Section 2-32,115 - Immediate temporary stay imposed by natural resources district; department; powers and duties(1) Whenever a natural resources district imposes an immediate temporary stay for one hundred eighty days in accordance with subsection (2) of section 46-707, the department may place an immediate temporary stay without prior notice or hearing on the issuance of new surface water natural-flow appropriations for one hundred eighty days in the area, river basin, subbasin, or reach of the same area included in the natural resources district's temporary stay, except that the department shall not place a temporary stay on new surface water natural-flow appropriations that are necessary to alleviate an emergency situation involving the provision of water for human consumption or public health or safety.(2) The department shall hold at least one public hearing on the matter within the affected area within the period of the one-hundred-eighty-day temporary stay, with the notice of hearing given as provided in section 46-743, prior to making a determination as to imposing a stay or conditions in accordance with section 46-234 and subsection (11) of section 46-714. The department may hold the public hearing in conjunction with the natural resources district's hearing.(3) Within forty-five days after a hearing pursuant to this section, the department shall decide whether to exempt from the immediate temporary stay the issuance of appropriations for which applications were pending prior to the declaration commencing the stay but for which the application was not approved prior to such date, to continue the stay, or to allow the issuance of new surface water appropriations.Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 2-32,115
Laws 2007, LB701, § 16; Laws 2009, LB 483, § 1.