Sandhills Water fight up to the Supremes again

Nebraska has come to an impasse over competing uses of scarce water especially out west. Nebraska is one of the most heavily irrigated states in the nation. The showdowns are coming in the courts, despite the extensive regulatory involvement of the State Department of Natural Resources and the Local Irrigation Districts. Earlier this year, the Nebraska Supreme Court held that Spear T Ranch could sue a neighboring ground water user for unreasonably excessive pumping of water that depletes a creek the ranch was using. (Spear T Ranch v. Knaub, 269 Neb. 177, 1-21-2005, Spear T I). Water Law expert commentary on the Spear T Ranch case in the Nebraska Lawyer described this years ruling as one of the most significant for the Nebraska Supreme Court ever as the Supreme Court held that it would adopt the Restatement of Torts rule on water disputes to those between ground and surface users.Restatement (Second) of Torts Section 858 (1)(c) at 258 (1979) The Restatement will require courts to employ a multi-factored analysis in each case where a ground-surface water dispute arises. The Supreme Court addressed the passage of LB962 last year which provided additional authority for the State natural Resources Department to control surface water, but held those regulations are prospective only and provide no remedy for aggrieved surface water users. The passage of lb962last year allowed Roger Patterson of the Department of Natural Resources, in consultation with natural resource districts, to declare river basins in the state either fully appropriated or over-appropriated. But new authority under LB 962 will not guarantee an end to the water fights. Currently the Nebraska Water Department is defending a $4million tort claim that Spear T seeks against the State for allowing ground water depletion. See also cornhusker Economics for farmers and ranchers analysis of the Spear T I decision.