February 10, 2023 at 1:30 PM - Regular Board of Directors Meeting

Rationale: 

NOTE: The agenda is on file at the LPNNRD office and may be changed up to 24 hours prior to the meeting as scheduled.

 

Rationale:  Are there any additions or corrections to the agenda?

Rationale:  Are there any additions or corrections to the Minutes? If not they will be approved on the consent agenda.

Rationale:  The Director's Retreat will be held March 9th in Fremont.  Please let staff know any topics you would like on the agenda.

Rationale:  The Annual NARD Washington DC Meeting is being held March 18-22, 2023. Registration deadline is February 28th.  We typically send two staff and two directors to this out-of-state meeting. 

Rationale:  The NARD Legislative Conference was held January 25-25 at the Embassy Suites in Lincoln.  Directors HIlger, Saeger, Thompson, McKnight and Engel attended.

Rationale:  Birkel, Meduna, Andersen, Chapman and Benal attended the GMDA Winter Conference January 22-25. 

Rationale:  Attached find an absence request from Bob Meduna for the November Board Meeting. 

Rationale:  Discussion is requested on committee assignments and committee size

Rationale:  No updates at this time. Any available updates will be provided at the February board meeting.

Rationale:  The NACD Annual Meeting is being held February 11-15 in New Orleans, which falls over our Monthly Board Meeting.  Do we want to move the Board Meeting to Thursday, February 9th so Gottschalk can attend? The February Board Meeting will be held Friday, February 10th at 1:30 p.m.

Rationale:  At the recent NARD legislative conference, Gottschalk attended a breakout session discussing the Open Meetings laws.  It was pointed out there is some ambiguity regarding the statute requiring public notice...Do to this fact, we will begin advertising each of our monthly board meetings in a local newspaper in addition to publishing on our LPNNRD website.

Rationale:  Attached find a public notice that will be published in the North Bend Eagle and Fremont Tribune notifying the public of the vacancy in Sub-District 3. A subdistrict map is also attached. 

Rationale:  With the potential of Gottschalk being absent from the February board meeting, we are delaying the start of our systematic review of all LPNNRD policies.  The plan is to review several policies at each board meeting, re-write as needed and have new policies ready for approval at each of the following meetings.

Rationale:  GM has been notified of the potential that one of our staff members might be leaving for another position.

Rationale:  Management has been working with NRCS preparing to advertise the open NRD Technician position.  

Rationale:  Gottschalk and Chapman have met to conduct his 6 month review.  Ryan is doing an amazing job and has stepped in seamlessly for Tom over the past five months.  Discussion is requested regarding a potential salary increase as discussed at the time of Ryan's hiring.

Rationale:  On January 5th Butler County Field Office Secretary, was walking to the post office to mail the letters and slipped on the ice. She has been off work since the fall and is attending Physical Therapy and will have a MRI on Monday, February 6th. 

Rationale:  Attached find the December financial statement. Grant will be avialbie to discuss the financial report. 

Rationale:  Attached find Gottschalk's time sheets.

Rationale:  The Committee needs to nominate and elect an Operations Committee Chair and Vice Chair. Mark is not eligible as he is the Board Treasurer.
The chair will run the committee meetings and participate on the Executive Committee. The vice Chair will substitute in the absence of the Chair.

Seier nominated Pollard for Chair and Johnson for Vice-Chair, seconded by Saalfeld. The vote was unanimously in favor. 

Rationale:  Nothing to consider for unfinished business.

Rationale:  Nothing to report.

Rationale:  The O & M crew burned multiple tree piles at Czechland Lake and one at Wanahoo, and also continued cutting trees on recreation areas.

Rationale:  The final three panels were poured on Friday, January 27. The baffle plate may arrive in February for installation and grading and seeding will take place after the thaw. See Eric Suings reports via email for all the construction information.
Attached is the invoice from Houston Engineering and a pay application #2 for M.E. Collins that came in before the last Board meeting and was paid.
Also attached is Change Order 002 dealing with the extra cost of $45,506 for overgrinding of the RCC Apron Floor and $5,048.56 for steel reinforcement along with some deducts totaling $46,448.24. A Technical Memorandum is attached for an explanation.
Also, find pay application #3 for Collins w/out Change Order 002 ($247,298.97) and with CO 002 ($292,798.07) attached.
Change Order No. 001 for the Baffle Plate Replacement was approved for $44,358.91 following the last Board meeting. Baffle plate fabrication may take 4-5 weeks.The substantial completion date was also moved to March 7, 2023. The final completion date is April 28, 2023.
Ethan Miller and Eric Suing were present at the Committee meeting.

Rationale:  NRCS informed staff at the NARD Legislative Conference that funding was approved for the rehab of Cottonwood 21-A but, with the Federal deficit at its ceiling, there may be cuts. We will wait to hear from or meet with NRCS to figure out the next step in the process.

Rationale:  Last summer, the District cleaned 7 of 29 listed relief wells on Wanahoo at a cost of $63,600. This year Olsson's has 10 listed to be cleaned. The cleaning process for the 29 wells is over a 4 year period. (See Attachments)
Do we want to obtain a bid from Rieschick Drilling Co. for 10 or lower the number to be cleaned? The staff would prefer to stay with Rieschick since they have onsite experience. Last year we had four interested well drillers but only received two bids.
The Committee directed staff to negotiate with Rieschick Drilling on a long term (3 year) contract for the remaining 22 wells with the understanding that there would be some inflationary cost increase. If an agreement is arranged, then we would ask for a motion to proceed.

Rationale:  Representatives of the Thomas Lakes Homeowners Association will be present to explain their regulations for unusable lots and to answer questions. A map is attached.
Their listed rules, regulations, and covenants for these lots are to be maintained as to trash debris and overgrowth, Not be used for any overnight camping with a tent, No temporary storage buildings or sheds, No vehicle storage including campers or trailers, No fencing or other restrictive barriers, and No livestock boarding.
After much information and discussion on how the HOA takes care of the four north lots (on high ground) and uses them as public green space, the committee made a motion to have staff re-write an agreement with the HOA to continue this practice and not sell the six lots. Staff would like to reconsider selling the two south lots on the Clear Creek Levee as the District is responsible for O & M on the levee, which should not be used as public green space.

Rationale:  This landlocked item was previously mentioned at our December meetings. Jason Scott (was present), the owner of an 8.5 acre land locked parcel at Sand/Duck Creek Dam 15 (aerial attached) has a solution to cross the creek, rather than attempting to obtain an ingress/egress easement from his neighbors (Ourada's).  Attached is a photo of a UTV bridge made by Geneva Welding. The estimated cost of the bridge is $4,800. Mr. Scott's total estimate for the bridge and installation is $8,000. He is asking the District for cost-share assistance on the project.
Funds can be used from the Bank Stabilization budget.

Rationale:  NRCS sent out a notice to the District last year that we have 20 dams exceeding their planned Service Life of 50 years (attached). Lower Platte North has 43 flood control dams, of which 3 are High Hazard and 7 are Significant Hazard. This is information to keep in mind regarding possible rehab costs in the future.
The Dept. of Natural Resources Dam Safety inspects High Hazard dams once a year, Significant Hazard every 3 years and the rest every 5. The District O & M staff inspects and does maintenance on our dams once a year unless there's a high precipitation event in their respective watershed.

Rationale:  We don't have any applications or pay request at this time.

Rationale:  2023 Planning and Future Additions Update:

Staff has asked JEO to submit a new design and construction estimate for a fish cleaning station to be located on the west side of the park, near the boat ramp.
We will also start plans for a general store to be located near the fish cleaning station. Partnerships, and or management, are still to be determined. 
The City of Wahoo is waiting for the ground to thaw before they bore an electric line to run power for the new light at the education building parking lot. 

Rationale:  For the month of December, the District received $6,185.00 in annual park permit revenue. The year by year break down of annual permit sales is listed below. 

 

Month	Monthly Total	YTD
December 2022	$6,185.00	$6,185.00
December 2021	$5,045.00	$5,045.00
November 2020	$4,725.00	$4,725.00
November 2019	$4,470.00	$4,470.00
November 2018	$4,585.00	$4,585.00

Rationale:  For the month of December, the District received $2,276.95 in camping revenue. The year by year comparison is listed below.
 

Month	Month Total	YTD
December 2022	$2,276.95	$131,245.06
November 2021	$2,438.00	$118,152.11
November 2020	$1,485.97	$134,027.78
October 2019	$1,160.56	$93,334.36

Rationale:  During the month of January, the building was rented 10 times with 1 NRD event. Revenue for the month was $955.00.
 

Rationale:  January's KTIC Radio spot is attached - featuring the upcoming Nitrogen Certification classes for producers. February’s spot is also attached - featuring the 2023 Wanahoo permits.

January's Wahoo Newspaper E-ad is attached - featuring the 2023 Wanahoo permits. This will continue through February.

Rationale:  The LPNNRD Facebook/Twitter pages, and the website are the fastest and low-cost ways to get information out to the public. Tracking analytics are a way to see if people are seeing the information and what ways seem to be most effective. If you are on Facebook or Twitter, please like, follow, share, or retweet the Lower Platte North NRD posts!

Total reach/impressions show how many people saw the post/tweet. Engagements include likes, comments, shares/retweets and link clicks.

FACEBOOK	Total Reach	Engagements	Followers
January 2023	3,663	100	1,427
December	5,758	163	1,421
November	10,355	198	1,413

 

TWITTER	Total impressions	Engagements	Followers
January 2023	1,954	95	391
December	2,570	102	388
November	2,862	126	383

Top Posts on Facebook and Twitter:
• Reverse Osmosis grant through NDEE
• Upcoming Nitrogen Certification Classes
• Promoting Tree Sales
• LPNNRD "Why does and 85-Year-Old plant a tree?" video
• January’s Coffee Lakeside flyer
 

WEBSITE	Users	Traffic Channel	Top Pages	Devices
January 2023	1,614	Organic 67.9% Direct 20.8% Referral 8.3% Social 3%	Lake Wanahoo Home Forestry Czechland Lake Nitrogen Certification	Mobile 50.87% Desktop 47.15% Tablet 1.98%
December	1,156	Organic 62.7% Direct 22.9% Referral 8.7% Social 5.7%	Home Lake Wanahoo Forestry Downloads Contact	Mobile 49.39% Desktop 48.62% Tablet 1.99%
November	988	Organic 62.3% Direct 27.6% Referral 6.9% Social 3.2%	Home Lake Wanahoo Czechland Lake Staff Downloads	Mobile 50.40% Desktop 47.27% Tablet 2.33%

Traffic channels: organic traffic means they use a search engine then choose an option that includes lpnnrd.org, direct traffic means they type in lpnnrd.org directly (or have it bookmarked), and referral traffic is any other traffic not from a search engine or social (such as a link from another site).

Social clicks: from 46 Facebook, from 4 Twitter.
Referral clicks: 48 from NARD,  12 from Visit Nebraska, 11 from NGPC, 1 from the ad on Wahoo Newspaper’s site.

 

Rationale:  The Winter issue of the LPNNRD's Viaduct is en route to local newspapers and will be distributed by mid-February. The newsletter is inserted in the following newspapers:
Wahoo/Ashland/Waverly Market Weekly
Fremont Tribune
North Bend Eagle
David City Banner-Press
Schulyer Sun
Columbus Area Choice (3 rural routes)
Humphrey Democrat
Albion News

Total of 22,095 delivered copies, and 365 online subscribers.

Rationale:  The I&E video was featured on News Channel Nebraska during January. The cost was $475. Attached are the times the video and our logo aired. The total amount of the video and logo aired was 200 times.

Rationale:  Attached is a list of items the Shell Creek Watershed testing group would like to have purchased for the 2023 testing season. The amount totals $1,609.75.

Rationale: 

• January 12th: Coffee Lakeside -11 adults and 1 child attended. We talked about animals that hoard.
• January 20th: St. Wenc Pre-K Classroom visit. 24 students learned about wild vs domestic animals. 
• January 23rd: I&E Meeting and Project Learning Tree Training at Morrill Hall

Slow month with Christmas Break and students in and out of school. Survival club was supposed to be on the 19th; due to a snow day, it was pushed to Friday, February 3rd. 

Rationale: 

• February 3rd: Survival club with Wahoo M.S. - Intro to Hiking and how to read maps.
• February 7th: 1st, 2nd, and 5th grade Classes at Lindsay Holy Family Elementary. Animal adaptations, seed dispersal, and food chains/ecosystems.
• February 8th-9th: Nebraska Environmental Education Conference at Mahoney State Park.
• February 11th-15th: Ntional Association of Conservation Districts in New Orleans. 
• February 16th: Coffee Lakeside: The power of nature-based play: Why people of all ages need to spend time outdoors.
• February 21st:  All 4 fifth grade classes at wahoo: Biodiversity: Let's talk prairies. 
• February 23rd: David City Aquinas 6th graders: Importance of Pollinators.

Reschedule a survival club and book a St. Wenc Pre-k visit. 

Rationale:  The current projector at the Clint Johannes Education Building projects presentations at a low quality. Diode Technologies has given us a proposal for a BenQ 1080p 5,000 Lumen Projector to replace it. The new projector will cost $3,059.00. Below is the breakdown of costs:

• Misc Parts: $134.95
• Project management: $25.20
• Shipping & Tariff: $80.97
• Sales Tax: $0.00

Total cost: $3,300.12 Installation is included.

Rationale:  Elliott has been working on the annual NDEE update/reporting for Emergency Contact Plans, Sample Site Plans, for both RWDs.  

We have also started the RWDs vulnerability assessments and are working with the Nebraska Rural Water Association (NeRWA) through the process.

The new Lead Service Line Inventory (LSLI) guidance has been received and the RWD has begun the initial steps.  All public water systems (PWS) are now required to complete the LSLI for their respective systems and are to be filed with EPA by the end of 2024.  Information for inventories can be difficult as there is minimal data about old,  residential service lines.  

Rationale:  Routine monthly sampling completed, meters read and bills mailed 1/31.

Rationale:  Routine monthly sampling completed, meters read and bills mailed 1/31.

Rationale:  Bob Hilger was nominated for Chairman.
Billl Saeger was nominated to be Vice-Chair.

Rationale:  Norman Kavan Jr. submitted an application for a second well in S32-T16N-R8E Saunders County, Todd Valley. The current well, G-052570, irrigates two pivots totaling 178.3 acres (see attached map). The new well will irrigate approximately 100 acres

Rationale:  The University of Nebraska applied for a second well in the NE SW Section 18-14N-9E, Saunders County.  This well will assist Well G-087929.  This agenda item was not acted on at the November Water Committee Meeting and December Board Meeting, until more information was provided.  

Information attached with UNL personnel at Committee meeting to discuss.  

Rationale:  Schuyler Department of Utilities has submitted two applications for new Public Water Supply wells. These wells will replace the capacity lost from the two wells they decommissioned south of town due to contamination issues.

Rationale: 

Wells Permits Approved: #

Landowner	Number of Wells	Number of New Irrigated Acres	Type of Well	County	Subarea
UNL	1	0	Irrigation	Saunders	Todd Valley

 

 

 

 

 

 

The total number of approved permits for 2022 is #

Location of Approved Well Permits for 2022:  Correct as of ####

County	Irrigation - New	Irrigation - Replacement	Stock	Commercial	Municipal	Other	Total
Butler
Colfax
Dodge
Boone
Madison
Platte
Saunders
Total

 

Rationale:  Staff met with NRCS soil specialists to discuss the way soil classification is used in LPNNRD Variance Scoring. Staff showed the Committee new soil classification information which would be utilized for the 2023 scoring process.  
Attachment.

Rationale:  Attached is Duane Johnson Irrigation Transfer Request.

With the adoption of the most recent data available, the Duane Johnson transfer to the NE 1/4 of S25-14-7E, Saunders County was reranked and has met the minimum threshold of 300 points for application consideration. Mr. Johnson has applied for, and been approved, to irrigate 35 acres in the NW 1/4 of S25-14-7E.

Motion from November Board Meeting:

Approval of the transfer for Duane and Kelli Johnson from Annette Rogers for the NRD certified acres of 65.51 with the stipulation that the West Pivot can be developed and the East Pivot on hold until staff can re-evaluate the scoring system for the soil type with a NRCS soil scientist before the Board Meeting.   

Rationale:  LPN received two RFQs and will be making a recommendation at the Committee Meeting.  
The Selection Committee of LPN staff reviewed the proposals of LRE and HDR.  Both firms are very capable of doing the project with excellent RFQs. The Selection Committee recommends LRE to conduct the Hyrological Assessment Database.  This project is for a maximum of $56,000, of which 60% will be funded though a WSF grant.  

Rationale:  Topic: District Approved flow meter list

Discussion: In the Lower Platte North Natural Resource District there are 4500+ irrigation wells. Currently, less than 1200 irrigation wells are metered. Overall, irrigation accounts for over 90% of the total water that is pumped in the state.The LPNNRD district has 4 aquifer regions which then are split into 26 separate subareas. Each have their own unique geology, soil types, and aquifer characteristics. Therefore, the variability of pumping amounts that is documented and recorded in our data set may not be comparable from area to area.

Meters that are installed must be installed correctly and totalize in acre inches. If they are totalizing in gallons there is the potential that the meter can rollover, which could be unknown to the producer and staff. 

Current brands of meters that are on the district approved list:
Propeller/Turbine style meters only

McCrometer- propeller meter (currently have mechanical & digital screens allowed)- digital screens require batteries

Geyser- propeller meter- mechanical register only

Sparling- they do make a mechanical style totalizer, but the only Sparling meters that are installed in our district thus far have a digital totalizer that requires batteries.

ARAD Group-for different applications such as SDI (Sub-surface drip irrigation)

What needs to be answered moving forward?
Are we going to allow Propeller meters with a digital totalizer or not allow them?

We have already removed the electromagnetic meters all together from the district approved list because they need power to record and because of the unknown makeup of water quality/chemistry around the district  that could potentially skew the data that is recorded by this sort of meter. For example, the build up of iron. 

Propeller meters also have a digital totalizer option. If the batteries fail then the flow will not be recorded. Mechanical meters with a mechanical totalizer, if operating correctly, do not need external/battery power to record. In other words, if the committee so chooses, we would need a motion to remove or adjust our district approved list if we decide to remove the propeller digital/electronic record keeping meters. Propeller style meters with a mechanical totalizer would then be the only meters allowed.

ARAD group meters, which is a turbine style meter with a digital totalizer. These meters are used primarily in smaller water line applications such as an SDI system. Most of the time, these meters are sheltered and not directly exposed to the elements of hot and cold. 

Rationale: 

2022 is the twentieth year for this Phase 2 Area. 

Year	Nitrate-nitrogen Range	Percent Nitrate-nitrogen 0 to 8.0 ppm	Percent Nitrate-nitrogen 8.01 to 10.00 ppm	Percent Nitrate-nitrogen 10.01 to 15 ppm	Percent Nitrate-nitrogen greater than 15 ppm
2004	0 to 25 ppm	46.3% (44 of 95)	8.4% (8 of 95)	45.3% (43 of 95)
2005	0 to 25 ppm	47% (44 of 94)	15% (14 of 94)	38% (36 of 94)
2006	0 to 24 ppm	41% (29 of 71)	14% (10 of 71)	45% (32 of 71)
2007	0 to 31 ppm	48% (48 of 100)	9% (9 of 100)	43% (43 of 100)
2008	0 to 28 ppm	53.75% (43 of 80)	7.5% (6 of 80)	38.75% (31 of 80)
2009	0 to 22 ppm	45.5% (41 of 90)	15.5% (14 of 90)	39% (35 of 90)
2010	0 to 35.7 ppm	48.65% (54 of 111)	11.71% (13 of 111)	39.64% (44 of 111)
2011	0 to 26.6 ppm	51% (56 of 110)	6% (7 of 110)	43% (47 of 110)
2012	0 to 28.9 ppm	57% (61 of 107)	9% (10 of 107)	34% (36 of 107)
2013	0 to 25.8 ppm	50% (53 of 107)	9% (10 of 107)	14% (44 of 107)	26%
2014	0 to 22.3 ppm	51% (55 of 108)	13% (14 of 108)	18% (39 of 108)	20%
2015	0 to 32.3 ppm	43% (31 of 72)	8% (6 of 72)	14% (35 of 72)	33%
2016	0 to 35.1 ppm	34% (25 of 74)	11% (8 of 74)	26% (41 of 74)	26%
2017	0 to 23.5 ppm	36% (27 of 74)	15% (11 of 74)	19% (36 of 74)	22%
2018	0 to 30.9 ppm	40% (25 of 63)	11% (7 of 63)	22% (31 of 63)	28%
2019	0 to 24.5 ppm	46% (22 of 48)	10% (5 of 48)	28% (21 of 48)	22%
2020	0 to 20.5 ppm	33.33% (20 of 60)	13.33% (8 of 60)	35% (21 of 60)	18.33% (11 of 60)
2021	0.12 to 27.7	40.6% (26 of 64)	15.6% (10 of 64)	25% (16 of 64)	18.8% (12 of 64)
2022	0.13 to 23.0	43.75% (28 of 64)	12.50% (8 of 64)	26.56% (17 of 64)	17.19% (11 of 64)

Rationale: 

2021 is the seventh year of this Phase 3 Area.  This Phase 3 area went into effect September 1, 2015.  The 55 sections of this area first went into a Phase 2 Area in 2004.  The ten sections that were in Phase 2 are now in Phase 3.  As such, the 2020, 2021 and 2022 numbers (at bottom of table) are for 65 sections.

Year	Nitrate-nitrogen Range	Percent Nitrate-nitrogen 0 to 8.0 ppm	Percent Nitrate-nitrogen 8.01 to 10.00 ppm	Percent Nitrate-nitrogen 10.01 to 15 ppm	Percent Nitrate-nitrogen greater than 15 ppm
2004	0 to 47 ppm	30% (42 of 139)	10% (14 of 139)	60% (83 of 139)
2005	0 to 120 ppm	31.3% (74 of 236)	10.2% (24 of 236)	58.5% (138 of 236)
2006	0 to 53 ppm	28% (50 of 181)	14% (26 of 181)	58% (105 of 181)
2007	0 to 99 ppm	32% (75 of 231)	10% (22 of 231)	58% (134 of 227)
2008	0 to 46 ppm	28% (53 of 190)	12% (23 of 190)	60% (114 of 190)
2009	0 to 57 ppm	33% (72 of 216)	6% (13 of 216)	61% (131 of 216)
2010	0 to 57.5 ppm	31% (70 of 229)	7% (15 of 229)	62% (142 of 229)
2011	0 to 65.8 ppm	28% (67 of 241)	9% (21 of 241)	63% (153 of 241)
2012	0 to 52.6 ppm	29% (70 of 241)	9% (21 of 241)	30% (150 of 241)	31%
2013	0 to 94.0 ppm	25% (63 of 252)	9% (23 of 252)	31% (166 of 252)	36%
2014	0 to 101.0 ppm	27% (68 of 251)	9% (22 of 251)	27% (161 of 251)	37%
2015	0 to 53.3 ppm	23% (55 of 238)	12% (29 of 238)	25% (154 of 238)	41%
2016	0 to 50.5 ppm	25% (58 of 228)	10% (22 of 228)	26% (148 of 228)	40%
2017	0 to 53.4 ppm	25% (60 of 238)	6% (14 of 238)	29% (164 of 238)	41%
2018	0 to 56.9 ppm	26.5% (50 of 189)	6.3% (12 of 189)	25% (127 of 189)	42%
2019	0 to 39.4 ppm	25% (53 of 209)	11% (22 of 209)	23% (134 of 209)	42%
2020	0 to 50.8 ppm	26% (69 of 261)	6% (15 of 261)	26% (66 of 257)	43% (110 of 257)
2021	0 to 43.0	25.5% (67 of 263)	8.4% (22 of 263)	24.3% (64 o 263)	41.8% (109 of 263)
2022	0 to 58.5	23.0% (57 of 248)	6.45% (16 of 248)	29.44% (73 of 248)	41.13% (102 of 248)

 

Rationale:  Staff and UNL have hosted 3 classes with around 100 total in attendance.  

Upcoming classes:
Thursday - Feb 2 at Columbus Ag Park starting at 1 pm
Thursday - Feb 9 at ENREC (Mead), coordinated with the Cover Crop/Soil Health Program
Wednesday - Feb 15 at Lindsay Village Hall at 1 pm
Tuesday - Feb 21 at David City Fairgrounds at 1 pm
Monday - Feb 27 at Fremont Extension Office at 10 am.

Rationale:  The Coalition involves 7 NRDs and NeDNR that is part of the Lower Platte River Basin.  An annual report is due every year on March 1, with emphasis in the report on depletions in each District.  

Rationale: 

For 2022 we have xxx renewals and xx new permit applications for a current total of xxx.  Inspections for xx renewal permits have been completed.
Chemigation renewals are due June 1 with forms going out around the first of March. 
 

Rationale: 

The LPNNRD has received # 0 livestock permit applications from DEQ since the last Water Committee meeting.
The Board did pass a motion to stay neutral on livestock facilities and the NRD's responsibility is with the permitting of high capacity wells.  Manure application is usually treated as any commercial fertilizer, which soil sampling and manure analysis should be conducted and handled by NDEE.  

Name	Livestock	Type of Permit	Legal Description	County

 

 

 Description of permit application

 

Rationale: 

# new wells has been reviewed and approved for decommissioning since the last Committee meeting.

 

Rationale: 

# wells have been plugged, reviewed, and ready for cost share payment approval this month.

Well Owner	Type of Well	Cost Share Payment	County
LaRose Preister (Tom Preister)	Irrigation	$1,565.72	Platte

 

Rationale:  It was discussed at previous committee meetings to update the 1995 GW Management Plan.  It was proposed for 2 directors and staff to review and discuss the approach to re-writing the plan.  
1995 plan is attached.  

The committee and staff will review the plan and discuss it at the next Committee meeting.  

Rationale:  A public informational session is planned for Tuesday, February 28, from 6-8 pm at the St Benedict Center, north of Schuyler.  The purpose of this program is for producers and their wives to learn about the issues in the Schuyler Richland Nitrate Management Area.  If LPN decides to proceed with a Phase 4 area, this area would be a smaller area within the current Phase 3 area.  By the LPN Groundwater Rules and Regulations, certain criteria need to be met and the total area does not meet these criteria.  

The plan for this session is to have stations with different information similar to an open house.  This will allow people to visit the area of interest and have discussions with the staff, board members and UNL personnel.   A short presentation will be given to the whole group explaining the purpose and criteria for moving to Phase 4.  

Confirm informational stations:

• GW Rules and Regulation
  • Phase 4 Criteria
  • Potential Boundaries 
• Cost-share information
  • WSF Grant BMPs
  • Domestic Water Sampling
• Irrigation Management
  • Over irrigation and leaching
• Nitrate and Health 
  • UNMC study
• Vadose and Water Sampling Results 
  • Vadose information 2019-20
  • Istotope information
  • Other water sampling results

Other potential discussions could include cover-crops projects, manure and nitrogen management.  Other topics that should be included?

Rationale:  The Consortium members are Papio NRD, LPSNRD, LPNNRD. MUD, LWS and NeDNR.  A drought plan was developed from 2018-2020 and is now in the process of looking at mitigation projects.  Attached are the projects that were considered initially.  At the meeting on January 17, the discussion was on LWS developing a well field near the Missouri River and an augmentation project near the Platte and Elkhorn Rivers.  

Notes from Caiitlin Kingsley - NeDNR
Thank you to everyone who participated in our meeting on January 17, 2023. To recap, we continued the drought projects discussion and planned another round of spring press releases. Action items include: 

• In March, NeDNR will initiate press release development and gauge interest in participating in the accompanying podcast episode. 
• NeDNR will revisit the Sherman Reservoir release calculations 
• LPNNRD will get an update from JEO regarding the Fremont dewatering project. 

Our next scheduled meeting is our ILCA meeting at 10 a.m. on April 4, 2023. NeDNR will host this meeting to facilitate the podcast recording afterwards. 
 

Rationale:  Staff and directors attended the Winter Conference on St Simons Island, Georgia.  Topics included groundwater modeling, NWRA report, Agricultural Water Management, Climate Change, Groundwater Innovation, Groundwater Management in the States, Legal Considerations for Groundwater Management.   

Notes from the topics at the conference:

• A couple of states require a water conservation plan before issuing a well permit.
• Dispute over boundary between Georgia and Tennessee
  • The City of Atlanta uses surface water for drinking water , so it could affect them if Tennessee gets to move the boundary.  
• USDA recharge Project
  • Project that takes excess water from the Mississippi Delta and moves it further inland.  
• Student interns to assist in projects
  • Make a wish list and make sure the project is not time-sensitive.  
• Water lawsuits
  •  Residential areas might not be regulated under WOTUS.  
• Federal Grants
  • BOR has money to spend
  • Water Smart Grants can be for $3,000,000 but require a 50% match.  The first deadline is March 28, 2023.
• Past and Future Climate of US
  • When graphing temperature and moisture, be sure to review the number of years analyzed. 
  • Food waste increases methane gases.  
  • Need to look at the economics of water conservation. 
  • The 100th Meridian line that goes through Nebraska has a correlation with the humid eastern United States and the arid Western plains.

Thanks for allowing staff and directors to attend.  Some of the more valuable information is obtained when networking with other states.   

Rationale:  A joint agreement with USGS for approval to continue with the stream gages on the Platte River and Shell Creek, along with a groundwater monitoring well.  The stream gage site at Leshara is an agreement through the Alliance.  The total cost for the 3 sites shown below is $34,870 with LPN share at $18,190.  This has been a continuous partnership with USGS for numerous years.  

Joint Share Sites with USGS:

• Shell Creek near Columbus
• Wahoo Creek near Ashland
• Groundwater Station near Mead

Rationale:  An update on the database that is utilized by the Groundwater Department.  The Committee did not review because of time.   

Rationale:  Currently, the GW Committee Meeting is Wednesday night at 6 pm. Do we want the same time of week and day?  

Rationale:  Director Sabatka nominated Director Olson for Projects Committee Chair appointment.  Appointment passed with all in favor.
Director Sabatka nominated Director Yosten for Projects Committee Vice Chair appointment.  Appointment passed with all in favor.

Rationale:  Attached are three applications for tree planting cost-share.

Derek Simonds - 230 trees - $431.25
Jordan Larsen - 200 trees - $375.00
Seth McGinn - 800 trees - $1,500.00

Rationale:  Attached is the NRD's current SWCP Policy and DNR's updated practice payment cost-list.  Historically the NRD has utilized the cost-list for our SWCP payment calculations.  Please review and be ready to approve at March 13 Board meeting.

Rationale:  The SCWIG group met on January 17th in Columbus with lots of discussion focused on guiding the urban portions of project over the next 3 years.
Our next meeting is scheduled for February 21st, 9:00 am, at the Columbus NRCS office.
Attached is a publication correlating BMPs installed in Shell Creek Watershed with peak stream flows.
The group is requesting to send up to 6 students to the National Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) meeting in Des Moines, August 6-9 to present their volunteer monitoring work.  SWCS has agreed to comp conference registration costs for 2 students.  Grant funds can be used to defray travel costs.

Rationale:  Director Saier submitted a materials order (attached) for the upcoming summer testing.  All costs are reimbursable through upcoming 319 grant.  Total cost for supplies: 

$1,609.75

Rationale:  The RFP for Real Estate Services is available on our website and advertised in the January 19th, 26th, and February 2nd Wahoo paper.  Proposals are due February 7th, 2023 at 12:00 noon.  Proposals will be digitally delivered to the projects committee on the afternoon of the 7th.  Should the committee wish to conduct interviews, firms are on notice to be available on the 8th, 9th, or 10th.  The projects committee will need to meet before the board meeting on Monday, February 13 in order to make a recommendation to the board.
Attached from Olsson are the current Progress Report and Invoices.  Of note: first three (26AB and 27) have passed the 90% design milestone and will be submitted to NRCS 2/3.  We have a sharedrive set up for all pertinent design/documents.

A motion will be needed at Board Meeting to approve hiring Great Plains Appraisal, Inc. of Lincoln and have staff negotiate a contract for General Manager signature.

Rationale:  Olsson progress report and invoices are attached.

Rationale:  Staff have a meeting with NeDNR and NRCS on February 23rd to discuss federal and nonfederal funding sources.
Easement issue is still being discussed.

Rationale:  Stakeholder meeting scheduled for January 18th in Abby was postponed due to phony blizzard.  A new date has not been set at this time.

Rationale:  On January 30 representatives from NRD, Dodge County, City of Fremont, and JEO met for an update on the planning for the Rawhide WFPO plan.  JEO presented an updated economic assessment (costs estimate attached) and advised that the planned alternative for County Rd S ditch improvements should be removed from plan due to lower than expected BCA.  The flood damage reductions tied to this alternative only positively impacted ~85 acres of ag land, and a planned total cost of over $5 million.
JEO plans to proceed with geotechnical surveys (e.g. soil borings) once field conditions allow. A landowner list has been developed for all potentially impacted parcels and plans are for notification letters to be sent out mid-February.
JEO plans to have DRAFT plan submitted to national (NRCS) for review in September.  After plan is approved the JWMAB will need to apply for design/construction funding.  The JWMAB will be responsible for all land rights and permitting costs associated with the project.  Currently there is no interlocal agreement to spell out how those costs would be divided.

Rationale:  We will be discussing funding opportunities for water sources for rural fire protection on February 3rd with the Nebraska Forest Service and JEO.  It will be a hybrid inperson/zoom meeting.  If you are interested in attending, please let staff know.

Rationale:  The Village of Leshara submitted a request #2 (attached) for $428.17 leaving a balance of $60,680.66 of the $62,000 approved at the July 2021 board meeting.  

Rationale:  The Village of Lindsay has formally requested cost-share assistance, up to $50,000, for the village pond rehabilitation project.  See attachment for letter, plan drawing and engineers estimate.
Representatives from JEO (Village consultant) and Lindsay will be present.

Rationale:  Todd Mauer has submitted an application to expand irrigated acres within SQS #2 without increasing the 27-inch rolling allocation. Todd is asking for an additional 42 acres on the SW1/4 S18-19N-1E, Platte County. If Mauer increases to 177 acres, his allocation would be reduced to a 20.21-acre inch/3-year rolling allocation from well G-053124. His 3-year average was 5.14 with a 2022 use of 5.58.  Mauer is also planting rye on this field. This has been allowed by other producers in the past years. Maps are attached. 

A Board Motion Needed - 
To approve Todd Mauer's application to expand irrigated acres within SQS#2 for SW1/4 S18-19N-1E, Platte County with his new allocation being 20.21-acre inch/3-year rolling allocation from Well G-053124.

Rationale: 

NOTE: The agenda is on file at the LPNNRD office and may be changed up to 24 hours prior to the meeting as scheduled.