Public Notice
Joint Meeting
Meeting Related to the Basin-Wide Plan for Joint Integrated Water Resources Management of Overappropriated Portions of the Upper Platte River Basin, Nebraska
&
Upper Platte Drought Contingency Plan Drought Task Force Meeting
Thursday, July 21, 2022, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM Mountain Time
Lake McConaughy Visitors & Water Interpretive Center
The Central Platte Natural Resources District, North Platte Natural Resources District, South Platte Natural Resources District, Tri-Basin Natural Resources District, Twin Platte Natural Resources District (collectively, the Upper Platte Basin NRDs), and the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (Department) hereby provide notice that a joint public meeting will be held at the Lake McConaughy Visitors & Water Interpretive Center, 1475 NE Hwy 61 N., Ogallala, NE 69153, on Thursday, July 21, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. MT.
As expressed in Goal 5, Objective 5.1 of the Basin-Wide Plan, the purpose of the annual basin-wide meeting is to review progress toward achieving the goals and objectives of the Plan and the portions of individual NRD integrated management plans (IMPs) that implement the Basin-Wide Plan. The agenda will include discussions of: 1) any proposed revisions to the Basin-Wide Plan or to the individual IMPs; 2) reports of ongoing monitoring of actions taken by the NRDs and the Department; 3) new data and information; 4) disputes related to implementation of the IMPs; 5) any other topic on which both the Department and Upper Platte Basin NRDs have agreed; and 6) a public comment period.
Any interested person may attend the meeting and comment during the public comment period. Additionally, any groundwater user, surface water appropriator, NRD, or the Department may send a written request to one of the Upper Platte Basin NRDs or the Department to propose revisions to the Basin-Wide Plan by the close of business on or before June 29, 2022. Persons sending a written request for changes to the Basin-Wide Plan will be given the opportunity for input during the public meeting. Groundwater users, surface water appropriators, the Upper Platte Basin NRDs, and the Department may also present data and other supporting information at the annual meeting identifying what they regard as disputes between groundwater users and surface water appropriators. Written requests may be submitted by regular mail or electronic mail to any of the following:
Central Platte Natural Resources District (CPNRD), 215 N. Kaufman Ave., Grand Island, NE 68803-4915, e-mail vogt@cpnrd.org;
North Platte Natural Resources District (NPNRD), 100547 Airport Rd., PO Box 280, Scottsbluff, NE 69363-0280, e-mail sschaneman@npnrd.org;
South Platte Natural Resources District (SPNRD), 551 Parkland Dr., PO Box 294, Sidney, NE 69162-0294, e-mail gwittrock@spnrd.org;
Tri-Basin Natural Resources District (TBNRD), 1723 N. Burlington St., Holdrege, NE 68949, e-mail jthorburn@tribasinnrd.org;
Twin Platte Natural Resources District (TPNRD), Great Western Bank Center, 111 S. Dewey St., 2nd Floor, PO Box 1347, North Platte, NE 69103-1347, e-mail komiller@tpnrd.org;
Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, 245 Fallbrook Blvd., Suite 201, Lincoln, NE 68521, email jennifer.schellpeper@nebraska.gov.
All written requests must be received on or before no later than 5:00 p.m. CDT, June 29, 2022. For further information, a copy of the Basin-Wide Plan and each Upper Platte Basin NRD IMP can be found on-line at: https://dnr.nebraska.gov/water-planning/upper-platte-river-basin. An agenda of the matters to be considered at the meeting and supporting documents will be available for public inspection on or before June 29, 2022, during normal business hours at the offices of the NRDs and the Department and at the following website: https://dnr.nebraska.gov/water-planning/upper-platte-basin-wide-meetings-and-annual-reports. Please refer to the addresses above or the websites and phone numbers listed below for further information.
CPNRD: https://www.cpnrd.org or phone (308) 385-6282
NPNRD: https://www.npnrd.org or phone (308) 632-2749
SPNRD: https://www.spnrd.org or phone (308) 254-2377
TBNRD: https://www.tribasinnrd.org or phone (308) 995-6688
TPNRD: https://tpnrd.org or phone (308) 535-8080
Department: https://www.dnr.nebraska.gov or phone (402) 471-2363
The annual basin-wide meeting will be held concurrently with a kickoff meeting of a Drought Task Force regarding the development of a Drought Contingency Plan for the Upper Platte River Basin in Nebraska. The Drought Task Force will include invited representatives from Natural Resource Districts in the Upper Platte Basin, as well as representatives of local municipalities, area irrigation districts, local power districts, and others with water-related interests.
The Upper Platte NRDs and the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (NeDNR), collectively referred to as the Platte Basin Coalition (Coalition), have begun a collaborative effort to develop a Drought Contingency Plan for the Upper Platte Basin in Nebraska. This Plan will serve to refine the collective understanding of drought vulnerabilities, while developing more robust monitoring and forecasting tools that will aim to improve critical water supply needs of the area through drought periods. The Drought Task Force will be used to collect input from a variety of stakeholders in the area with a vested interest in the Drought Contingency Plan.
Members of the public are invited to sit in on this meeting to learn about the project and will have the opportunity to provide feedback at designated points during the meeting. The purpose of this meeting will be to provide project background, conduct a vulnerability assessment of the basin, and discuss drought mitigation actions.
Individuals with disabilities may request auxiliary aids and services necessary for participation by contacting Ryan Kelly at the NeDNR, 245 Fallbrook Blvd., Suite 201, Lincoln, NE 68521, telephone (402) 471-1080 or e-mail ryan.kelly@nebraska.gov. Ryan Kelly may also be contacted for questions regarding the Drought Contingency Plan process.
Click here to view DNR reports and meeting materials
Click here to view NRD reports
