BEUTLER'S BRIDGE TO TROUBLED WATERS
© 1998 Joe Murray

I am confused. I thought it was the duty of a Nebraska senator to represent the State of Nebraska. Lincoln Senator Chris Beutler is sponsoring Legislative Bill 921. This bill would impose a moratorium on irrigation well drilling and require all existing wells to have meters to record how much water it uses in the alluvial aquifer of the Republican River. This might not sound like a bad idea, but put it in the light of the dispute between Kansas and Nebraska. Beutler ought to change his name to Benedict Arnold because he is aiding and abetting Kansas in its potential lawsuit against Nebraska.

In 1942, Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado entered into the Republican River compact. The compact specified that the river’s water should be split as follows. Nebraska would get 49%, Kansas 40% and Colorado 11%. For most of the past fifty-six years, the states got along peacefully. Unfortunately, a few years ago, Kansas decided that they wanted to change the compact's meaning. Instead of dividing the water based on the surface water flow, Kansas decided that they wanted underground water included as part of the measurement.

Since Kansas raised this dispute, Nebraska officials have tried to resolve the issue without taking it to court. From everything that I have deciphered, Nebraska concedes something and Kansas says, "Sorry not enough." This path is helping Kansas develop evidence that works in their favor, if it results in a lawsuit, and hurts Nebraska’s position.

LB 921 is Nebraska's latest mistake in this process. Its passage would all but concede to Kansas' claims. Beutler’s own words give proof to this. He is quoted in the Unicameral Update as saying, "The reality is that Nebraska is close to violating the terms of the compact." This is irresponsible because it contradicts the state's official position that the compact does not cover ground water. It is for this reason that Attorney General Don Stenberg opposes the bill and had Deputy Attorney General Steve Grasz testify against LB 921.

The legislature has already taken sufficient steps by passing legislation that gives wide powers to the local Natural Resource Districts (NRD) to regulate water usage in the districts. There are only small areas in the state where the underground water supply is declining. One of these is a small area around Imperial. This is a local problem best dealt with at a local level. It might call for reduction in water usage, but the effect on the ground-level water flow of the Republican River is minimal. Therefore, the issue of groundwater should be a separate issue from the current dispute.

We should avoid a costly lawsuit, if possible. However, Nebraska officials need to get their act together and present a unified voice that represents the state's best interests. The place for this to start is with Governor Nelson. He has tried to be the peacemaker, but he keeps sending conflicting messages. It is time for him to take Harry Truman’s advice that "the buck stops here," instead of trying to "feel everyone’s pain" like President Clinton does. Nelson can start by opposing LB 921 like Attorney General Don Stenberg does.

More importantly, he needs to step forward and assure the people of Southwest Nebraska that this is a statewide problem. It was the state that entered the compact. It is the state that is responsible for defending the rights under the compact. It is the state that should bear the costs of any damages that might arise. This is a matter of state sovereignty. Nelson needs to make it clear to some senators from Omaha and Lincoln that they are not going to treat Southwest Nebraska as a separate entity that would have to reimburse the state for any costs resulting from litigation. He needs to stop Don Blankenau, attorney for the Nebraska Department of Water Resources, from making this threat to bully farmers into saying they are at fault so that they can reach a settlement with Kansas, despite the state's official legal position that they are not at fault. If this was a dispute over the Platte or Missouri River, I doubt we would be hearing the same sort of complaints.