LINCOLN- Following a Nebraska Supreme Court ruling last fall, a review of a proposal to transfer water from one river in Nebraska to another was put back on track. The Nebraska Department of Natural Resources announced that a public hearing would be held on Thursday in Bertrand, Nebraska to receive input on what would be a historic trans-basin diversion of water.

Last October, the Supreme Court ruled that several natural resource districts and a power company in the Platte River Basin lacked standing to object to a water transfer, which two natural resource districts in the Republican basin had proposed in 2018. That ruling left the decision to Tom Riley, the director of the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources.

Jesse Bradley, the department's deputy director, said the agency is proceeding with the transfer, but that there is no set timeline yet. However, before the transfer can occur, state law requires the agency to receive public feedback on seven factors, including economic and environmental impacts.

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