A ruling today from the state’s high court finds Nebraska officials won’t have to follow restrictions of water-district boundaries when making decisions about irrigation.
The Upper Big Blue Natural Resources District was claiming the state went too far two years ago by cutting irrigation development there when another basin, the Platte, was the main focus of its study. The Nebraska Supreme Court ruling barred new wells in a 15-square mile area governed by the Upper Big Blue N-R-D.
The court says state law does not limit the state’s ability to define the connection between different water supplies. State lawmakers passed legislation four years ago that gave the state more authority to regulate groundwater use.