LINCOLN, NE – On Feb 13th, Governor Jim Pillen testified before the Nebraska Legislature’s Natural Resources Committee in favor of LB317 to merge the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) with the Department of Environment and Energy (DEE). Senator Tom Brandt introduced LB317 at the Governor’s request.

“Nebraska is at the center of an economic boom with announcements of new hydrogen, advanced biofuels and bio-based products, animal processing plants and data centers looking to locate here. All these industries will require water,” said Gov. Pillen. “Moving forward, we need to double-down on our efforts to protect and enhance this valuable resource. Combining DEE and DNR sets the foundation for water quantity and quality under the same leadership.”

During his bill introduction, Sen. Brandt also touched on the collaboration between the agencies for water planning, state investments in water infrastructure projects and continued leadership by the state in resource management innovation.

“This merger will also reduce costs by eliminating overlapping administrative functions while improving outcomes in personnel management, financial oversight, and IT,” said Sen. Brandt. “Streamlining state permitting for water-related projects will cut red tape and enable quicker, more efficient progress on projects that matter to our communities.”

On Feb 12th, Gov. Pillen announced his appointment of Jesse Bradley to serve as interim director of DEE. Bradley is also the interim director of DNR. He addressed the overarching benefit of housing DEE and DNR under what would be known as the Department of Water, Energy and Environment.

“By combining the agencies’ efforts, the state will improve its focus on challenging long-term water and natural resource management issues such as nitrogen management, water utilization and soil health. The merging of the two departments is expected to allow customers, who currently work with both DNR and DEE separately, the ability to streamline their planning and permitting efforts by working with a single department.”

Also testifying in favor of LB317 was Tim McCoy, director of the Game & Parks Commission.