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<br />,I <br /> <br />r:' r; . n~ <br />"J;.... ,) <br /> <br />< <br /> <br />surrounding states). <br /> <br />J. David Aiken, reporting in the Nebraska Water Law Update of July I, <br /> <br />1980 notes: <br /> <br />"On June 24, 1980 the Nebraska supreme court, in the decision of Little <br /> <br />Blue Natural Resources District v. Lower Platte North Natural Resources <br />, <br /> <br />District, unanimously ruled that unappropriated surface water could be <br />I <br />transferred from one river basin to another 'except when such diversion is <br /> <br />contrary to the public interest.' The court overruled the 1936 Nebraska <br /> <br />supreme court decision of Osterman v. Central Nebraska PubJ,ic Power and <br />, <br /> <br />Irrigation District, which had ruled that interbasin surface water transfers <br /> <br />were illegal. In Little Blue the court sent the interbasin transfer <br /> <br />application back to the Department of Water Resources (DWR) for an <br /> <br />" <br />, <br /> <br />administ'rative determination of whether the proposed transfer would be <br /> <br />\ <br /> <br />contrary to the public interest. The public interest determination is likely <br /> <br />to be appealed to the Nebraska supreme court. <br /> <br />"The Little Blue decision arose from applications to the DWR by the Little <br /> <br />Blue natural resources district (NRD) to divert 125,000 acre-feet of water <br /> <br />from the Platte River to irrigate land in the Blue River basin. The DWR <br /> <br />director determined that sufficient unappropriated water was available to <br /> <br />meet the Little Blue project water supply requirements, but denied the <br />applications based on the 1936 Osterman decision."37 <br /> <br />Johnson, and others, have reviewed federal efforts to provide area of origin <br /> <br />protections. Johnson examines Congress' efforts in several pieces of <br /> <br />-29- <br />