June 18, 2013

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More time given to comment on federal plan for 1.4M acres along Missouri&Niobrara

June 14, 2013 by

Nebraskans will have a longer period of time to comment on the federal government’s proposal for a Niobrara Confluence and Ponca Bluffs Conservation area.

The deadline for public comment had been today.

Instead, the Department of Interior has extended the comment period until September 30th.

The National Park Service and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service have proposed either the government manage or purchase 1.4 million acres in Nebraska and South Dakota. The largest portion of the land is located in Nebraska. Both Sen. Mike Johanns and Sen. Deb Fischer had requested the Department of Interior extend the deadline for public comment to give more time for landowners in the area to voice their opinions.

“Decisions of this magnitude must not be rushed. I’m pleased the Department of Interior listened to this request for an extended comment period. Nebraska landowners – particularly farmers and ranchers – are responsible stewards of our natural resources and are rightly concerned about the impact this land acquisition could have on their livelihoods,” Johanns said in a written statement released by his office.

“The extension of this public comment period will ensure local residents affected by the Department of Interior’s proposal have sufficient time to acquire more information about the project and assess its potential impacts. The hundreds of Nebraskans who have contacted my office on this matter have reasonable cause to be concerned about the federal government seizing or controlling this vast quantity of private land. I am pleased this effort to allow them additional time to voice their legitimate concerns was successful,” according to Fischer in a written statement released by her office.

The National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a draft Environmental Impact Statement and Land Protection Plan in March. The two agencies propose a joint “conservation effort” along portions of the Missouri and Niobrara Rivers in Nebraska and South Dakota. The public comment period opened in April. The senators sent a joint letter to the Secretary of the Interior complaining that a 60-day comment period was insufficient for such a complex proposal. The senators say a review of the documents submitted has raised questions about the project.

Sens. Johanns and Fischer also sent a letter raising questions about the proposal.

Link to letter

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation, Legislature & Government, News

Lawsuit challenging state compromise on Keystone XL allowed to proceed

June 12, 2013 by

Opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline can proceed with their lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state law that settled the route of the pipeline through Nebraska.

Lancaster County District Court Judge Stephanie Stacy has rejected a request by state officials to dismiss the lawsuit.

Three Nebraska landowners brought suit against the state, claiming that Gov. Dave Heineman should not have been given authority to approve the route of the Keystone XL pipeline through Nebraska. The lawsuit claims the law approved by the Unicameral during a special legislative session in 2011 violated the state constitution and should be overturned.

TransCanada proposes building the $7 billion, 1,700 miles crude oil pipeline from western Canada to oil refineries along the Gulf Coast in Texas. The original route proposed by the company passed through the Sand Hills, raising concerns about how it might affect the environmentally fragile region. A compromise brokered during the special session moved the route and won approval by the governor.

The Keystone XL pipeline must win approval by the president, because it would cross the border between the United States and Canada. President Barack Obama has yet to decide whether to grant approval.

The ruling in Lancaster County only allows the lawsuit to proceed. It does not comment on the merits of the pipeline.

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation, Featured Stories, Legislature & Government, News, Pipeline Controversy Tagged With:

Popular fishing lake in SE Nebraska to reopen soon

June 12, 2013 by

Renovation is nearly complete at one of Nebraska’s best largemouth bass fisheries.

Daryl Bauer, at Nebraska Game and Parks, says Burchard Lake in Pawnee County was drawn down last year for repairing the outlet of the dam, in addition to several upgrades.

“In the process, we did some other shoreline stabilization work, some angler access and a brand new boat ramp, which was desperately needed,” Bauer says. “All of that is done. We drew the lake down about ten feet to get that done and now we’re waiting on water to fill it back up.”

Bauer, the fisheries outreach program manager, says they originally hoped to reopen the lake at the start of April, but no firm reopening date has been set, as yet. He says the lake has been a great fishery because of good water quality and significant vegetation for fish habitat.

While the lake is known for its bass fishing, it’s also notorious for another native inhabitant.

“We had to make special concessions during the project to protect the rattlesnakes,” Bauer says. “Those are Massasauga rattlesnakes. They’re not very common especially in our part of the state, or anywhere in Nebraska for that matter. There is still habitat for those snakes at Burchard and they’re still there.” T

he Massasauga rattler is one of only four kinds of poisonous snakes in Nebraska, along with the prairie rattlesnake, timber rattlesnake and copperhead.

By Doug Kennedy, KWBE, Beatrice

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation, News, Recreation & Entertainment

Environmental groups want OPPD’s coal facility closed

June 7, 2013 by

Omaha Public Power District is under fire again and not because of problems at the Ft. Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant. The Sierra Club, the Clean Air Task Force and the Malcolm X Foundation are demanding that OPPD shut down their coal fired power plant in north Omaha claiming it is responsible for 14 deaths each year, 22 heart attacks and it causes 240 asthma attacks. OPPD Vice-President Tim Burke says that their coal fired plant operates within guidelines. He says emissions are checked by the Environmental Protection Agency as well as the Douglas County Health Department.

Burke says the north Omaha coal plant is not used much at all. It is basically a reserve for high peak usage times and often isn’t in operation at all during the fall, winter and spring seasons. Burke says they will not be closing down the plant but usage will be reduced even more once the Ft. Calhoun facility us up and running.

The Ft. Calhoun plant has been closed for two years. Missouri River flooding and concerns by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission contributed to the delay in restarting that facility.

Burke says the EPA may soon change all requirements at all coal fired power plants and OPPD will be ready to comply with those regulations.

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation, News

Gov. Heineman says he hasn’t decide whether he’ll sign wind energy bill (AUDIO)

June 4, 2013 by

Gov. Dave Heineman says he hasn’t decided, yet, whether to sign a bill that would provide a tax break for a wind energy farm proposed for northeastern Nebraska.

Heineman tells reporters he faces a difficult decision on whether to sign or veto LB 104.

“And I object to this special tax break for a Kansas company when the legislature didn’t provide new, significant tax relief or tax reform for Nebraskans.”

Under provisions of LB 104, Trade Winds of Lenexa, Kansas will receive $16 million in tax breaks to build a $300-to-400 million wind farm in northeast Nebraska’s Dixon County. The farm would be capable of generating 200 megawatts of electricity which would be exported to other states.

The Unicameral approved LB 104 38-2 with eight senators not voting.

The wind farm planned for the northeast part of the state would create up to 300 construction jobs with 20-to-25 permanent jobs. It is a 40-year project expected to pay $10,000 to $15,000 per tower to farmers in leases and between $700,000 and $800,000 in tax revenue for Dixon County.

Supporters contend Nebraska lags far behind other states in developing wind energy and that without LB 104, wind energy won’t develop here.

Heineman says he favored another wind energy bill, LB 402, which would have used community-based energy development projects.

Heineman doubts that.

“I still think wind energy is going to develop in Nebraska in part, because we have that wind corridor in the state,” Heineman says.

The governor likes one provision added to the bill by Sen. Ernie Chambers. It would repeal the local option sales tax for the city of Omaha.

AUDIO: Brent Martin reports [:45]

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation, Legislature & Government, News Tagged With:
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