Annual meeting recap

NWU Radio Script

2-12-01

Copyright

The change between administrations in Washington, D.C., may mean a change in water policy, according to the new executive director of the Family Farm Alliance.

Craig Smith began working with the alliance last fall, an organization that operates throughout the western United States and fights for state's water rights on a national level. Smith made his remarks at the recent annual meeting of the Nebraska Water Users.

With the change of administration in Washington, D.C., Smith noted it will be interesting to see who will be appointed to key positions in the Department of Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation, both of which have had tremendous impacts on water use in the West.

"The problem with the Clinton Administration was key decisions were not made by people on the ground in the agencies, but rather by people at the White House and George Frampton at the Center of Environmental Policies," said Smith. "This can't continue. To answer some of the key questions the Alliance has put together a white paper titled: Western Water Policy - A New Vision."

The paper proposes some policy recommendations that Smith said he hopes find new light with the new administration.

The double-edged sword in the policy debate is that people might relax a bit because there is a new President in Washington. "The problem is the federal government is erring on the conservative side toward (endangered) species and that attitude is not going to change overnight. What we need to do is take time to educate the key policy makers in the new administration. Since we have a much more receptive audience we must not miss the opportunity," said Smith.

The current energy crunch in California might provide the opportunity for some interesting alliances with irrigated agriculture. "Starting new water supplies has just not been politically correct. But the solution to a lot of urban growth problems is developing water supplies solely for municipal use. Irrigated agriculture must be willing to do this."

These could also be used for power generation, and in light of the current power shortage, could be a premium that drives the country toward a more balanced point of view, he said.

The day's second guest speaker was Lee Orton, a Lincoln water attorney. Orton discussed contract renewals recently achieved for irrigation districts in the Republican Basin and also talked about the Republican River lawsuit with Kansas. The contracts call for repayment of district facilities and repayment for water by customers.

The contract renew process officially began in 1993 in hopes of achieving new contracts before the old ones expired in 1997. Unfortunately, said Orton, the districts had to seek annual extensions until legislation passed granting new 40-year contracts this past fall. It was almost as if there was a deliberate effort not to renew contracts, said the attorney.

"Attitudes at the Board of Reclamation changed radically in mid-stream. Had that not happened we might still be at it," he said.

While the contracts provide the districts the opportunity to develop operational plans that finally allow conservation work, necessary repairs and so forth, Orton pointed out they have nothing to do with the water supply. "This is a drought situation," he said, noting that water will be tight.

Republican Basin irrigation districts have already been informed they will be receiving water allotments that will be roughly half of what they received last year. "We will get between 2 1/2 and 9 inches of water, depending on the ditch," said Mike Delka, who manages the Bostwick Irrigation District. "Our range last year was from 5-15 inches."

Orton also touched on the Kansas vs. Nebraska lawsuit on the Republican, noting the Special Master in charge of the case has put it on a fast track. "The Special Master wants this done in the next two years, but neither state is ready to finish the case in that time frame."

The last set of briefs was submitted in mid-January in response to three issues set by the special Master. His office has not issued a report on the latest paperwork.

                                                -30-