Central Platte NRD to Hold Cease & Desist Hearing for Dawson County Landowner

(GRAND ISLAND, NE) The Central Platte Natural Resources District (CPNRD) will hold a Cease & Desist hearing for a landowner in Dawson County who is out of compliance with the CPNRD's Rules and Regulations. The hearing will take place at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 23, 2015 at the CPNRD office. The April board of directors meeting will be held that same day at 2:00 p.m.

In 2006, Nebraska's Department of Natural Resources declared the entire Central Platte NRD as "fully appropriated" and declared a "stay on new irrigated acres" within the CPNRD. Due to this stay, any land that is not certified as irrigated with the NRD cannot be irrigated, unless the newly irrigated area is "offset" by applying for and completing a transfer request with CPNRD, prior to new acres being irrigated. Any transfers must be completed before irrigating.

Producers who fail to obtain an approved transfer from the CPNRD are subject to penalties. First offense requires the producer/tenant to offset the newly developed acres. The second and third offenses result in (2) two times and (4) four times the acres, respectfully, required to be offset. A third offense would also be unable to transfer acres for a period of three years.

CPNRD's Rules & Regulations allow producers to continue to develop and expand their operation, while staying in compliance with the law. To date, more than 1,000 water transfers have been approved in the Central Platte Natural Resources District. These transfers allow producers to convert to center pivot irrigation, expand their irrigated base, and even sell the water rights off of a property that they own.

Individuals looking to purchase new land should also check the certified irrigated acres of a property before making any buying decisions. CPNRD has a mapping website (cpnrd.gisworkshop.com) that allows individuals to check certified irrigated acres.

COMMITTEES/BOARD AGENDA:
Kearney Recycling Center Request The Programs Committee will make a recommendation to the board on funding requests made in March by Steve Hart and Shauna Petzold, City of Kearney. The requests included $12,261 to purchase a TeeMark Paint Can Crusher to be used in the new Household Hazardous Waste Facility and annual maintenance funding.
-Variance/Appeals Hearings- The Variance/Appeals Subcommittee will hear appeals from landowners in Custer, Hamilton and Polk counties. 
-Fiscal 2016 Budgets The Eastern Projects, Water Resources and Programs committees will discuss Fiscal 2016 budget requests.
-Eastern & Western Joint Meeting A newly formed subcommittee of the Eastern and Western Projects committees will discuss current and possible snagging and clearing project agreements. Subcommittee members include Mick Reynolds, Jerry Wiese, Ed Kyes, Ladd Reeves, Jim Bendfeldt, Charlie Bicak and Marvion Reichert.
-NRCS- James Huntwork, USDA-NRCS district liaison, will report to the board.
-Canals- Jesse Mintken, projects manager, will give an update on the Dawson County canals.
-Legislation- Mark Czaplewski, biologist, will have an update on legislative bills dealing with natural resources.
-Board Orientation- The Honorable James Doyle IV, District Court Judge, will give a presentation to the board on NRD board governance, authorities and ethics. Staff members Marcia Lee and Kelly Cole will present their job responsibilities as well.
-Cost Share- The board will consider cost share requests by landowners.