LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) — Nearly a dozen state senators on dual trips toured western Nebraska and parts of Colorado to survey the area that could be part of the proposed Perkins County Canal.
On the respective Friday and Monday trips, two groups toured areas that would be served by the multimillion-dollar effort started by then-Gov. Pete Ricketts in 2022. It would ensure Colorado sends the water Nebraska is owed based on the 1923 South Platte River Compact.
Gov. Jim Pillen and Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly on Friday joined State Sens. Steve Erdman of Bayard, Mike Jacobson of North Platte, Brian Hardin of Gering, Teresa Ibach of Sumner, Robert Dover of Norfolk and Loren Lippincott of Central City.
State Sens. Jana Hughes of Seward, Dave Murman of Glenvil, Carolyn Bosn of Lincoln, Kathleen Kauth of Omaha and John Fredrickson of Omaha followed the same trip itinerary Monday.
‘Water is everything’
Of the six freshman senators visiting the area, each saw benefits in the canal.
Hughes described the 100-year compact as one of “foresight” and said finishing the canal could be one of the most important accomplishments of the Legislature.
“Water is everything,” Hughes said. “And if we don’t get the claim that we have — and we have that claim if that canal is built — it’s just, it’s super important and the trickle-down effect for the state is super important.”
Ibach said the canal is integral for a handful of reasons, including irrigation, recreation and power.
“Those are three things that we can’t ignore,” Ibach said. “We also can’t ignore the fact that this water is owed us, and water is a commodity.”
The project would also support wildlife and species on the Platte River, Hughes said.
Colorado officials have previously expressed concerns with the project. But Hardin, whose district borders Wyoming, said he’s worried the federal government or “alphabet soup organizations,” not Colorado, could impede the project.
“They say, ‘Stop the presses. We need to investigate a grasshopper that might be disenfranchised,’” Hardin said. “I’m being facetious about it, but you get the point: These organizations have the regulatory authority to stop progress.”
Benefits to the whole state
Bosn and Fredrickson, from the state’s largest cities, said seeing the area in person was useful.
“You can listen to things over and over and once you get there, like, ‘Oh, that was not what I thought it was gonna look like,’” Bosn said of the trip.
Funding for the canal is included in Pillen’s budget proposal and will be voted on by the full Legislature this week.
Lippincott, a member of the Appropriations Committee, said that while the project carries a hefty price tag — $574 million to be set aside this year — the effort is forward-thinking.
Senators also noted the importance of spending time together outside the Legislature.
“We didn’t talk shop,” Bosn said. “We visited about families and just kind of got to know all the things that we have in common that we don’t have in common on the floor.”
Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Cate Folsom for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com. Follow Nebraska Examiner on Facebook and Twitter.
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