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5.14.04 Stop the train wreck Unlawfully blocking M.U.D. water project may be costly for Platte NRD. Board members of the Lower Platte North Natural Resources District have made a major -- and potentially costly -- mistake. Blame it on misplaced zeal. Blame it on a shortage of the brand of courage it takes to stand up to angry constituents. Blame it, if you must, on politics. But blame the NRD's board members who, against their own attorney's advice and contrary to state law, denied M.U.D. a well field permit for its new Platte West water treatment facility. This kind of permit is supposed to be issued automatically by an NRD staffer to anyone who submits a form, pays the fee and meets three broad conditions. M.U.D.'s proposed well field meets them, as NRD officials have conceded. The fact that the board even took up the topic of issuance of a routine permit is unusual, perhaps unprecedented. But then, M.U.D.'s path to expanding the water supply for metropolitan Omaha has been rocky from the start. And the major rocks have been thrown by Saunders County officials. (Saunders is in the Lower Platte North NRD.) The well field straddles the Platte River. M.U.D. has secured state and federal permits and has complied with requirements for studies, mitigation and other conditions. Work on the $295 million plant is poised to go. The well field permit was among the very last pieces of paper needed. Saunders County officials have flung up one objection after another against the treatment facility in the past couple of years. Each has been answered, patiently, by M.U.D. officials. None has stood up to scientific analysis. M.U.D. has sunk millions of its customers' dollars into this project, which is vital for providing sufficient water to fast-growing western Omaha and Douglas County. Its general manager, Thomas Wurtz, is rightly angry at this ploy. It has the potential to cost attorney fees and, perhaps, delays in the project. M.U.D. has recourse, since it is on the right side of the law. Wurtz laid out some possible consequences in a letter to Dean Johnson, chairman of the NRD. Treating M.U.D. differently from other permit applicants is "improper, discriminatory and illegal," he wrote. M.U.D. has agreed to join the NRD in a levee project to the tune of $180,000, and the NRD apparently plans to ask for more. But by blocking the well field (which is the reason M.U.D. is partnering with the NRD), the board jeopardizes that contribution, Wurtz said. Moreover, "M.U.D. will not pay into a project if it is required to take legal action simply to obtain well permits." Another consequence could be individually painful for board members: If the NRD's illegal stance creates costs for M.U.D. customers, Wurtz said, "We will look to the (NRD) for reimbursement, including the possibility of personal liability of board members for acting outside the scope of their authority." Harsh, yes. But, in our opinion, justified. Enough is enough. How unfortunate it would be if the utility had to assert its rights that vehemently. The repercussions may not end at the boundaries of the NRD. The enabling legislation that set up the Nebraska NRD system hasn't been tested in this way before. If an NRD refuses to follow the law, it is conceivable that the state would have to step in. That, no one wants to see. There is time, though, to prevent this train wreck. Board members could still listen to the voices of reason trying to explain their duty -- their attorney, NRD director John Miyoshi and others. They could let the NRD's staff do its lawful job. They could let the permit be issued. Now. |
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