46-2,115. Application for instream appropriation; approval; when.

An application for an instream appropriation which is pending on or filed after January 1, 1997, shall be approved by the director if he or she finds that:

(1) In order to allow for future beneficial uses, there is unappropriated water available to provide the approved instream flow rate at least twenty percent of the time during the period requested;

(2) The appropriation is necessary to maintain the existing recreational uses or needs of existing fish and wildlife species;

(3) The appropriation will not interfere with any senior surface water appropriation;

(4) The rate and timing of the flow is the minimum necessary to maintain the existing recreational uses or needs of existing fish and wildlife species; and

(5) The application is in the public interest.

The application may be granted for a rate of flow that is less than that requested by the applicant or for a shorter period of time than requested by the applicant.

Source:Laws 1984, LB 1106, § 31; Laws 1985, LB 102, § 17; Laws 1997, LB 877, § 4; Laws 2000, LB 900, § 147.

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