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| Nemaha NRD February
2008 Board Meeting Report Tecumseh – Plans are moving forward for a complete restoration of the reservoir at Iron Horse Trail Lake in Pawnee County. Nemaha Natural Resources District board members voted Thursday, February 28, to contract with The Flatwater Group, engineering consultants who will prepare a project plan to include a sediment basin at this public recreation lake. Four more dams will be designed in the Muddy Creek Watershed in Johnson and Nemaha Counties as a result of board action to approve a contract amendment with JEO Consulting. The NRD already has an existing contract with JEO for other planning and design services in Muddy Creek where the District is cost-sharing on grade control projects. The NRD has also agreed to provide up to $10,000 and serve as contracting officer for each of three dam projects currently begin designed by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. District assistance will be combined with federal funds and landowner contributions for construction of these projects. NRD Programs and Projects Committee members heard a request from Greg Carpenter to allow him to have horses within a District mitigation easement area associated with Upper Big Nemaha dam 27-R near Adams. Committee members did not recommend approving the request, however, since this would not be allowed by the easement for the area. The board’s Water Resources Committee reviewed six requests for variances to allow permits to be issued for irrigation wells. Variances were granted to Mike Bean for a well southeast of Nebraska City, to David Benson for a well northeast of Sterling, to Twin Sycamore Farms for a well west of Sterling, and to Lee Thimgan for one well southwest of St. Mary and one northwest of Vesta. A request from Delwin Antholz to construct a well northwest of Cook was not acted upon pending receipt of additional information. An annual lease with the Bunge Corporation for their use of a portion of the Steamboat Trace trail at Brownville was reviewed by the board. At the recommendation of its Operations and Education Committee, the board voted to approve the lease with an allowable three percent increase. Operations and Education Committee members also reviewed six pre-applications for the District’s Urban Special Project cost-share program to determine if the projects meet basic criteria of the program. Applications were received from Falls City, Nebraska City, Pawnee City, and Freeman Public School. Applicants who meet the requirements of the program will be asked to complete more detailed, final applications that will be reviewed in May. The next regular meeting of the Nemaha Natural Resources District board of directors will be on Thursday, March 13, 2008; meetings will return to 8:00 p.m. at the NRD headquarters, 62161 Highway 136, Tecumseh, with committees meeting prior to the full board meeting. Agenda item requests must be submitted at least 24 hours prior to the meeting. |