(GRAND ISLAND, NE) – On Thursday, the Central Platte Natural Resources District’s (CPNRD) board of directors approved issuing 94 Cease and Desist Orders to producers for failure to submit crop report forms for the CPNRD’s Nitrogen Manage­ment Program.  Landowners will be notified next week of the violations. Over 900 producers are in the Phase II/III program and must file reports for all crops grown including corn, sorghum, potatoes, beans, alfalfa, and all small grains. The form includes actual crop results for the 2017 crop year and planning for the 2018 crop year.

The annual report forms are due March 31st as part of the District’s Groundwater Quality Management Program.  Producers received notices in January, April, and October about required action. Irrigated acres under a cease and desist order cannot be irrigated until they are compliant with the Program.

Potential penalties for violation are: possibility of a fine not less than $1,000 and up to $5,000 per violation and/or a loss of irrigated acres, ineligibility for NRD cost-share, and restriction from transferring any irrigated acres. Violators may request a hearing in front of the Board within ten (10) days of receiving the certified Cease and Desist notification.

OTHER ACTION/AGENDA ITEMS

-Search Committee  Keith Stafford, Deb VanMatre, and Ed Stoltenberg will serve as the Search Committee to recommend appointment of an individual for the Sub-district 4 vacancy. Letters of interest will be accepted until December 31, 2018. The candidate selected will be appointed at the January 2019 CPNRD Board of Directors meeting for a term of two years.  Sub-district 4 includes a portion of East Central Buffalo County including part of Northeast Kearney and a portion of Northwest Hall County. To determine if you live in Sub-district 4, contact CPNRD at (308) 385-6282 or visit cpnrd.org.  Letters of interest should be sent to CPNRD, 215 Kaufman Ave. Grand Island, NE 68803 or emailed to Lyndon Vogt at: vogt [at] cpnrd.org.

-Board Officer Nominating Committee  Deb VanMatre, Alicia Haussler, and Barry Obermiller were elected to serve as the board officer nominating committee to make recommendations for chairman and vice-chairman. Board officers may serve two, two-year terms.

-Integrated Management Plan  Lyndon Vogt, general manager, gave an update on the second increment process for the CPNRD’s Integrated Management Plan (IMP). A draft Plan will be distributed to stakeholders at their final meeting in January. Vogt said the CPNRD’s plan must follow the five goals set for the Basin-Wide Plan for Integrated Water Resources Management for fully and over-appropriated areas in the Platte River Basin:

Basin-Wide IMP Goals

Incrementally achieve and sustain a fully appropriated condition, while maintaining economic viability, social and environment health, safety, and welfare of the basin.
Prevent or mitigate human-induced reductions in the flow of a river of stream that would cause non-compliance with an interstate compact or decree or other formal state contract or agreement.
Partner with municipalities and industries to maximize conservation and water use efficiency.
Work cooperatively to identify and investigate disputes between groundwater users and surface water appropriators and, if determined appropriate, implement management solutions to address such issues.
Keep the Upper Platte River Basin-Wide Plan current and keep stakeholders informed.

The major change in CPNRD’s IMP second increment plan is the amount of water needed to comply with Nebraska’s New Depletion Plan. That Plan requires CPNRD to put water back into the Platte River to equal the level it was at in 1997. During the first increment, best science at the time showed that CPNRD needed to add 1,900 acre-feet to reach the 1997 level.  With newer data, the Plan now requires CPNRD to return 17,000 acre-feet. The increase is due to depletions caused by the addition of 84,900 acres after 1997 in the District. CPNRD has several projects that will assist in meeting the second increment goals.

-Rental Agreement  The board extended a rental cash agreement for one year with Tyler Kugler. CPNRD purchased the land in March 2018 to give the NRD several options to provide recharge to the Platte River through the potential retirement of irrigated acres, transferring water from the South Side Irrigation District canal, and directly discharging flows into the river from an adjacent property. These potential flows back to the river would help the CPNRD meet requirements of CPNRD’s Integrated Management Plan, the Basin-Wide Plan for Integrated Water Resources Management, and Nebraska’s New Depletions Plan.

-Cost-Share  The board approved $2,750 to decommission four wells through CPNRD’s well decommissioning cost share program.

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Marcia Lee

Information/Education Specialist

Central Platte Natural Resources District

215 Kaufman Ave  Grand Island NE 68803

(308) 385-6282  www.cpnrd.org