LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A bill that would have explored the possibility of building a hydroelectric dam on the Platte River is dead.
The Nebraska Legislature’s Appropriations Committee killed the measure Monday after a hearing.
The bill by Omaha Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh would have allocated $2 million to examine the cost and benefits of a dam project in the Platte River valley. But the project likely would have flooded the town of Ashland and thousands of acres of farmland in Saunders County.
Elk Creek Sen. Lavon Heidemann, the committee’s chairman, made a motion to kill the bill. Lincoln Sen. Tony Fulton said the bill was broadly drafted and would take a lot more work to move forward.
Members voted, 6-0, to indefinitely postpone the bill.