Sign-up begins October 1st for new irrigated acres

Landowners within the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District (LENRD) will have an opportunity to apply for new irrigated acres, beginning on October 1st and ending on October 31st, 2024.  The LENRD Board of Directors approved the sign-up period at their September meeting and will receive applications for Standard Variances for new irrigated acres in the geographically eligible locations within the LENRD.

One of the primary responsibilities of the LENRD is to manage groundwater to protect both its quality and quantity for the people of the district.  Both of those factors were taken into consideration by the Ad-Hoc Variance Committee members, in determining the criteria used to process these variances.

“The board has taken the time to address some of the concerns associated with new irrigation development and have a well thought out approach for this signup period,” said LENRD General Manager, Brian Bruckner.

Recent amendments to the Groundwater Management Area Rules and Regulations now allow for new groundwater irrigated acres in any LENRD Quantity Management Subarea and the board has decided to allow these subareas to be eligible for the signup.  However, the Board of Directors has prioritized the consideration of the addition of small acre parcels to locations with existing irrigation wells in the Subareas.  Landowners who wish to construct a new irrigation well and irrigate new land will be considered in a possible future sign-up period.

Bruckner said, “Although these areas are now eligible, we want to walk before we run, remaining sensitive to the geology and turn of events that led to the delineation of these areas back in 2013.  Small acreage parcels will take priority in the subareas.”  Bruckner added, “We can potentially consider other options in those locations in the near future but want to ease into things to ensure that the needs of all existing groundwater users continue to be met.”

Water quality concerns were also reflected in the board’s decisions.  After much discussion, the board decided to award points to producers who plan to use the chemigation program to apply a minimum of 30% of the annual nitrogen needs of the growing crop for a minimum of 6 years following approval of the variance.  Bruckner said, “The board has approved this requirement as a means of prioritizing locations that will utilize chemigation as a best management practice to spoon feed nitrogen to the growing crop, for a minimum of 6 years.”

The LENRD Board authorized the receipt of variance applications to possibly approve up to 400-acre feet of new stream water depletions for new groundwater irrigation development in the Hydrologically Connected Area in the LENRD, and up to 3,500 acres of new groundwater irrigation development in the Non-Hydrologically Connected Area. The annual allocation for any new irrigation well, constructed under an approved Standard Variance, will be 14 acre-inches.

A map of the eligible locations as well as the application materials will be available at the LENRD office in Norfolk and on the district’s website by Tuesday, October 1, 2024.  The application fee for each standard variance has increased to $100 this year.

To learn more about the 12 responsibilities of the Nebraska’s NRDs and how your local district can work with you and your community to protect your natural resources, visit www.lenrd.org and sign up for our monthly emails. The next board of directors meeting will be Thursday, October 24, 2024, at the LENRD office in Norfolk at 7:30 p.m. and on Facebook Live.