U.S. Water News Online
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Governor Dave Heineman has signed into law a multimillion-dollar plan to shield the state from penalties for not sending Kansas water it is owed from the Republican River.
Senators passed the bill last week with an emergency clause that makes it take effect immediately.
The plan relies heavily on taxes and fees and was described as a painful but necessary antidote for water shortages in the Republican basin.
The compact governs the amount of Republican River water that can be used by the three states. Nebraska gets 49 percent, Kansas gets 40 percent and Colorado gets 11 percent
Whether Nebraska has overused its allocation during the past five years will be determined in August.
Nebraska will likely be found not in compliance, which could make the state liable for damages to Kansas.
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