Study Plan for Third Party Impacts Study
Related to Land Issues For the Cooperative Agreement for Platte River Research and Other Efforts Relating to Endangered Species Habitats Along the Central Platte River, Nebraska

Introduction

Pursuant to provisions included in the "Cooperative Agreement" concerning endangered species habitats along the Platte River, a proposed Program for improving habitat through land acquisition and management will be developed. The Governance Committee (GC) and the Department of Interior (DOI) will be conducting studies of third party impacts related to land issues resulting from the program. The GC has accordingly directed the Land Committee (LC), through Milestone L4-1 and L2-2, to assess potential third party effects (both beneficial and adverse) from a land acquisition program in the Platte River Basin, including net changes in tax revenue resulting from the protection of land as endangered species habitat.

 Milestone 1-4-1 - "The Governance Committee (or the Land Committee if so designated) will begin to identify and evaluate beneficial and adverse impacts to third parties, including net changes in tax revenue resulting from the protection of land as endangered species habitat."

 Milestone L2-2 - "The Governance Committee (or the Land Committee if so designated) will continue to identify and evaluate methods for acquiring, restoring and protecting lands and will continue to identify and evaluate beneficial and adverse impacts to third parties, including net changes in tax revenue resulting from the protection of land as endangered species habitat."

 The information on third party impacts will be used to modify the proposed Program in an effort to minimize or eliminate third party impacts and to assess the need for mitigation of adverse impacts.

 The proposed Program will be evaluated by the DOI in a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) pursuant to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This study plan describes DOI's overall plan of study of third party impacts related to land issues and defines LC studies as a subset of tasks contained within this study plan.

 Third party impacts are impacts to parties that are not directly involved with a specific transaction. Examples include economic impacts to governmental entities and communities from land use changes or increased revenues from tourism as local recreation experiences and facilities are enhanced. Converting land from one use to another often affects more than just the parties involved in the land transaction itself. Many agricultural commodities are inputs for other sectors of agriculture. For example, livestock producers rely on the production of hay and grain crops for feed sources. A reduction in the production of these crops, therefore, would affect the livestock production industry through higher feed costs. A wide variety of businesses provide fertilizer, machinery, technology, credit and other supplies to farmers. Other businesses, including transportation companies, food processors, export firms and others, also depend on the agricultural economy. Changing land use from agricultural production may have an effect on these businesses. There is also a potential employment impact.

 In addition to generating economic activity, privately owned farmland is critical to the tax base of rural communities. Retiring farmland or converting it to habitat will likely affect the tax revenue base of local governments. Large-scale land use changes could also impact the water districts serving those lands. Many water districts have incurred debt to build their distribution systems. Fixed costs, including debt repayment, are usually covered by assessments or other changes levied on each acre serviced by the district. If acreage is retired, the fixed costs previously allocated to that land must be covered by the land remaining in production. Farmers served by these districts could face higher costs.

Concerns over impacts to the economy from converting agricultural land to other uses include uncertainty over employment opportunities for farm workers, reduced economic activity for fertilizer and seed dealers, trucking firms, custom harvesting, and other agricultural support services. In addition to the effects that occur to farm laborers, third-party impacts extend into nearly every sector, from banking to hospitals and from farm suppliers to grocery stores. Other impacts may include changes in land values and taxation.

 The purpose of the Cooperative Agreement is to develop a program that would restore and protect habitat for endangered and threatened species in the central Platte River area in Nebraska. The goal of the Program will be to acquire for development and/or protection up to 17,350 acres of riparian land for habitat in the whooping crane critical habitat area. The program includes acquisition of land through leases, easements, and purchase. Land acquisition must be a willing buyer-willing seller program that minimizes and/or compensates for third party impacts from changes in land ownership or land use.

 Potential Impacts to be Analyzed

 The third party impacts to be considered when developing the Program include but may not be limited to those detailed below. The third party impact analysis will assume an acquisition program including a mixture of leases, easements, and purchases. For all potential third party impacts identified below, methods to avoid, minimize or mitigate identified impacts will be included in the analysis.

1. Impacts on property taxes, including the expected change in property tax revenues for each potentially affected governmental unit; the probable impacts on other tax payers if the quantity and quality of public services is not reduced; and the implications for the quantity and quality of public services if alternative revenue sources are not available.
2. Impacts of changes (if any) on agricultural production in the region, including the effect of changes in agricultural production on regional income and employment, including regional multiplier effects. Particular emphasis should be given to the impacts of changes in farm production on the farm supply and the agricultural processing sectors of the regional economy.
3. Impacts on sales tax revenues for those municipalities in the region who have simple-melted a local sales tax option, including the probable impacts on other revenue sources or on the quantity and quality of public services if alternative revenue sources are not available. Sales tax revenue may be impacted when agricultural land is taken out of production due to reduced demand for farm equipment, seed, pesticides, fertilizer and other products.
4. Impacts on adjacent landowners. Land ownership and land use changes could adversely affect adjacent landowners through changes in access, nuisance factors and trespass problems. The third party analysis will review the potential for such impacts, identify where they are most likely to occur, and identify land acquisition criteria or other methods of avoiding or minimizing them.
5. Impact of program failure. The analysis will include a third party impact assessment of program failure associated with a jeopardy opinion from FWS that would likely result in severe restrictions on new FERC projects, water developments, and other restrictions on water use in the Platte River Basin.

Economic impacts from improved habitat could lead to increased recreation and related economic activity. The third party analysis will review the likelihood of increased economic activity from improved habitat and if the expected increase is significant, quantitatively estimate the changes in regional income, employment and tax revenues that might occur from increased recreation. Changes in economic activity (both positive and negative) from changes in land use and potential improved habitat/recreation will be compared in a cumulative impact analysis to determine net economic impacts in the region.

 Geographic Scope of Analysis

 The land acquisition program will occur along a Platte River Valley corridor which stretches from Lexington to Chapman and from 3 miles (?) south to three miles north of the river. The amount of land involved is a maximum of 17,350 acres, which does not include 2,650 acres dedicated to the program by Nebraska Public Power District (Cottonwood Ranch) and 9,000 acres of potentially eligible land currently owned by the Nature Conservancy, the Audubon Society and Platte River Trust. The land acquisition program will be completed in phases, with the first 10,000 acres being acquired over the next 10 years.

 Relationship Among Land Committee, Governance Committee and Department Of Interior for Study of Third Party Impacts

 The relationship of the LC, GC and DOI for the study of third party impacts is illustrated by the attached figure. The Cooperative Agreement directs the GC, after receiving recommendations from the LC to design a proposed Program that minimizes or eliminates impacts to third parties resulting from the land acquisition program. The Committee is to select methods for mitigating unavoidable adverse impacts to third parties which result from the proposed Program, including net changes in tax revenues resulting from the protection of land as endangered species habitat. It is also to select methods for acquiring, restoring and protecting lands as part of the proposed Program based on recommendations, from the LC. The Cooperative Agreement also provides that the GC will supply details of the land component of the proposed Program to the EIS team. The EIS team has the responsibility for the EIS and for disclosing the 3rd party impacts of the proposed Program and of other alternatives described in the EIS.

 The initial tasks for accomplishing these responsibilities are the same, e.g., data collection, data analysis and development of methods to mitigate third party impacts. The EIS team has been collecting some of the available data and will hire a consultant to complete work remaining to accomplish these three tasks. The LC will assist in selecting the entity to implement the common tasks and will review the progress of the work to insure that the information provided will meet its needs. The LC and EIS team will cooperatively determine the additional work to be performed and select the entity to complete the tasks. This process is similar to that followed by the water committee for the water conservation plan.

 The EIS team has the separate and independent responsibility to use 3rd party impact information for analysis of the proposed Program and of other EIS alternatives. The EIS team will insure that the information resulting from the consultant's work on the three basic tasks is accurate and adequate for this purpose.

 Similarly, the LC and the GC have separate and independent responsibilities to address the missing elements of the land component of the proposed. Program relating to 3rd party economic impact mitigation.

 The EIS Team and the LC will work cooperatively to hire a consultant that completes the following tasks:

1. Collects data necessary for the analysis of potential third party impacts of the proposed Program;
2. Analyze data in relation to the proposed Program;
3. Develops methods for mitigating third party impacts

The EIS Team will:

1. Select alternatives to mitigate third party impacts for EIS alternatives other than for the proposed program;
2. Prepare a draft and final Programmatic EIS.

 The LC will:

1. Review and advise the EIS team and their consultant on data collection;
2. Review and advise the EIS team and their consultant on analysis of third party impacts data;
3. In cooperation with the EIS team develop methods to mitigate third party impacts;
4. Recommend to the GC elements of a proposed Program that avoid, minimize, or mitigate third party impacts;

The GC will:

1. Select methods for avoiding, minimizing, or mitigating third party impacts for the proposed program;
2. Provide the EIS team with a proposed Program including selected methods.

Data Requirements

Data necessary to support a county-level assessment will include but not be limited to the following:

• Existing use of acquired land;
• Total acreage to be acquired;
• Crop production of acquired land;
• Method of acquisition (purchase, lease, easement);
• Estimated cost of acquisition, by acquisition method;
• Current water use of acquired land;
• Estimated value of land in current use;
• Estimated property tax rate, per acre.

 Required Analysis/Consultant Contributions

 The level of detail and specificity incorporated in the analysis is expected to be sufficient to identify and quantify impacts at the county level. The third party impacts from land acquisition depends on what land is acquired, which in turn depends in part on the land acquisition criteria. Third party impacts could be reduced through agreements to minimize adjacent land access problems, etc. The analysis of third party impacts will consider these possibilities when estimating the impacts from a net change in economic conditions resulting from the acquisition and management of lands for endangered species.

 Data analysis and development of alternative proposals can be done jointly by the EIS Team and the LC. Modification of proposals and recommendations for including the proposal in the proposed Program to the GC is the responsibility of the LC. The LC will develop recommenda-tions for an acquisition plan so that the effects of acquisition criteria on third party impacts can be accurately reflected in the planning and decision making process. The LC will need to identify methods to avoid, minimize, or mitigate any and all third party impacts identified in the analysis. Determining the proposal for the proposed Program is the GC's responsibility. Including the GC proposal in the proposed Program EIS analysis and choosing proposals for inclusion in EIS alternatives other than the proposed Program alternative is the responsibility of the EIS Team.

Deliverables

 The third party impact elements of the proposed Program pursuant to Milestones L4-1, L2-2, and L2-3 must be completed no later than January 1, 2000. The consultant to the LC of the GC will provide the following:

1.  Advise and consult with the DOI on the collection of data necessary for the analysis of potential third party impacts of the proposed Program;
2. Advise and consult with the DOI on the analysis of data in relation to the proposed Program;
3. Jointly with the DOI develop methods for mitigating potential third party impacts resulting from the program;
4. Recommend to the LC elements of a proposed Program that avoid, minimize, or mitigate third party impacts;
5. Advise the GC on the selection of methods for avoiding, minimizing, or mitigating third party impacts for the proposed Program.