NRD issues 'stay' on new well permits

TECUMSEH - The Nemaha Natural Resources District Board responded to application rule changes and drought trends at its March 13 meeting with a temporary stay for up to 180 days on issuance of new well permits.

Previously approved permits and permits for wells that pump 50 to 150 gallons per minute will continue, along with test hole drilling and conversions from gravity to pivot irrigation.

NRD Manager Kyle Hauschild said the NRD is in the process of updating its rules, so the stay allows time to have the updates in place. He said the timing also coincides with the planting season when fewer well permits are typically applied for. The NRD has also had declines in underground aquifers.

The U.S. Drought Monitor crop moisture index shows RiverCountry in the excessively dry range, with abnormally dry in northeast Kansas and into Richardson County.\

USGS says discharge of the Big Blue River at Barneston, Neb., is well below normal for March.