Nebraska Revised Statutes Chapter 46. Irrigation and Regulation of Water § 46-1637. Regulation by political subdivisions; restrictions; conditions

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (4) of this section, no city, village, or county may, by ordinance or resolution enacted by the legislative body thereof or adopted by the people, (a) regulate, supervise, or provide for the regulation or supervision of any dams and associated reservoirs or the construction, reconstruction, enlargement, repair, alteration, operation, breach, removal, or abandonment thereof or (b) limit the size or the impounding capacity of a dam if such action would conflict with the power and authority vested in the Chief Water Officer pursuant to the Safety of Dams and Reservoirs Act.

(2) A city, village, or county may adopt ordinances or resolutions (a) regulating, supervising, or providing for the regulation or supervision of dams and reservoirs that are not within the state's jurisdiction and are not subject to regulation, owned, or operated by another public agency or body or (b) which apply only to adjacent structures not germane to the safety of the dam, such as, but not limited to, roads and fences.

(3) A city, village, or county may institute overlay zoning precluding construction of structures downstream of a state-permitted dam that is classified as having other than a high hazard potential if a breach-inundation study performed by an engineer, in accordance with generally accepted engineering practice, determines that construction of such structures would require that such dam be reclassified as having a high hazard potential. The owners of such dam shall provide such engineering study as a condition to requesting such overlay zoning.

(4) The Safety of Dams and Reservoirs Act does not preempt or supersede any local zoning ordinances, resolutions, rules, or regulations regarding special use permits enacted by a political subdivision with respect to permit applications for livestock waste control facilities.