WASHINGTON – This afternoon, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing to examine several Bureau of Reclamation bills, including one offered by U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) regarding the Northport Irrigation District. Senator Fischer released the following statement after today’s hearing:

“Ag producers near Bridgeport have been struggling for years due to outdated and irrelevant requirements on the district dating back to the 1950s. Families across Western Nebraska have lost time and resources because of this, and it’s time we did something to fix this outdated bureaucracy.

“That’s why I’ve introduced a bill that will allow landowners to repay their portion of the remaining construction cost debt, which would thereby relieve them from land-use limitations and other restrictions. Farmers would now have the ability to expand land access, reallocate the water they already use, and thereby increase their output.

“I’m excited to see this bill continue to make its way through the Senate and unite with Congressman Adrian Smith’s companion bill in the House for swift action into law.”

Since 1952, the Northport Irrigation District has been paralyzed under an outdated construction contract loan with the Bureau of Reclamation (BoR). This contract has prevented members of the district from making payments on their portion of the overall debt and limiting their ability to expand their farms and businesses.

Under current law, BoR has no statutory authority to allow individual landowners to repay their portion of the debt. Because of this, landowners are limited to only 960 acres per individual – an extremely outdated requirement for modern day farms and farming practices. Northport members see this limit as an undue burden that prevents them from acquiring additional land by inheritance, purchase, or rent.

Senator Fischer’s bill would correct this and provide repayment authority for members of the Northport Irrigation District under the BoR contract. Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE-3) has introduced an identical bill in the House of Representatives, where it was passed unanimously on June 1, 2015. The bill contains no earmarks and the precedent dates back to 2008 when similar language was included in an appropriations bill regarding an Idaho irrigation district.

Click here to view Senator Fischer’s bill, known as S. 1291.

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