bartak, Anderson, Garratt, Larson, Kramper, Korell, Pieper
Nay: None
EXPENDITURES
It was
noted that the expenditure report relating to the five Commission funds for
July and August had been made available to Commission members and would be made
a part of the Commission record.
Tom Pesek explained that
Commission members had received a letter from Roger Patterson to the
Lower Platte North NRD, the sponsor of the Skull Creek
Sites 30 and 31 Resources Development Fund Project proposal. He added that the letter recommends that the
NRD proceed with an application and feasibility report only on site 31 and not on
site 30 at this time because of the low level of land treatment above that
site. He added that there were
additional recommendations and requests for information that were generally
routine. Tom Mountford, representing
the Lower Platte North NRD, indicated that he understood the basis for the
recommendation and that he would be visiting with a committee of directors and
the directors at their board meeting later this week. Motion was made by Jiskra and seconded by Johannes to advise
the Lower Platte North NRD that it may proceed with an application and
feasibility report for Skull Creek Site 31 but recommend that Site 30 not be
included at this time due to the status of land treatment above that site. In addition, the NRD is to address the
comments and questions contained in the letter from the Director of Natural
Resources. Motion carried.
Aye: Van Marter, Johannes, Hahn, Roberts, Hergott, Davis, Jiskra,
Donaldson, Bartak, Anderson, Garratt, Larson, Kramper, Korell, Madsen, Pieper
Nay: None
ADVISOR’S COMMENTS
Steve
Chick, representing the Natural Resources Conservation Service, commented
briefly on the level of technical assistance that they were able to provide
with their limited budget. He also
briefly reviewed program accomplishments in several areas and noted that he was
hopeful that two new RC&Ds might be approved in the coming year.
DIRECTOR’S COMMENTS
Roger
Patterson commented briefly on the state budget situation and the expected
special session of the Legislature that will be dealing with the state’s budget
shortfall issue. He added that the
department might take some significant cuts because of the significant
increases received in the current budget.
He also noted that Deb Bandiola would be on a temporary assignment with
the state NIS project for about a 15 to 18 month time period beginning about
November 1.
He also
mentioned the dedication of the Wakefield Resources Development Fund Project
that he and
Tom
Pesek as well as Commission members Vince Kramper and Garry Anderson had
attended last Saturday in Wakefield.
Vince
Kramper explained that the Environmental Trust had approved 65 applications for
approximately nine million dollars and that those approvals and funding were
being distributed. He added that the
next Environmental Trust meeting would be on November 14 in Omaha.
Patterson noted that the
staff is continuing to work on the Cooperative Agreement as well as the implementation
of the settlement on the North Platte River.
He noted that the masters report on the Nebraska v. Wyoming lawsuit
settlement has been finalized and will be submitted to the Supreme Court in the
very near future with a recommendation that the settlement be approved.
He added that activity on
the Republican River lawsuit is moving rather quickly since the trial is
currently scheduled for March of 2003.
He added that there had been some discussion about settlement negotiations
and a meeting with Kansas, Colorado, and the federal government is planned for
October to discuss the possibility of settlement negotiations and what issues
might be settled before trial commences.
Jim Cook explained that some
individuals in the Eustis area in Frontier County had signed petitions
requesting that a portion of northeast Frontier County be moved from the Middle
Republican NRD to the Central Platte NRD and that the Middle Republican NRD, in
turn, had requested approval of the transfer of 38 sections in that area to the
CPNRD. He added that the area involved
is part of the Platte River surface water basin, that there had been a hearing
in Eustis concerning this proposal, that all testimony received was favorable,
that each Commission member had been provided with a copy of the hearing
transcript and all exhibits, and that both the Middle Republican and the
Central Platte NRDs had endorsed the change.
Motion was made by Kramper and seconded by Larson to adopt NRC order
2001-01 which approves the
boundary change as requested. Motion
carried. A copy of that order is attached to these
minutes.
Aye: Johannes, Hahn, Hergott, Davis, Jiskra, Donaldson, Bartak,
Anderson, Garratt, Larson, Kramper, Korell, Madsen, Van Marter, Pieper
Nay: Roberts
COMPREHENSIVE
PLANNING COMMITTEE
Steve Gaul briefly reviewed the National Hydrologic Data Base project that the agency is involved in. He noted that there were a number of other agencies and organizations interested in this project and contributing to the project in some way. He outlined the various types of information to be developed from the project. Gaul also briefly noted that the carbon sequestration program is moving along with the first report to be submitted by December. Gaul also noted that the staff has been working with USGS in updating water use estimates for the state.
Gaul and Starr also noted that because of the agency’s significant involvement in geographic information systems projects and programs, a coordinator position has been established to better coordinate those activities. They also noted that Data Bank personnel have been providing information to NRDs regarding the 2000 census for use in their election subdistricting process.
PROGRAM
COMMITTEE
Tom
Pesek briefly reviewed the Resources Development Fund financial status report
and quarterly report of projects.
Milton Moravek explained that the Central Platte NRD was requesting a
shift in obligated funds from one component to another component of their Lower
Wood River/Warm Slough Resources Development Fund project. He further explained that the construction
of the bridges involved had been accomplished at a lower cost than the
estimates but that additional funds were needed for easements because of the
Corps redesign of the upper end of the project. He added that the request was that $267,300 be transferred from
component #3 (relocations/bridges) to component #1-A (land and easements). Motion was made by Garratt and seconded
by Anderson to transfer $267,300 in obligated funds from component #3
(relocation/bridges) to component #1-A (land and easements) of the Lower Wood
River/Upper Warm Slough Project effective immediately. Motion carried.
Aye: Kramper,
Korell, Madsen, Van Marter, Johannes, Hahn, Roberts, Hergott, Davis, Donaldson,
Bartak, Anderson, Garratt, Larson, Jiskra, Pieper
Nay: None
Mike Onnen, Manager of the Little Blue NRD, and Eric Dove, representing Shemmer Associates, the consultant on the project, reviewed the Little Sandy Watershed Resources Development Fund project application and responded to questions concerning the project.
Tom
Pesek briefly reviewed the Small Watersheds Flood Control Fund status report
and noted that it would be necessary to hire an auctioneer for the sale of an
80-acre tract in the Upper Little Nemaha Watershed in January. He distributed information regarding two
bids that were received from auctioneers for auctioneering services.
Motion
was made by Larson and seconded by Hahn to accept the bid of Bill Rut (1% of
the sale price if the high bid is accepted, 0 dollars if the high bid is
rejected) for the auction of the Lamb tract (80 acres) at Upper Little Nemaha
Site 36. Motion carried.
Aye: Roberts,
Hergott, Davis, Jiskra, Donaldson, Bartak, Anderson, Garratt, Larson, Kramper,
Korell, Madsen, Van Marter, Johannes, Hahn, Pieper
Nay: None
Gayle Starr briefly reviewed status reports provided to the Commission on the Soil and Water Conservation Fund, the Republican Basin Water Meter Fund, the Natural Resources Water Quality Fund, and the Water Well Decommissioning Fund.
Ken
Berney, Assistant Manager of the Lower Elkhorn NRD, and Dan Gillespie and Marty
Marx, representing the Natural Resources Conservation Service, provided the
Commission with a briefing on the no-till incentive program that the Lower
Elkhorn NRD has been utilizing for several years. It was noted that under the current Soil and Water Conservation
Fund law incentive payments were not authorized but that the NARD had just
passed a resolution asking the Legislature to make a change in the law to allow
such practices. Gillespie, Marx, and
Berney responded to a number of questions about how the program works and how
it might be operated. It was agreed
that the department staff would work with Lower Elkhorn NRD representatives and
others to develop the law changes that were needed as well as the program
requirements for consideration by the Commission at their November meeting.
NEXT MEETING
It was
agreed that the Commission meeting would be November 15 and 16 and that a tour of
several projects and proposed projects in the Lincoln area would be held
starting at 10:00 a.m. on the 15th.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned
at approximately 5:20 p.m.
________________________________________ ________________________________________
Chairman Director of Natural Resources