Return to Board Meeting Updates
| Nemaha NRD Dec.
2006 Board Meeting Report Tecumseh –Water remained a major topic on the agenda of the Nemaha Natural Resources District’s regular meeting held Thursday, December 14. Because of the moratorium on new, high capacity wells enacted throughout the District back in May, the board was faced with several issues regarding variances this month. First, the staff had asked for some guidelines from the board that could be used when addressing requests for variances. The board was presented with a questionnaire to help determine what criteria should be used when deciding on variance requests. No action was taken, and directors were asked to complete and submit the questionnaire to the staff. Mike Schaardt, whose variance requests for two irrigation wells near Elk Creek were denied by the board last month, asked the board for clarification and reconsideration of his request. Staff investigation had indicated the aquifer would support the 300 gallons per minute capacity of these wells. After further discussion on his request, the board reversed its decision and approved the two well permits. Variance requests from Paul Burgett for two irrigation wells in Richardson County were also approved by the board. Each well is estimated to pump 500-600 gallons per minute, and staff determined that these would be feasible and that no other high capacity wells were located within one mile. E Energy Adams submitted a variance request for a commercial/industrial well near their ethanol plant northwest of Adams. Estimated capacity is 300 gallons per minute, and staff indicated that the closest high capacity well, not owned by E Energy Adams, was 4800 feet away. Therefore, the board approved the request. The Village of Adams was also asking to construct a new public water supply well with a capacity of 200 gallons per minute. Staff explained that two of their three existing wells are on emergency use status due to problems with these wells. Several other irrigation wells are within a one-mile radius of the proposed well, and one is just within the District’s limit of 1320 feet. Therefore, the new well would have to be located at least 1320 feet from the existing well. With that noted, the board approved the variance. More discussion took place on the request from Keith Joekel to withdraw water from Upper Big Nemaha structure J-34. Mr. Joekel proposes to then transfer the water to Upper Big Nemaha structure J-37 to be withdrawn for irrigation. Both structures are located north of Crab Orchard in Johnson County. Mr. Joekel was present to address his concerns about a proposed agreement, which could require him to provide water to a downstream landowner’s pond during periods of limited precipitation. No action was taken, and the board agreed to continue discussions with Mr. Joekel. Staff provided a draft “Request for Proposals” to hire a hydro-geologist to help with collecting geologic and groundwater data necessary for updating the District’s Groundwater Management Plan. A state grant will fund much of the cost of this work, and the board approved proceeding with requesting these proposals. The board approved an interlocal agreement with four other NRDs to participate in the Eastern Nebraska Water Resources Assessment Project. This project will use electromagnetic imaging to better map geology in glaciated areas of Nebraska. One of three pilot projects will be located near Firth, and the Nemaha NRD’s contribution for the first year will be $10,000. The Department of Natural Resources has also pledged funding for the first year, and the project will take three years. Annual updates to seven emergency action plans were approved by the board. The plans include procedures, contact information, and other details to protect downstream communities in the event of a dam failure. Communities protected by these plans include Adams, Firth, Bennet, Tecumseh, and Otoe. NRD staff, Steve Bartels and Vernon Speers, reviewed the District’s four public recreation lakes, Kirkman’s Cove, Iron Horse Trail Lake, Wirth Brothers Lake, and Prairie Owl. They provided information about the improvements and maintenance issues at the parks, efforts to better patrol the parks, long-range plans, and revenues collected from vehicle permits. They reviewed the mowing contract, which was also up for renewal this month. Two bids were received for the three-year contract, and Jeff McClintock’s low bid of $13,600 per year was approved for mowing at all four parks. In action from the Executive Committee, the board approved a two-year extension to the current property/liability insurance coverage offered by Cincinnati Insurance. The extension will begin July 1 and will be at the same rate as the current policy. The board approved a resolution declaring Kenneth Brinkman ineligible to serve on the NRD board as a director from subdistrict 6. It was discovered after Brinkman filed that he was just across the border and actually in subdistrict 5; however, his name did not get removed from the general election ballot prior to the November election. Though Brinkman received the majority of votes in the election, he would be ineligible to serve. Therefore, the board also directed staff to proceed with advertising for written requests to fill the vacancy that will occur in this office in January. Jim Rush, Tecumseh, is currently serving in this position. The next regular meeting of the Nemaha Natural Resources District board of directors will be on Thursday, January 11, 2007, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the NRD headquarters, 62161 Highway 136, Tecumseh. Agenda item requests must be submitted at least 24 hours prior to the meeting. |