The Legislature finds, recognizes, and declares that the transfer of water to outside the boundaries of a river basin may have impacts on the water and other resources in the basin and that such impacts differ from those caused by uses of water within the same basin in part because any unused water will not be returned to the stream from which it is taken for further use in that river basin. The Legislature therefor recognizes the need to delineate factors for consideration by the Director of Natural Resources when evaluating an application made pursuant to section 46-233 which involves an interbasin transfer of water in order to determine whether denial of such application is demanded by the public interest. Those considerations shall include, but not be limited to, the following factors:
The application shall be deemed in the public interest if the overall benefits to the state and the applicant's basin are greater than or equal to the adverse impacts to the state and the basin of origin. The director's order granting or denying an application shall specify the reasons for such action, including a discussion of the required factors for consideration, and shall document such decision by reference to the hearing record, if any, and to any other sources used by the director in making the decision.
Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 46-289