Integrated Management Plan (IMP)

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The North Platte NRD Second Increment Integrated Management Plan is now available below. Additional materials related to integrated management planning in the NPNRD, including the first increment IMP and the stakeholder materials from the second increment planning, can be found here. Information considered in developing the IMP, Second Increment Upper Platte Basin-Wide Plan, and the Upper Platte River Basin 2019 Robust Review are accessible Here. The draft of the Upper Platte Basin-Wide Plan that will be going to a hearing in July is available here, along with all the appendices and supporting material. 

LINKS to 

Integrated Management of Ground and Surface Water

Groundwater and surface water are directly connected to the North Platte River and Pumpkin Creek basins. Because of this connection, the hydrologic system can get out of balance if either water source is overused without being replenished. For instance, if surface water is not diverted through the canal systems in the District, then the aquifer will not receive the recharge needed to replace groundwater pumped for irrigation and other uses. Similarly, if too much groundwater is pumped, the water level in local creeks and streams may decline.

 The North Platte NRD began to take steps in 2002 to manage groundwater pumping in some regions of the District to address declining groundwater levels and protect water resources. These actions prepared the North Platte NRD for different management decisions that would result from the passage of LB 962 in 2004.

Implementation of Legislative Bill 962

In July 2004, the Legislature passed LB962, which gave the State Department of Natural Resources authority to designate parts of the state as either fully appropriated or over-appropriated. In the North Platte NRD, the North Platte River valley and the Pumpkin Creek basin were declared over-appropriated, and the rest of the District was designated as fully appropriated. As a result of these designations, the District, in cooperation with DNR, developed an integrated management plan (IMP) outlining how the connected resources of surface water and groundwater would be managed together. The planning process included input from many different stakeholders and the general public. The plan was adopted in 2009 and ran through September 2019. The North Platte NRD also participated in a basin-wide IMP process for the entire upper Platte basin, which was similarly declared over-appropriated in 2004.

 The 2004 designations and the District IMP put a moratorium on expanding irrigated acres in the District. This moratorium prohibits using existing wells to increase the number of acres historically irrigated before July 16, 2004. As part of its 2002 management actions, the North Platte NRD had already placed a moratorium on issuing permits for new Well construction throughout the entire District.

Exceptions to the Moratorium on New Wells

  1. Test holes
  2. Dewatering wells with the intended use of 90 days or less
  3. Monitoring Wells
  4. Wells were constructed under a groundwater remediation plan under the Environmental Protection Act.
  5. Water wells for range livestock or domestic household uses
  6. Wells necessary to alleviate an emergency involving the provision of water for human consumption or public health and safety
  7. Replacement wells provided that the wasteful use of the replacement well is no greater than the historical consumptive use of the water wells it is to replace

Additional Resources

For meeting information, if you would like to join, click here to get a complete list of dates. 

 


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