Well Permit Status in the Lower Platte North NRD
Dec. 12 , 2008
On December 11 a large number of permits to drill new irrigation wells began to be submitted in anticipation of our basin being declared fully appropriated by the Department of Natural Resources. In order to protect these individuals from economic loss the decision has been made to accept, but not process any new permits to drill until after the first of the year. Background information for this decision is as follows:
By January 1 of each year the State of Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is required to make an assessment ofthe availability of unappropriated water in each river basin. If a fully appropriated declaration is made by the Director of DNR an immediate stay is placed on any new high capacity well drilling and any expansion of irrigated acres. Further any well permit i~sued by the NRD is placed on hold unless the well has been drilled and registered with DNR prior to the date of declaration. The NRD can place new conditions on permits which were placed on hold. If these conditional permits are allowed to drill new wells, the water used from these conditional permits must be offset (other irrigated land must be converted to dryland).
A stay is also placed to not allow the expansion of irrigated acres. If your crop harvested in 2008 or prior years was irrigated, then this land is protected and you may continue to irrigate this same number of acres. If you are the owner of a new permitted and registered well you cannot use that well to irrigate land that has not irrigated a crop in or before the 2008 crop year. Any expansion of irrigated acres is not allowed during the stay process. Afterthe stay is lifted you cah only expand irrigation on to new non-irrigated ground if an OffSet is provided (other irrigated land must be converted to dryland).
Due to the declaration the NRD and DNR are required to prepare an integrated management plan which outlines how both ground and surface water will be managed in the basin. Expect the plan to take approximately three years to be completed and approved by both the state and by the NRD. Once the Integrated Management Plan is in place the stay on well drilling is automatically lifted however the stay on expansion of irrigated acres is permanent.
If our basin is not declared fully appropriated then permits received and not processed will undergo our normal review process. We legally have up to 30 days to issue or deny well permits. From January 1, 2008 through December 10, 2008 we have issued 48 high capacity well permits for new uses.