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Monday, April 1, 2013 2:10:00 PM

About the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources
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State Funds Administered by the Department of Natural Resources:

  • Soil and Water Conservation Fund provides Nebraska landowners cost-share assistance for installing approved conservation practices.
  • Resources Development Fund provides state funding assistance for the construction of larger projects that enhance Nebraska's natural resources.
  • Small Watersheds Flood Control Fund financially aids local sponsors with the acquistion of necessary land rights for flood reduction projects.
  • Water Well Decommissioning Fund provides state dollars to decommission or plug illegal or abandoned water wells.
  • Natural Resources Water Quality Fund provides tax dollars to the natural resources districts (nrds) for water quality projects. The districts match three local dollars for every two fund dollars.
  • Interrelated Water Management Plan Program Fund helps fund the duties of nrds arising under the Nebraska Groundwater Management and Protection Act.
 
NDNR maintains five field offices located across Nebraska.
  1. Bridgeport Field Office 729 Main Street P.O. Box 787 Bridgeport, Nebraska 69336-0787 Phone: 308-262-1930 Fax: 308-262-1939
  2. Cambridge Field Office 622 Patterson P.O. Box 426 Cambridge, Nebraska 69022 Phone: 308-697-3730 Fax: 308-697-3200
  3. Lincoln Field Office 301 Centennial Mall South P.O. Box 94676 Lincoln, Nebraska 68509-4676 Phone: 402-471-2363 Fax: 402-471-2900
  4. Ord Field Office North Highway 11 P.O. Box 251 Ord, Nebraska 68862 Phone: 308-728-3325 Fax: 308-728-9967
  5. Norfolk Field Office 601 East Benjamin Ave., Suite 101 Norfolk, Nebraska 68701 Phone: 402-370 3377 Fax: 402-371-0653
 
More Information
For additional information on programs and/ or activities of the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources please call (402)-471-2363 during office hours.

You can also contact us at:
Nebraska Department of Natural Resources
301 Centennial Mall South
P.O. Box 94676
Lincoln, Nebraska 68509-4674

Finding a balance between competing demands is a key to Nebraska‛s resource future. Assessing impacts of alternative soil and water management options requires an understanding of complex issues and substantial amounts of reliable data. The Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (NDNR) is committed to providing Nebraska‛s citizens and leaders with the data and analyses they need to make wise resource decisions for the benefit of all Nebraskans both now and in the future. The NDNR is a State agency with responsibilities in the areas of:
  • Surface Water
  • Groundwater
  • Floodplain Management
  • Dam Safety
  • Natural Resources Planning
  • Water Planning and Integrated Management
  • Storage of Natural Resources and Related Data
  • Administration of State Funds
Groundwater
  • State Law requires that all new wells drilled in the state must be properly registered with NDNR.
  • Permits are required to transfer groundwater off overlaying land for large industrial uses, geothermal uses, out-of-state uses and water well spacing requirement violations.
  • NDNR is responsible for approving or denying municipal and rural domestic transfer permits.
  • NDNR maintains records on all the above.
Surface Water
  • NDNR has jurisdiction over matters pertaining to surface water rights for storage, irrigation, hydropower, manufacturing, diversions, instream flows and other beneficial uses.
  • Anyone wishing to divert the waters of a natural stream or lake must first get a permit or water right from the Department.
  • The NDNR is also responsible for the collection of and reporting of flow data for streams, canal and pump diversions and storage data for reservoirs. Published annually, this information can also be found at the agency's homepage site http://www.dnr.ne.gov.
  • NDNR represents Nebraska’s interests on interstate water compacts and decrees.
Integrated Water Management
When a river basin or portion of a river basin is determined to be fully appropriated or declared overappropriated, NDNR and the affected nrd(s) must work cooperatively to develop an integrated management plan for that specific area. NDNR provides groundwater modeling and the development of modeling tools for studying surface water/groundwater interactions and impacts of water uses. This information is used in the preparation of an Annual Evaluation of Availability of Hydrologically Connected Water Supplies Report required by state law.

Floodplain Management / Dam Safety
  • NDNR is responsible for a non-structural program of floodplain management including the delineation of floodplains and providing technical assistance on floodplain management to local units of government.
  • The NDNR is charged with the responsibility for coordination and assistance with the National Flood Insurance Program and the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program.
  • The agency reviews and approves engineering plans for new dams, the rehabilitation of old dams and emergency preparedness plans for all dams classified as high hazard. An inventory of these dams and their field inspections are maintained.
Planning Assistance
  • The NDNR provides technical and policy information to help Nebraskans make sound soil and water resources management decisions.
  • Participates in numerous state, inter-state and local studies, development of planning related databases, and guidance of the State Water Planning and Review Process.
  • Provides local units of government with requested assistance in natural resources planning and management responsibilities.
  • Responsible for the maintenance and update of spatial dataset of surface water features. (National Hydrography Dataset)
Natural Resources Data Bank
Housed at NDNR this resources information system obtains, gathers, processes, stores, and makes available for distribution a wide variety of natural resources and related data. Most information is available in numerous formats scaled to meet the users needs. Some of this information is available online through NDNR’s website.
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