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Nebraska calls for new irrigation rules

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) _ Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman's administration has suggested irrigation shutdowns in a large swath of the Republican River basin during dry years to help send Kansas the water it is owed under a three-state compact, according to an official familiar with the proposal. The official discussed it with The Associated Press on Tuesday on condition of anonymity because the plan is supposed to remain secret for now. Farmers and others in the irrigation-heavy region of southwest and south-central Nebraska said such a shutdown could be a huge economic blow. ``You're talking about a really big financial hit on a large area,'' Holbrook-area farmer Dale Helms said when told of the plan. He irrigates land with wells that could be turned off occasionally. ``You can't just shut this thing down ... and expect everyone will still be around when you turn it back on.'' Some say such action is needed to keep Nebraska from a repeat of 2005 and 2006, when more Republican River water was used than allowed under a settlement and compact that also includes Colorado. ``It's a big step in the right direction,'' said University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor David Aiken, a water-law expert. ``This is the kind of thing we have to do to be in compliance in the long term.'' Heineman and the state's top water official, Brian Dunnigan, would neither confirm nor deny the existence of the plan that was presented to natural resources districts in the basin last week. Asked if the state was considering an irrigation shutdown, Dunnigan, director of the Department of Natural Resources said, ``We're considering all options,'' and that it was premature to discuss them.