70-672. Water rights; eminent domain; condemnation; procedure.
Whenever the directors of an irrigation district vote to acquire and appropriate by the exercise of the power of eminent domain any water being used for power purposes, or whenever any person, firm, association, corporation, or organization seeks to acquire any water being used for power purposes and shall be unable to agree with the user of such water for power purposes upon the compensation to be paid to such power user, the procedure to condemn property shall be exercised in the manner set forth in Chapter 76, article 7.
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An owner of a superior preference right who initiates condemnation proceedings to enforce that right is not barred from also challenging the validity of a power district's appropriation right. In re 2007 Appropriations of Niobrara River Waters, 278 Neb. 137, 768 N.W.2d 420 (2009).
Where owner of a superior right seeks to acquire water being used for power purposes, eminent domain proceedings may be utilized. Hickman v. Loup River P. P. Dist., 173 Neb. 428, 113 N.W.2d 617 (1962).