Latest news with #NebraskaDepartmentofEnvironmentandEnergy
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Controversial Boyd County fight from the 1980s and ‘90s returns to Legislature
State Sens. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, left, and Tom Brandt of Plymouth. Feb. 23, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — It's been a while since the words 'low-level radioactive waste' have been spoken on the floor of the Nebraska Legislature, but state senators revived the topic two weeks ago. During debate on a bill allowing the merger of two state agencies, a debate broke out over whether the legislation should include repeal of the 1986 Low-Level Radioactive Waste Act, a package of regulations passed amid the heated controversy over locating a waste repository in Boyd County. That controversy divided families and towns in the rural county, spawned a hunger strike by a leading opponent of the waste dump and eventually led to a judge's ruling that Nebraska must pay $145.6 million in damages for rejecting the repository, designed to dispose of radioactive waste from five central U.S. states. The radioactive waste controversy also played a role in the 1990 gubernatorial race. Democrat Ben Nelson, who opposed the waste facility, narrowly defeated then-Gov. Kay Orr, a Republican who backed the project. Lawmakers approve agency merger of Nebraska's Natural Resources into Environment and Energy Two state senators, Tanya Storer of Whitman and Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, questioned the need to repeal the waste storage regulations during floor debate on April 22, and asked why it was included in a then-446-page proposal for a merger of the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy with the Department of Natural Resources. State Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth, who introduced Legislative Bill 317 on behalf of Gov. Jim Pillen, said attorneys with the NDEE advised him that the language was 'obsolete,' and if the regulations were removed, there would be no way for a new low-level radioactive waste depository to be located in the state. Storer, whose district includes Boyd County, said that any legislation that impacts the old controversy was of great interest to her constituents. 'Removing it is helping protect Nebraska? Ultimately, this is a good thing?' she asked Brandt, who responded yes. Despite that, Conrad won adoption of an amendment, on a 34-8 vote, that would retain the low-level radioactive waste regulations in state law. I just felt it was too rushed and too risky. – State Sen. Danielle Conrad on removing old regulations for radioactive waste depositories Conrad said that her amendment would give lawmakers more time to better understand if removing the regulations was a good thing. 'I just felt it was too rushed and too risky' to remove the rules, the senator said later. The overriding bill, LB 317, ended up advancing to the final round debate. It passed this week 34-12. Storer and Conrad still opposed it. The merger had been promoted by the governor as a way to increase collaboration between the departments that deal with water quantity, water quality, solid waste and manufacturing emissions, and a way to eventually save some money. Critics said that a fiscal impact statement doesn't show any specific cost savings and that the merger was unnecessary and had been opposed by agricultural groups. Examiner Reporter Zach Wendling contributed to this report. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lawmakers approve agency merger of Nebraska's Natural Resources into Environment and Energy
Gov. Jim Pillen, top right, leads an initial meeting of his new "Water Quality and Quantity Task Force" as he eyes a merger of two Nebraska state departments and seeks to prioritize water resources in state government on March 26, 2025. (Courtesy of Office of Gov. Jim Pillen) LINCOLN — Nebraska lawmakers gave final approval Thursday to merge two state agencies this summer and create one central department intended to increase the state's focus on water. Legislative Bill 317, from State Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth, passed 34-12 without debate. This July 1, the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources will be folded into the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy, creating the Nebraska Department of Water, Energy and Environment. Gov. Jim Pillen is expected to sign the bill, which Brandt introduced on his behalf. The governor has also created a 'Water Quality and Quantity Task Force.' A revised fiscal analysis said the merger, which was expected to initially cost the state for rebranding rather than cost savings, could be absorbed. The same statement said efficiency savings could be made and realized in the 2027-29 biennium. No specifics were given. Jesse Bradley currently serves as the joint interim director of Natural Resources and Environment and Energy. The two agencies already co-locate in the same northwest Lincoln office building. Natural Resources has a budget of more than $104 million, largely from cash funds ($89.5 million). Environment and Energy has a budget of nearly $99 million, split roughly in half between federal ($48.9 million) and cash funds ($43.2 million). In addition to a new combined agency director, the state will hire a 'chief water officer' who essentially takes on the role of the director of Natural Resources. While LB 317 is 511 pages, much of that is dedicated to renaming the different departments and division directors across hundreds of state statutes. The Nebraska Association of Natural Resources Districts (representing the state's 23 NRDs), Nebraska State Irrigation Association, Nebraska Farm Bureau, Nebraska chapter of the Sierra Club and Nebraska Farmers Union opposed the bill at its hearing. Many opponents expressed concern at a February public hearing for the bill that the merger might divide rather than focus attention on water resources. Only Pillen, Bradley, a member of the state's budget division and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (limited to a small section of LB 317) testified in support of the bill. Brandt said he felt good that the bill passed and that the longer he met with opponents to the bill, the more that initial concerns began to fade. He noted that during the second-round debate, he sought to address concerns from a couple of senators. 'The missions won't change,' Brandt said of the merger. 'It will just become one agency.' Current: Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy The Nebraska Department of Environmental Control is established (1971). The department is renamed the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (1992). Nebraska Energy Office is folded into the Environmental Quality Department, becoming DEE (2019). State-delegated environmental health programs from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, housed in the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, are moved over to DEE (2021). Current: Nebraska Department of Natural Resources The State Board of Irrigation is established (1895). The board is renamed the State Board of Irrigation, Highways and Drainage (1911). The name changes again to the Department of Public Works, expanded to include the Bureau of Roads and Bridges; Bureau of Irrigation, Water Power and Drainage; and the Motor Vehicle Records Division (1919). The department is renamed the Nebraska Department of Roads and Irrigation (1933). The Nebraska Department of Water Resources is established as the prior department is divided into three separate state agencies, alongside the Department of Roads and the Department of Motor Vehicles (1957). The Natural Resources Commission merges with the Nebraska Department of Water Resources to become the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (2000). Future: Nebraska Department of Energy, Water and Environment Nebraska is the only state with separate natural resources districts, which were created in 1972 as multipurpose, locally elected management bodies. There are currently 23 NRDs statewide. Water management in the state is largely shared by the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Environment and Energy and NRDs, with specific support from the Nebraska Department of Agriculture and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pillen plan to merge two agencies hits rough waters at legislative hearing
State Sens. Loren Lippincott, Steve Erdman, Brian Hardin, Teresa Ibach and Robert Dover joined Gov. Jim Pillen, at center right, and Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly, at right, for a tour of water resources on April 29, 2023. (Photo courtesy of State Sen. Teresa Ibach) LINCOLN — The Nebraska Association of Resources Districts and key ag leaders were among those who threw cold water this week, at least for now, on an idea from Gov. Jim Pillen to merge two state agencies. Legislative Bill 317, by State Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth and introduced at the request of Gov. Jim Pillen, would fold the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources into the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy. Pillen has said his goal is to enhance the state's focus on water. The combined agency would be the Nebraska Department of Water, Energy and Environment, effective July 1, if adopted by the Legislature this spring. Pillen has also set his sights on creating a Water Quality and Quantity Task Force, eyeing 15-18 members likely to be appointed by the governor, which he said would seek proactive solutions and possible policy help to proactively protect the state's water resources. Jasper Fanning, general manager of the Upper Republican Natural Resources District, testifying on behalf of the association for the state's 23 NRDs, argued against the merger for now. Fanning described the Department of Natural Resources as very collaborative and problem-solving, urging a more surgical and refined approach to merger conversations. He said carving out only water-related structures, if that's the goal, could be a focus. The task force could help frame those conversations, Fanning said. 'This is probably a terrible analogy, but you don't arrange for and conduct a shotgun wedding and then make the first step after that wedding looking at what the [pregnancy] test result is,' Fanning said. He continued: 'We need to take a scalpel and a very refined approach as opposed to just kind of a broad, sweeping approach to [the] discussion.' The merger would replace the director of the Natural Resources Department with a 'chief water officer' as a division leader below the new merged agency's director. The water position would require legislative approval and, at a minimum, require at least five years' experience in a position of responsibility in irrigation work. Multiple testifiers said the chief water officer should be required to be a licensed professional engineer, as currently required. Brandt and others said that requirement would return in a future amendment. Fanning said Jesse Bradley, interim director of both of the agencies proposed to merge, needs to continue to be focused on the 'most important water issue and project governance in the history of the State of Nebraska.' For the NRD general manager, that is the Perkins County Canal, a 100-year interstate compact that former Gov. Pete Ricketts, now U.S. senator, unearthed and passed on to Pillen. The canal would capture water in Keith County in western Nebraska from Colorado. Lawmakers have already appropriated funds for such construction, which Colorado officials have criticized as a 'canal to nowhere.' 'Some might disagree with that, but I think the Perkins County Canal, and the South Platte [River] Compact, is the most important thing in Nebraska's water future,' Fanning said. Fanning said Environment and Energy focuses on federal mandates, pass-through funding and 'a lot of check-the-box things, not really asking the question every day, 'How do we best serve Nebraskans and what can we do to help Nebraska grow?'' He said that would take up necessary staff time. 'Anything that takes Mr. Bradley's efforts and his staff's efforts away from focusing on ensuring Nebraska's water future, which has significant impacts on Lincoln and Omaha's water supply, it's a big deal,' Fanning said. Bradley has been interim director of Natural Resources since August 2024, and he assumed the top role at Environment and Energy on Wednesday, as Pillen eyed the merger. The interim director said the merger would improve focus on long-term issues, such as nitrogen management, water utilization and soil health. He said it would also help streamline the process for planning and permitting. He said he supports the merger and told the committee he believes staff are excited to work together and break through existing silos. Both agencies are already co-located at the same office building in northwest Lincoln. Natural Resources has a budget of more than $104 million, largely in cash funds, and has about 112 employees. Environment and Energy has a budget of nearly $99 million, split in half roughly between cash and federal funds, and has 252 employees. Pillen told the Natural Resources Committee, which Brandt chairs, that water is the 'lifeblood' of Nebraska and that future innovations will lead to an 'economic boom' in the state. He noted new hydrogen plants, companies based around biofuels and biobased products, animal processing plants and data centers are looking to locate in the state and will need water. 'Moving forward, we need to double down on our efforts to protect and enhance this valuable resource,' Pillen testified. 'Combining DEE and DNR sets the foundation for water quantity and quality under the same leadership.' Pillen, who is 69 years old, grew up on a farm in Platte County where he raised pigs with his father. In 1993, he started Pillen Family Farms and later added DNA genetics, which has grown into a massive hog operation. Much of the state has high nitrate levels, which has landed criticism at Pillen and his family operation in recent years as he ascended to the governor's office. Pillen and lawmakers commissioned a study in 2023 to recommend viable solutions for nitrate-affected drinking water. They also allocated $500,000 annually for one-time income tax credits, up to $1,000, for reverse osmosis systems to help filter out nitrates and other chemicals from drinking water. The governor testified that it is 'no secret' that the state has faced elevated nitrate levels for 60 years, which he said the merger and his task force would help combat. 'This has to stop. It cannot continue,' Pillen said of nitrate contamination. 'We need to get aggressive and address these issues.' He described the merger as 'simply good governance' that would lead to cost savings over time. Fiscal estimates provided by the Natural Resources and Environment and Energy Departments showed no immediate savings but projected $100,000 in rebranding costs in the next fiscal year. Jacob Leaver, deputy state budget administrator, said the merger wouldn't impact any current obligations or projects for either agency. He said, if merged, that cost savings might come in the 2027-2029 fiscal years. State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln said she was surprised there were no specific savings identified. Pillen and Leaver said that was intentional. 'To be able to go out and say exactly what that is,' Pillen told the committee of potential savings, 'I just don't think it's fair to the public servants who are part of those agencies to do that today.' Timothy McCoy, director of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, also supported the proposal, limiting his comments to a small section in the 446-page bill that would return authority for determining the boundaries of state game refuges to his commission from Environment and Energy. McCoy, like Fanning, said he anticipated coordination with the sister agencies would continue either way. Much of the bill is limited to correcting references if the agencies are merged, with roughly only 30 of the 393 sections in the bill offering substantive new or modified legal changes. Many are limited to eliminating 'obsolete' provisions that haven't been used in years, Bradley explained, such as a specific soil survey fund and repealing the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Act. Nebraska withdrew from a related waste disposal interstate compact in 1999. LeRoy Sievers, who serves on the board of directors of the Nebraska State Irrigation Association, which has been around since 1893, argued that based on his experience, mergers don't save money. 'Prior mergers did not save money and only created additional bureaucratic barriers,' he said. 'This proposed merger will do the same.' Sievers said he is a former assistant attorney general and legal counsel for what was previously the Nebraska Department of Water Resources and became Natural Resources in the 2000s. He said that having a dedicated agency for water is critical in interstate litigation, which could include the Perkins County Canal, for example. Sievers said large bureaucracies hurt other states in those lawsuits while Nebraska had a leg up. Al Davis, on behalf of the Nebraska chapter of the Sierra Club, opposed the merger, pointing to the environmental disaster in Mead, Nebraska, which he said was exacerbated by a slow response at Environment and Energy. Davis, a former state senator from the Sandhills, said that the merger of the state's energy functions atrophied potential energy innovations at a time when the state could be strengthening and diversifying its energy grid. Kurt Bogner, vice chair of the Nebraska Environmental Quality Council, which adopts rules and regulations for Environment and Energy and also vets candidates for the agency director, also opposed the move. Bogner, testifying in his individual capacity, said the council has received no information or updates on selecting a director since former director Jim Macy resigned in April 2024. LB 317 would remove the Council's advisory role to vet candidates for the governor, a responsibility that Bogner suggested should be carried over. Bruce Rieker, for the Nebraska Farm Bureau, and John Hansen, for the Nebraska Farmers Union, also testified in opposition to the change. Among Brandt's committee members, many appeared open to the merger. State Sen. Barry DeKay of Niobrara, committee vice chair, noted it's not as if Natural Resources and Environment and Energy are 'oil and water,' because both already work together. State Sen. Mike Moser of Columbus voiced what he described as the 'elephant in the room' to Brandt: balancing the use of water for agriculture, cities and industry. Moser told Fanning that, whatever moves forward, he hopes local NRDs will embrace the changes and make it work well. 'That's our goal,' Fanning said. 'We're always working to improve collaboration with both agencies, and that's what we want on a daily basis.' Brandt said he's open to taking more time to meet with stakeholders and specify how the merger would work. He said he remains committed to getting his bill over the finish line this year. 'Everybody wants better water issues tomorrow than we have today,' Brandt told his committee. 'I think we all share that goal in this room.' Current: Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy The Nebraska Department of Environmental Control is established (1971). The department is renamed the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (1992). Nebraska Energy Office is folded into the Environmental Quality Department, becoming DEE (2019). State-delegated environmental health programs from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, housed in the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, are moved over to DEE (2021). Current: Nebraska Department of Natural Resources The State Board of Irrigation is established (1895). The board is renamed the State Board of Irrigation, Highways and Drainage (1911). The name changes again to the Department of Public Works, expanded to include the Bureau of Roads and Bridges; Bureau of Irrigation, Water Power and Drainage; and the Motor Vehicle Records Division (1919). The department is renamed the Nebraska Department of Roads and Irrigation (1933). The Nebraska Department of Water Resources is established as the prior department is divided into three separate state agencies, alongside the Department of Roads and the Department of Motor Vehicles (1957). The Natural Resources Commission merges with the Nebraska Department of Water Resources to become the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (2000). Nebraska is the only state with separate natural resources districts, which were created in 1972 as multipurpose, locally elected management bodies. There are currently 23 NRDs statewide. Water management in the state is largely shared by the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Environment and Energy and NRDs, with specific support from the Nebraska Department of Agriculture and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pillen, eyeing merger, appoints interim Natural Resources director to lead Environment and Energy
Jesse Bradley, the interim director of the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources since August 2024, was tapped Feb. 12, 2025, to also lead the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy as interim director. The appointment comes as Gov. Jim Pillen has set his sights on combining the two state agencies, which requires legislative approval. (Capitol photo by Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner | Bradley photo courtesy of Office of Gov. Jim Pillen) LINCOLN — The interim director of the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources has been tapped to also lead the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy, a first step in Gov. Jim Pillen's goal to combine the agencies. The governor announced his appointment Wednesday of Jesse Bradley to lead both departments. Bradley is the third person to lead Environment and Energy in an interim capacity since former director Jim Macy retired in April 2024. Bradley has served as interim DNR director since August, a position he also briefly held in 2020. The move comes as Pillen has set his sights on combining the two agencies Bradley now leads. Merged, they would be the Nebraska Department of Water, Energy and Environment. Pillen has said he would form a governor's task force on water quality and quantity. Many of DNR's responsibilities would continue in the merged agencies overseen by a 'chief water officer.' The merger would require legislative approval. Legislative Bill 317, introduced at Pillen's request by State Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth, would fold the Department of Natural Resources into the Department of Environment and Energy, effective July 1, at the start of a new fiscal year. The bill doesn't yet have a cost estimate. The proposal will be considered at a public hearing Thursday before the Legislature's Natural Resources Committee, which Brandt chairs. Pillen said in a statement that water management is critical to the state and that steps must be made to continue to innovate and improve water quantity and quality 'for the next seven generations.' 'Jesse's vast experience in that area, coupled with his ability to bridge the gap between local needs, the state and federal regulators, make him strongly qualified to lead DNR and DEE when they are combined through passage of LB 317,' Pillen said. A spokesperson for the governor did not immediately respond to a reporter's question on Bradley's salary. Bradley has been with DNR since 2006, beginning as an integrated water management analyst. He became head of the agency's Water Planning Division in 2012 and became deputy director two years later. He has degrees in environmental geology and hydrogeology and is a licensed professional geologist in the state. LB 317 would remove the step of letting an outside group, the Environmental Quality Council, recommend names for the governor to consider to lead Energy and Environment. Pillen in his statement said he would continue to consult with the group as the legislation moves forward. The director would still need to be experienced in air, water and land pollution control. Pillen noted Bradley's role in implementing Sumner State Sen. Teresa Ibach's LB 1368 of 2024, the Nitrogen Reduction Incentive Act, involving close collaboration with local natural resources districts to protect the state's water, its 'most precious natural resource.' The law, which is set to end Dec. 31, 2029, provides incentive payments to farmers who use innovative technology in their farming practices, including the proper use of biological nitrogen products. Brandt said he finds Bradley very knowledgeable and well-liked, particularly by local natural resources districts. 'I have no doubt he'll do a good job,' Brandt told the Nebraska Examiner. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
