Return to Board Meeting Updates
| Nemaha NRD Nov.
2006 Board Meeting Report Tecumseh – Nemaha Natural Resources District directors were updated on the status of water resources in southeast Nebraska by NRD Water Department staff Chuck Wingert and Charlie Pierce. In their biannual report to the board during their meeting Thursday, November 9, they reported that groundwater quality is showing slight improvement in the Phase II area, which generally encompasses the northwestern corner of Richardson County. Toxic algae, while still prevalent at both Kirkman’s Cove near Humboldt and Iron Horse Trail Lake near DuBois this past summer, resulted in only two weeks of lake closures for each location this year. Fifty-eight abandoned wells were closed in FY06, and up to 100 are awaiting closure within some wellhead protection areas, where funding from the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality will help pay the costs. On the quantity side of things, it was no surprise that water levels have shown a decline throughout the District with some specific areas showing greater decreases than others. Last year 119 new wells were permitted by the District; however, since the board set a temporary, two-year closure to well permits beginning in May, several requests for variances have now been received. Three variance requests were on the agenda for the board’s Programs and Projects Committee. Of the three, one that requested two wells south of Nebraska City to be used for flooding an area for waterfowl hunting received board approval. A request for two wells in Johnson County near St. Mary and another request for two wells near Elk Creek, also in Johnson County, were narrowly voted down by the board at this time. A proposal from Norm Koester Engineering to develop breach inundation mapping for Upper Big Nemaha dam site 11-A near Firth was approved by the board. Koester quoted fees of $8,975 to provide the map, which is needed for emergency action planning in the event the structure would ever fail. The board took no action on proposed changes to its bylaws as they relate to procedures for placing items on the board’s agenda. Should the board decide to make the changes, public notice of the proposed action will be advertised prior to the meeting. They also deferred action until next month on a revision to a policy regarding director expenses. An interlocal agreement to participate in the Eastern Nebraska Water Resources Assessment Project was reviewed by the board’s Executive Committee. This project will use electromagnetic imaging to better map geology in glaciated areas of Nebraska. Five other NRDs are involved in the project as well. Because the agreement was not yet in its final form, no action was taken to approve it at this meeting. A proposed agreement with Keith Joekel to irrigate from Upper Big Nemaha structure J-34 in Johnson County was not received for the meeting, so no action was required. Proposals for a hydro-geology consultant to assist in collecting data for updating the District’s Groundwater Management Plan were also not yet available by meeting time. Gerald Royal, Palmyra, and Paul Weber, Firth, were appointed to serve as the nominating committee for new officers for 2007. The board also voted to set their meeting times for the December, 2006, through March, 2007, meetings at 6:00 for committees and 7:00 for the full board meeting. The next regular meeting of the Nemaha Natural Resources District board of directors will be Thursday, December 14, 2006, at 7:00 p.m. at the NRD office east of Tecumseh. Agenda item requests must be submitted at least 24 hours prior to the meeting. |