Final Minutes
Water Management Committee Meeting
Kearney, Nebraska
The Water Management Committee meeting (WMC) began at 2:00 p.m. in Kearney, Nebraska. The minutes of the February 22, 2000, WMC meeting were approved with revisions.
The meeting began with a discussion of development of the tracking/accounting procedures. Each of the States (NE, WY, & CO) provided written procedures regarding the tracking/accounting for the projects listed in the draft Boyle Water Action Plan Memorandum. The States' tracking/accounting procedures were reviewed and discussed. Comments regarding the tracking/accounting procedures are to be provided to the WMC Chair on April 7, 2000. The WMC Chair will provide a copy of the accounting/tracking procedures to the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) Study Team Manager (Curt Brown) and ask for his input regarding level of detail contained in the draft accounting/tracking procedures. It is anticipated final accounting/tracking procedures for the projects identified in the Water Action Plan will be developed and provided to the EIS Team on May 15, 2000.
Next, the WMC discussed the comments received regarding the Plans for Future Depletions presentations. The comments were also provided to the appropriated state representatives. The comments are being considered by the states. The states will provide the information available regarding their Plans for Future Depletions to the EIS Team on May 15. Nebraska identified their final Plan for Future Depletions may not be available until 2001, because the plan will require approval by Natural Resource Districts (NRD), requiring public hearings and potential legislation. The WMC will, at the request of the Governance Committee, provide technical review of the Plans for Future Depletions.
The potential of creating a website that provides access to the real-time and other data available for the Platte River Basin was discussed. Mike Drain distributed information that was previously collected by the Reservoir Coordinating Committee (RCC) regarding data already accessible on the world wide web. Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District (Central) offered to create web pages on their existing website that would provide access to the existing data. Central would maintain these web pages free of charge. Central anticipates beginning construction of these web pages in a month. Recommendations on information for inclusion on the web pages (I.E., data needs and sources) are to be provided to Mike Drain by May 1, 2000.
A schedule for the Cooperative Agreement Water Milestones was distributed and discussed. The WMC's involvement regarding some of the Water Milestones needs to be clarified. For example, Milestone W13-3 identifies a peer review of the depletion impact analysis and water monitoring measures will be completed and the results reported by the WMC to the Governance Committee. The nature of such a peer review needs to be identified. The WMC Chair asked the committee to review the Water Milestones and offer their input regarding who has responsibility for the remaining milestones and identify any potential work requiring the involvement of the WMC.
Future meetings for the WMC will be held April 25, May 23, and June 27. The April 25 meeting will be held in Sterling, Colorado, at the Ramada Inn (near Interstate I-76) from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The May 23 meeting will be held in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in the Herschler Building (Hearing Room 1699) from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The June 27 meeting will be held in Nebraska, with the city to be announced.
The meeting adjourned at 5:20 p.m.
For further information about the Partnership,
contact any Governance Committee member.For comments and questions about this website, please email Buck Feist or call 406-247-7607