By Russ Pankonin
    The Imperial Republican
    
     People in the Upper Republican Natural Resource District will get another chance to offer their input on a proposed integrated management plan.
     During a special meeting Monday, March 28, in Imperial, URNRD board members voted to hold another public hearing on the IMP April 28.
     NRD Manager Jasper Fanning said the board had incorporated changes to the plan based on testimony at a previous hearing. In addition, there were further changes suggested by the state to align the plan with the Republican River Compact Settlement.
     As a result, the State Attorney General's Office felt the changes were significant enough to hold another hearing.
    
    Testimony addressed
     During a public hearing earlier this month, a number of people urged the board to look strongly at water transfer options and control of vegetation and trees along streams and rivers.
     Board members addressed those concerns by adding a new rule authorizing the exploration of alternative means of supplying water to the Republican River basin.
     Options to investigate, if warranted, include but are not limited to "transbasin diversions and transport of water from sources outside the Republican River for the benefit of the District."
     Another option includes augmenting water supplies "through the mechanical, chemical, or other removal of trees and other phreatophytes depleting the ground water or surface water flows to the Republican River basin."
     The board also added a rule to withdraw ground water from a well to "augment water supplies in any stream or wetland within the District for the purpose of benefitting fish or wildlife or producing other environmental or recreational benefits."
     This rule will help address the water needs of the Rock Creek Fish Hatchery, where natural stream flow has declined significantly.
     The natural spring feeding their nurse pond has seen a decline over the years from 215 gallons per minute to between 30-40 gpm presently.
     A previous story incorrectly stated the flow as cubic feet per second rather than gpm.
     The total flow of five springs into the hatchery today is 4.5 cfs.
    
    Municipal allocations
     The proposed plan adjusts the method for figuring municipal allocations within the district.
     The board figured an allocation based on a variation of a 14 inch irrigation allocation, rather than the 13.5 inch allocation proposed for irrigators as a compromise with the municipals.
     In addition, the plan exempts municipalities from further cuts in water-short years.
    
    Other changes
     Other changes included clean-up language and clarification of pooling, replacement wells, and one definition of the district's share of depletion.
     Regardless of the type of year, the URNRD will only be responsible for 44 percent of the depletion factor in the basin.
    
    Closed session challenged
     After reviewing the proposed changes with the public present at Monday's meeting, the board voted to go into executive session to discuss further strategy when negotiating the proposed plan with the Department of Natural Resources.
     Steve Smith, of Imperial-based WaterClaim, questioned the board's need for closed session and registered a formal challenge to the board's action to get into executive session.
     His challenge was noted in the minutes and by the NRD's legal counsel, Joel Burke.
     Burke told the board the challenge was acknowledged and they could proceed with a closed session, which is what they did.
     Smith said executive members of WaterClaim are considering further court action to clarify the validity of the closed session.