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. 'J' - - 0 (;. ;1 J ~'I AL TERNA TIVE #27 (new a"arnatlve): Amend Section 37.435(3) and other Sections of the non- game and Endangered Species Act so thai the State Act Includes an exemption process and is otherwise consistent with the Federa' Act. The Commission recommends adoption of this alter. native. While we recognize protection of endangered species as a priority, we do not believe it should always be an absolute priority. This amendment would allow the slate to balance the benefits 01 a project against unavoidable costs 10 endangered species. The amend- ment would also bring the stale into more nearly com. plete conformance with the federal law. However, we do note that for most projects the federal endangered species law is also likely to apply. This means that in most cases if Nebraska does grant an exemption, a federal exemption will also need to be obtained. The exceptions would be cases where a threatened or endangered species is designated only by the slate, or where no federal funding or permits are involved. This change in state law would apply directly in those cases. AL TERNA TIVE #28 (lormerly '32): Dlrecl some entity to develop a plan to obtaIn and use supplemental water from the Missouri River. The Commission supports adoption 01 this atter- native. We recognize that large scale transfer schemes studied to date are financially infeasible at current crop prices. However, we believe thai smaller scale irriga. tion Iransfers and energy related translers both hold immediate promise. The electrical peaking facilities 01 the Gregory project and South Dakota's sale of water for the coal slurry pipeline are examples of potential energy uses. We also believe that if crop prices rise and interest rates drop the larger scale transfers could hold promise. Therefore, we believe Nebraska should more carefully examine its prospects tor use 01 Missouri River water. This might be accomplished in connection with Alternative '24 which implements the state pro- ject planning and design portion of the State Water Planning and Review Process. AL TERNA TIVE #29 llormarly '33): Inalllu'e and fund a type of public works program that would relieve unemployment and develop sup~ plement.1 water supply projects. The Commission does not recommend adoption of this alternative. We aCknowledge the invaluable role that the federal publiC works programs begun' in the 1930's played in water project development in Nebraska. However. we do not believe that current con- ditions warrant lhose types of programs. - ALTERNATIVE #30 (lormerly '34): Establish a Water Development Advocacy Agency in Nebraska. This would require the Nebraska legislature to create such an agency or significantly "overhaul" an existing agency. The Commission recommends that Alrernarive 1124 be implemented in place of this alternative. That alter- native provides lor implementation of Ihe Commission's "State Project Planning and Design Activity." We do not believe that a new or substantially overhauled agency is needed. We also believe that the Commis- sion's ties to the local level of government make it the logical agency in which to house a project planning effort. IX