Procedures for Groundwater Management Area Rule 8 Hearings approved on July 23, 2015

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Several producers that applied for and were denied expedited variances for good cause shown have requested to have the District hold Groundwater Management Area Rule 8 Hearings.  The LENRD Board of Directors approved a rule of procedures for conducting public hearings under Rule 8 of the Groundwater Management Area Rules & Regulations.  These procedures will be similar to those used for hearings to certify irrigated acres.

Rules of Procedure for Rule 8 Hearings

Rules Change to Help Producers & Protect Groundwater

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The Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District (LENRD) Board of Directors met Thursday, April 23 for their monthly meeting.  During the meeting, a public hearing was held to receive public comment on the proposed changes to the LENRD’s groundwater management area rules and regulations.  After hearing testimony from several producers that wanted to develop new irrigated land, the Board approved the proposed changes to the rules.  The Board has been working with staff to modify the district’s rules to allow development of small tracts of land, up to 35 acres, through the district’s expedited variance process.

The new rule applies to producers who fall under either of two very specific categories.

LENRD General Manager, Mike Sousek, said, “The LENRD board felt it important to approve a good cause variance process to address two very specific scenarios which the district encountered during our acre certification process.  One scenario deals with discrepancies discovered with some approved standard variances and the other scenario deals with landowners who were caught in between the rule changes and, through no fault of their own, investments were made and they were not able to complete their irrigation plans.”

Producers who feel they may qualify for a variance under one of the categories should contact the LENRD to apply.  Cooperators will need to provide sufficient evidence that their scenario falls under the good cause variance umbrella.

The district’s old rules didn’t allow for minor modifications when certifying irrigated acres.  Under the rule change, a new category, called a “Variance for Good Cause Shown” will be added to the District’s Expedited Variance Process.  Under this process, the General Manager is authorized to approve or deny applications to add irrigated acres for the situations described above, using a common sense approach.

Sousek added, “The LENRD board will continue to change and modify its groundwater rules and regulations in the future.  These changes will be determined as better science becomes available or when new issues arise, so the district can further develop more comprehensive management plans.  The goal of the LENRD is to promote groundwater development where it is sustainable, all while protecting current and future water users.” 

The new rule becomes effective on May 11th, 2015.

Groundwater Data from Helicopter Flights to be Presented April 13

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Last October, many residents of Northeast Nebraska may have seen a helicopter making low-level flights over areas of the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District (LENRD).

Instruments mounted below a helicopter collected and recorded geologic measurements to learn more about buried sand and gravel aquifers.  The helicopter flew lines spaced approximately three-miles apart over much of Wayne, Pierce, Madison, and Stanton Counties.  Other flight lines were on the order of 12 miles apart and covered the remainder of the LENRD.

A presentation of the groundwater data collected will be given to the public on Monday, April 13that 7:00 in the Lifelong Learning Center on the campus of Northeast Community College in Norfolk.

The LENRD, along with the Eastern Nebraska Water Resources Assessment (ENWRA) the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (NDNR) and the University of Nebraska Conservation and Survey planned and sponsored the flights.

According to Katie Cameron, coordinator of ENWRA, the flights “will improve our understanding of the available ground water resource and potential ground water/surface water connections in an area of the state made more complex by the presence of glacial deposits.”

Exploration Resources International LLC. (XRI) has processed the data and will present the report on the 13th.  Cameron added, “This technology allows for fast data acquisition, upwards of 50 miles per hour, with exploration depth down to 900 feet below the land surface from the air.”

LENRD Water Resources Manager, Rick Wozniak, said, “This is one of the techniques we are using to help us understand more about the geology and groundwater resources across the district.”

Hearing on Proposed Amendments to Groundwater Management Plan

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The LENRD will hold a public hearing during their April board meeting to address the proposed amendments to the rules and regulations of the district's Groundwater Management Plan. The hearing will be held on Thursday, April 23 in the Lifelong Learning Center on the campus of Northeast Community College in Norfolk at 7:30 p.m. The purpose of the hearing is to take public comment on the proposed amendments, which are available below as a PDF:

Report on Airborne Electromagnetic (AEM) survey in the Clarkson/Howells area

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This project began in August 2013 to address the water resource concerns of the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District (LENRD) in the area between the towns of Clarkson and Howells.  This area experienced record groundwater declines during 2012 that caused the LENRD to look for additional information on the groundwater of the area.  Exploration Resources International (XRI) entered into an agreement with LENRD to undertake a hydrogeologic study of the area, using helicopter flights and electromagnetic equipment.  The report below is what they found.

Click here for a copy of the report

LENRD to hold public hearing on May 22

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The Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District will hold a public hearing on Thursday, May 22 at 7:30 p.m. The hearing will be at the Lifelong Learning Center on the campus of Northeast Community College in Norfolk.  The purpose of the hearing is to take public comment on proposed amendments to the District's groundwater management area rules and regulations.  Click on the Water Resources page for the full document and proposed amendments.

LENRD Board continues to make tough decisions in managing goundwater

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The Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District (LENRD) Board of Directors held a special board meeting last week to address groundwater management.  The board decided not to allow new irrigated acres in 2014.  However, they will allow up to 400 acres in some areas where landowners are interested in completing a full circle for a pivot, up to 10 acres per project.  The 400 acres will be split, with 200 in the 10/50 area (area where groundwater is hydrologically connected to a stream or river), and 200 in the non-10/50 area;  this does not include land in the new groundwater quantity subareas in parts of Wayne, Madison, and Pierce Counties.

No supplemental irrigation wells or transfers will be allowed in 2014.  LENRD Board Chair, Joel Hansen of Wayne, said, “The board adopted several motions instructing the staff to research the possibility of future rule changes and to provide the proposals to the board by March 1st.”  These changes would involve recommendations on supplemental wells, requiring flow meters on every irrigation well in five years, enabling the transfer of irrigated acres, and allowing more than 10 acres, if needed, to complete a pivot circle.

Hansen continued, “The staff recommendations will have to go through a process of subcommittee review and public hearing before the full board will decide whether to adopt new rules.”

The restrictions on new irrigation were recommended by staff to give the District time to develop management strategies for problem areas and for areas that may be able to support future development, as well as to delineate these areas.  Contact the LENRD office in Norfolk for more information.

Spring 2013 Groundwater Level Report now available

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Spring measurements provide us with an idea of groundwater levels for estimating the groundwater’s stable, non-pumping level.  The geology in northeastern Nebraska is complex, making a district-wide assessment of groundwater conditions difficult, but the following statistics can give us a general feel for what was found in the irrigation wells measured.

Click here for an important summary of the water levels measured this spring.

 

LENRD enacts controls in three counties

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By GREG WEES gwees@norfolkdailynews.com The Norfolk Daily News

Proposed controls intended to lessen conflicts between owners of domestic wells and irrigation wells in parts of Madison, Stanton and Pierce counties first were tweaked.

Then they became official as the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District board Thursday in Norfolk adopted new rules creating groundwater quantity subareas.

The changes ensued after two earlier meetings, a public hearing and an outpouring of comments over the last several weeks.

“We hope it’s an equitable solution for all. That was our intention,’’ board chairman Rod Zessin of Madison said after the board voted on the rules after a three-hour meeting in front of about 150 people.

One amendment removed the north half of Chapin Township in Wayne County from the subarea. The other change added a public hearing on the new rules in six years, though it’s possible adjustments will be made year-to-year depending on drought conditions.

Standard controls for all subareas are allowing no new irrigated acres, prohibiting off-season irrigation between Sept. 15 and April 15 (unless the NRD is notified it’s for a crop like winter wheat or a cover crop) and requiring four hours of education for irrigators.

The controls also include meters on irrigation wells and requiring new and replacement domestic wells to be deep enough to lessen the likelihood they’ll be affected by irrigation.

However, only two of the four subareas have an allocation limit on how much irrigation water can be used and requiring meters by this May. The other areas have no allocation, and meters don’t have to be in place until May 2014.

The NRD may penalize violations by reducing the irrigation allocation or requiring additional educational requirements.

Before Thursday’s vote, the board heard from attorney David Domina of Omaha, representing some irrigators, who said the meter issue is the biggest concern, and that NRD staff should have flexibility to determine what technology qualifies to measure water used.

But Rick Wozniak, the NRD’s water resources manager, said the existing rules are for in-line flow meters, a proven technology.

Wozniak said allocations were determined by plugging historical data from wells at Elgin and Concord into a model from the University of Nebraska.

“The goal is to make sure in most years a person would have enough water to irrigate . . .  to discourage excessive use,’’ he said.

The rules are a reaction to the ongoing drought that, last year, spawned nearly 140 conflicts between high-volume irrigation wells and shallower domestic wells, which went dry.

Board members rejected spending another $50,000 for domestic well assistance, which has offered up to $1,500 to fix or replace an affected well. The NRD already has provided about $115,000 for the program. Instead, the board voted to fund only the eight pending applications.

The NRD had originally proposed three subareas but ended up with four:

— Battle Creek Subarea takes in all of Battle Creek Township, requires measuring devices by May 2014 and has no allocation of irrigation.

— Pierce County Subarea is Cleveland and Clover Valley Townships, requires measuring devices by May 2014 and has no allocation of irrigation.

— Eastern Madison County Subarea is all of Union and Warnerville Townships, requires measuring devices by this May and allocates 14 acres-inches for sprinkler systems, 18 inches for gravity irrigation and 13 inches for subsurface drip irrigation.

— Wayne County Subarea is the southern half of Chapin Township and all of Hancock, Brenna, Plum Creek and Strahan Townships and Sections 25 through 36 of Hunter and Wilbur Townships. Measuring devices are to be on by this May. Allocation is 13 acre-inches for sprinkler systems, 17 inches for gravity irrigation and 12 inches for subsurface drip irrigation.

In other action, the board:

— Appealed the rejection by the Federal Emergency Management Agency of its application for funds for a diversion channel at Battle Creek. The agency said that bridge construction, which is part of the project, isn’t eligible.

— Set a public hearing for Thursday, Feb. 21, at 6:30 p.m. on a plan to establish a rural water system improvement project area in Madison County, including the land that’s now in the new groundwater quantity subarea.

— Approved a request from the Village of Howells to pay half, or $22,500, of the cost for an engineering agreement with JEO Consulting to complete the reaccreditation of the town’s flood levee.

—  Authorized staff to seek bids and contract for construction of a marina at the Willow Creek State Recreation Area.

 — Agreed to advertise for bids for a steel maintenance building at Maple Creek Recreation Area.

— Elected Joel Hansen of Wayne, chairman; Danny Kluthe of Dodge, vice chairman; Dennis Schultz of Wisner, secretary; and Mike Krueger of Pierce, treasurer. Ken Peitzmeier of Norfolk was elected delegate to the Nebraska Association of Resources Districts.