U.S. Water News Online
LINCOLN, Neb. -- A Panhandle ranch has filed a lawsuit alleging the state of Nebraska has failed to control groundwater irrigators to the detriment of area streams. The lawsuit was filed in Morrill County District Court by the Spear T Ranch near Bridgeport. The lawsuit claims the failure of the state to control groundwater irrigation has caused Pumpkin Creek to be dry most of the year, preventing the ranch from growing hay to feed its cattle. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages plus $350,000 ``resulting from the loss of aesthetic value'' of the land. Spear T Ranch filed an administrative claim for $4 million against the state last year, which was rejected by the State Claims Board. The flow in streams and rivers is controlled by the state, which allocates water for irrigators. Groundwater irrigators, on the other hand, face little regulation. Many streams in the state rely heavily on groundwater for replenishment. According to the lawsuit, filed by attorney Thomas Oliver, the Spear T Ranch obtained surface water rights to Pumpkin Creek in 1954 and 1956 and has a vested property interest to water from the stream. The lawsuit alleges that the state Department of Water Resources has allowed scores of irrigation wells to be drilled in the area, which has depleted groundwater that feeds the stream. ``The North Platte River system has been over-appropriated for decades, yet the state continued to issue well permits and continued to let people pump wells that directly remove water from the Platte River and its tributaries,'' said Rex Nielson, who owns the ranch. Roger Patterson, director of the Nebraska Department of Water Resources, said he expected the lawsuit after the Claims Board rejected the ranch's claim. Patterson said he hoped surface-versus-ground irrigators would be addressed by a task force created last year by the Legislature to advise state officials on water policy. ``One of the things the task force is intended to do is to look at the ground water-surface water integration to see if there are any changes we need to make in the law,'' he said. Gov. Mike Johanns is to name the 49 members of the task force this summer.
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