GRAND ISLAND, Nebraska – The Central Platte Natural Resources District (CPNRD) held a public hearing on Thursday to receive public comments on the proposed 2024/2025 levy. With the District’s total assessed valuation at $22,391,731,570, the required levy was set at 0.023890 compared to last year's levy of 0.023380. Based on the property tax request, and changes in other revenue, the total operating budget of $34,714,184.14 is less than the 2023/2024 operating budget of $34,955,785.23 by 0.69%.

Lyndon Vogt, General Manager, stated that the total requirements for the general and sinking funds amount to $34,714,184.14, with the required property tax set at $5,349,324.17—an increase of $523,097.42 from last fiscal year.

For a home valued at $100,000, property taxes will be $23.89 next year to support the conservation efforts of the Central Platte NRD. These efforts include flood reduction, water quality and use management, soil health, cost-share for conservation practices, forestry, land management, recreation, and natural resources education. The Central Platte NRD serves all of Dawson County and parts of Custer, Buffalo, Hall, Howard, Nance, Merrick, Hamilton, Platte, Polk, and Frontier counties.

The Board of Directors meetings are held at 2:00 p.m. at the NRD office located at 215 Kaufman Avenue, Grand Island, Nebraska.

OTHER AGENDA/ACTION ITEMS

Building Committee  
The Board approved the Building Committee’s recommendation to approve the amended construction administration services agreement with JEO for $250,000. JEO will provide project coordination and construction administration services for the NRD office and education center, acting as a liaison between CPNRD and Rogge General Contractors to ensure proper execution and address any construction issues.

Variance Request 
The Board denied a variance request from a landowner in Polk County.

Rules and Regulations 
The Water Quality and Water Utilization Committees met to review the proposed updates to the NRD’s Groundwater Management Rules and Regulations. A public hearing is scheduled for 1:45 p.m. on Thursday, September 26th, immediately preceding the Board of Directors meeting. The changes listed below aim to improve groundwater management and ensure the sustainability of water resources in the District.

Proposed Rules and Regulations Changes

Phase I: 0 – 7.5 ppm. The area would include 1,435,307 acres, an increase of 45,621 acres.
Phase II: 7.6 – 10 ppm. The area would include 210,042 acres, a decrease of 212,910 acres.
Phase III: 10.1 ppm and above. The area would include 491,656 acres, an increase of 171,681 acres.

These new phase boundaries were determined using water samples collected by NRD staff each irrigation season and verified by producer data submitted on annual crop forms.

The recommendations for the Rules and Regulations also include changes to several sections:

Certification of Irrigated Acres
Closure of the Management Area to Issuance of New Well Permits
Groundwater Management Areas

Manager’s Report 
Lyndon Vogt, General Manager, reported on the following:

Instream Flows  On August 21, 2024, NeDNR issued an Order approving CPNRD's instream flow appropriations, stating that these appropriations continue to be used beneficially for their intended purposes, are in the public interest and should therefore remain in effect without modifications. These water appropriations are instream flow appropriations on various reaches of the Platte River generally between Lexington and Columbus, NE for the maintenance of habitat for four bird species including the whooping crane (endangered), sandhill crane, least tern and the piping plover (threatened). The flows specified are either a factor in providing bird habitat in the Platte Valley or a factor in providing habitat for food sources consumed by the birds.

WaterSmart Grants  The Bureau of Reclamation authorized funding for three WaterSmart Water and Energy Efficiency Grants that CPNRD applied for:

·       $95,542  Thirty-Mile Irrigation District Canal Efficiency Project to update checks and gates for irrigation efficiency on the Thirty-Mile Irrigation District canal. The remaining cost will be covered by a 50% match from Nebraska Department of Natural Resources.

·       $356,823 for the Southside Irrigation District and Cozad Ditch Company Flow Measurement and Canal Efficiency Project. The project will replace 11 existing outdated manual headgates along two canals that divert irrigation water from the Platte River with automated turnout gates coupled with a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system. The project also includes the installation of two additional automated turnout gates to better control flow. The project is expected to result in annual water savings of 5,140 acre-feet, currently lost to leakage and over-delivery at the canal gates due to operational inefficiencies such as manual gate operation. Conserved water will remain in the Platte River for recreational use, water supply, and other beneficial uses.

·       $291,126 for the Flowmeter, Telemetry, and Data Management System Project. CPNRD and NeDNR will install telemetry-enabled irrigation flow meters to autonomously measure, report, and analyze daily groundwater pumping data at 100 wells throughout the CPNRD. The project is expected to result in annual water savings of 1,162 acre-feet by reducing overirrigation. Conserved water will remain in the local aquifer. The project area also integrates the greater Platte River Recovery and Implementation Plan, aligning increased streamflow from water savings with conservation plans and greater hydrologic health across three states.

New Employees
The following staff introduced themselves to the Board: Courtney Olson, Office Assistant; Devin Hingst, Natural Resources Technician; Jerod Fling, Integrated Water Programs Specialist for Upper Big Blue NRD in York; Carrie Putnam, Integrated Water Programs Specialist with Tri-Basin NRD.

Flood Forecasting Equipment
Vogt said CPNRD is considering installing flood forecasting equipment on some of the NRD’s flood reduction structures and is exploring funding options to purchase and install the equipment over the next couple of years.

Natural Resources Conservation Service   
Joe Krolikowski, District Conservationist, provided a report that announced the newly hired Resource Conservationist for the Central City field office. Kaitlin Stouffer will start on September 23, 2024. Stouffer started her NRCS career in Nebraska as a Pathway Student Intern, and during that time she worked in the northwestern and the northeastern part of Nebraska.

Voting Delegate
The Board elected Deb VanMatre to serve as voting delegate and Jay Richeson as alternate for the Nebraska Association of Resources Districts' annual conference, to be held in September in Kearney.

Long Range Implementation Plan (LRIP) 
Marcia Lee, Information and Education Specialist, presented the draft 2024 LRIP. This plan summarizes the district's activities and is updated annually in accordance with the Nebraska Natural Resources District Act. The board will review the updates and consider approval of the plan during the September meeting.

Nebraska Natural Resources Commission  
Mick Reynolds, Middle Platte Basin Representative, reported the Commission voted to transfer all remaining obligation from land acquisition into construction within the Upper Prairie/Silver/Moores Creek Project. They also closed out 16 projects and made available $97,214.53 of unused grant funding. This unused grant funding was combined with interest earned and FY25 Legislature Appropriation to give a total of $12,155,195.13 for Water Sustainability Fund grants. The Commission approved using this amount to fund a remaining “23 Cap” obligation, 1 CSO project, 7 small projects (under $250,000) utilizing a “24 Cap”.

There are two open appointments on the Commission for Surface Water and Range Livestock Owners. Caucuses will be held in January 2025 for the non-appointed positions that are expiring. Their next meeting will be in October.

Cost Share
Seven applications totaling $27,875 were approved through the Nebraska Soil and Water Conservation and CPNRD cost-share programs. The approved practices include planned grazing, brush management, cover crops and well decommissioning.

Upcoming Board Meetings 
September 26, October 24, November 21, December 19
Central Platte NRD’s Board of Directors meetings are held at 2 p.m. at the CPNRD office located at 215 Kaufman Ave in Grand Island.