January 6, 2026 at 7:30 AM - Projects Committee Meeting

Rationale:  Adam Brockman, NRD Resources Technician, will be available to update on status of SWCP projects.

Rationale:  Dodge County is hosting training on the Incident Command System for administrators and elected officials on January 15th, 6:30pm-8:30pm.  NRD staff and directors are invited (flyer attached).  It is free to attend but need to be registered by the 9th.  Dodge County and City of Fremont officials plan to discuss JWMAB and path forward during/after this training.

John Petersen and Kevin Kruse with JEO plan to give a brief presentation and project update on Rawhide WFPO and East Fremont Drainage project at the March 9th Board Meeting.

Rationale:  Our SCWIG NET grant application was not recommended for funding by the NET scoring committee.  Final funding decisions will be made at their January 8th meeting.

The next SCWIG meeting is January 20th, 10:00am, Columbus NRCS office.

Bill submitted two completed cover crop projects and two completed septic upgrades:

• 195 acres of drilled rye cover crop cost shared at $30 per acre for Don Marking, with total cost share of $5,850. (paid in December 2025)
• 186 acres total with 140 acres of radish and turnip drone applied to corn and 46 acres rye drilled into soybeans at $30 per acre for Troy Brandt, with total cost share of $5,580.
• Septic upgrade for Paul Miksch, 2-18-2W, Platte County, total cost of $10,483.88 at 60% cost share = $6290.33
• Septic upgrade for Eldon Mohrmann, 2-18-1W, Platte County, total cost of $16,436.90 at 60% cost share = $9,862.14

Attached are plans and a cost estimate for the Christ Lutheran project.  Staff had a meeting on January 5th with Manielli Wagner, DWEE, and UNL to discuss details of the rain garden.  Mainelli Wagner expects to have slight adjustments ready for January Board meeting.
 

Rationale:  The weather has been more cooperative over the last month and construction activities have kept up, highlights from the month:

• Drawdown inlet completed on sites 26A & 27.
• Shanahan continued embankment fill, completed foundation drains, and placed wave protection riprap on site 27
• Shanahan developed access to site 26B and began channel cleanout/stockpiling

TCI invoice attached
Olsson weekly write - up (12/27) attached
Pictures attached: 27 riser, 27 drawdown inlet, 27 riprap, 26A embankment, 26A riser - outlet

Rationale:  Olsson continues to work through final designs with NRCS/DWEE.  We expect to have DWEE permits within the next couple months for sites 84 & 55.  Site 77 is still under NRCS National Watershed review.
Our ACOE 404 permit is under partner agency (NEGP, FWS) review for biological assessment revisions.  Their is a new project manager at ACOE that will be reviewing our permit and she is currently being brought up to speed.

Rationale:  We expect to have sites 66 & 86 appraisals at our 1/12 Board meeting.
Updates on remaining acquisitions on sites 77, 84, 85
Danielle Allen and Cody Gerdes will be available at Board meeting for updates.
Great Plains Appraisal bills attached.

Rationale:  We have put in a Notice of Interest for the Wahoo Creek Implementation Project and will be submitting the Project Implementation Plan once that Notice is accepted. 

We are currently working on a mailing list for the 2026 round of NWQI mailings to be sent out this spring. We have also been in contact with coops to discuss different practices they can have producers apply for. 

Rationale:  The Alliance held a meeting on December 19th at the LPNNRD.  The agenda is attached.  Matt Moser with USGS gave an update on continuous water-quality data loggers and the trend analysis work.  Preliminary results were presented regarding trends for: water temperature, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, nitrate, and turbidity/suspended sediment.  They are also updating surrogate equations to include up to seven additional parameters.  The report is expected to be published within a year, and we will ask Matt to give an update at a future Board meeting.  The Alliance plans to send letters to communities letting them know that they are eligible to apply for Section 319 grant funds utilizing the Alliance's Water Quality Management Plan.  LPN priority areas include two watersheds; the Headwaters of Bone Creek and the Headwaters of Skull Creek.  Conceptually, if the NRD were to pursue Section 319 grant funding, practices would be similar to Shell Creek.  Also discussed was the need to submit another funding request letter for the 'Lower Platte River Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Comprehensive Study' (last year's request is attached).  Also attached is an invoice for annual dues, real-time water quality monitoring, and trend analysis - will be paid via previously approved joint funding agreement.

Rationale:  Staff are working with Manielli Wagner to answer questions from DWEE so they can prepare a funding agreement.

Rationale:  As of 12/30, there were approximately 30 jurisdictions (attached) that need to adopt the HMP that was approved by FEMA on August 22, 2025.  JEO recently sent out another reminder to these jurisdictions.