Title: PONDEROSA RIDGE LLV v. Banner County

State: nebraska

Issuer: Nebraska Supreme Court

Document:

554 N.W.2d 151 (1996) 250 Neb. 944 PONDEROSA RIDGE LLC, Appellant, v. BANNER COUNTY et al., Appellees, Application TA-19 of Ponderosa Ridge LLC. No. S-95-1228. Supreme Court of Nebraska. October 18, 1996. *154 Clark G. Nichols, of Nichols, Douglas, Kelly, and Meade, P.C., Scottsbluff, for appellant. James M. Worden, Banner County Attorney, for appellee County. *155 James M. Mathis, of Holtorf, Kovarik, Ellison & Mathis, P.C., Gering, for appellee North Platte Natural Resources District. Stephen D. Mossman, of Mattson, Ricketts, Davies, Stewart & Calkins, Lincoln, for appellees Eldon Lundberg, Dale Ward, and Wayne Palm. Before WHITE, C.J., and CAPORALE, LANPHIER, WRIGHT, CONNOLLY, and GERRARD, JJ., and RIST, District Judge. CAPORALE, Justice. The appellant, Ponderosa Ridge LLC, a Nebraska limited liability company, applied for a permit to transfer ground water from a well located in Banner County, Nebraska, to Laramie County, Wyoming. The appellees, Banner County, Eldon Lundberg, Wayne Palm, Dale Ward, and North Platte Natural Resources District, filed objections, and the director of the Department of Water Resources denied the application. In appealing, Ponderosa Ridge asserts, in summary, that the director's order is arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable in that it is (1) contrary to law and (2) not supported by the evidence. We affirm. The application requested a transfer of a maximum of 1,532 acre-feet of water per year at a rate of no more than 1,368,000 gallons per day. The water was to be used to flush pig production facilities and then stored in the lagoon upstream from Ponderosa Ridge's well, which is located approximately 50 feet from the Nebraska-Wyoming border. Water from the lagoon was then to be used in center-pivot systems to irrigate land in Wyoming. The well was to be continuously operated 24 hours a day, 356 days a year, and was to provide a "cone of depression" which would trap any leakage from the lagoon and prevent any pollution or contamination of the aquifer downstream. In entering his order of denial, the director determined that granting the permit would result in a beneficial use of the water, but that a supply developed from sources in Wyoming would be sufficient to meet the needs of Ponderosa Ridge, that the negative effects the withdrawal of ground water might cause could not be quantitatively determined, and that the expected impacts upon future demands were unclear. The facts relating to these findings are set forth in parts IV(l)(c)(ii) and (2) below. In an appeal from the department, an appellate court's review of the director's factual determinations is limited to deciding whether such determinations are supported by competent and relevant evidence and are not arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable. Central Platte NRD v. City of Fremont, 250 Neb. 252, 549 N.W.2d 112 (1996). However, on questions of law, which include the meaning of statutes, a reviewing court is obligated to reach its conclusions independent of the legal determinations made by the director. Id. Before we turn our attention to the summarized assignments of error, we consider whether all of the objectors had the requisite standing to challenge Ponderosa Ridge's application before the director. We have recently reaffirmed that in order to have standing to invoke a tribunal's jurisdiction, one must have some legal or equitable right, title, or interest in the subject of the controversy. See, Metropolitan Utilities Dist. v. Twin Platte NRD, 250 Neb. 442, 550 N.W.2d 907 (1996); Marten v. Staab, 249 Neb. 299, 543 N.W.2d 436 (1996); SID No. 57 v. City of Elkhorn, 248 Neb. 486, 536 N.W.2d 56 (1995). Standing to challenge the constitutionality of a statute under the federal or state Constitution depends upon whether one is, or is about to be, adversely affected by the language in question. To establish standing, the contestant must show that as a consequence of the alleged unconstitutionality, the contestant is, or is about to be, deprived of a protected right. See, Metropolitan Utilities Dist, supra; State ex rel. Dept. of Health v. Jeffrey, 247 Neb. 100, 525 N.W.2d 193 (1994); Styskal v. Wright, 246 Neb. 513, 519 N.W.2d 543 (1994). We have also explained that the *156 fact that water rights of the constituents of a natural resources district may be affected by an application to appropriate water does not confer standing upon such a district to object to the application. See Metropolitan Utilities Dist, supra. The record establishes that the individual objectors Lundberg and Ward had water use interests to protect; however, we are not directed to, nor do we find, any evidence that the individual objector Palm had any such interests. Neither have we been directed to, nor do we find, any evidence that the objectors Banner County and North Platte Natural Resources District had any such interests. Indeed, Banner County advised the director that it was appearing on behalf of its residents, and North Platte Natural Resources District stated that it was not "trying to be adversarial, necessarily, to any particular party," but, rather, that it was appearing to protect the public interest. Standing relates to a court's power, that is, jurisdiction, to address the issues presented and serves to identify those disputes which are appropriately resolved through the judicial process. State v. Baltimore, 242 Neb. 562, 495 N.W.2d 921 (1993). See Whitmore v. Arkansas, 495 U.S. 149,110 S. Ct. 1717, 109 L. Ed. 2d 135 (1990). Because the requirement of standing is fundamental to a court's exercising jurisdiction, a litigant or a court before which a case is pending can raise the question of standing at any time during the proceeding. Baltimore, supra. Under the record presented, we find that Lundberg and Ward were the only objectors properly before the director. Ponderosa Ridge's claim that the director's order of denial is contrary to law rests on three premises: Neb.Rev.Stat. § 46-613.01 (Reissue 1993) unlawfully delegates legislative power to the director, in violation of Neb. Const, art. II, § 1, and art. II, § 1; the statute is so vague as to deny Ponderosa Ridge the due process of law required by U.S. Const, amend. XIV; and the statute, both facially and as applied, discriminates against interstate commerce, in violation of U.S. Const, art. I, § 8, cl. 3. In considering these propositions, we bear in mind that a statute is presumed to be constitutional, and all reasonable doubts will be resolved in favor of its constitutionality. State v. Carpenter, 250 Neb. 427, 551 N.W.2d 518 (1996); Swanson v. State, 249 Neb. 466, 544 N.W.2d 333 (1996); Cen-Tra, Inc. v. Chandler Ins. Co., 248 Neb. 844, 540 N.W.2d 318 (1995); CaUan v. Balka, 248 Neb. 469, 536 N.W.2d 47 (1995). The unconstitutionality of a statute must be clearly demonstrated before a court can declare the statute unconstitutional. Swanson, supra; Pick v. Nelson, 2A1 Neb. 487, 528 N.W.2d 309 (1995); Hlava v. Nelson, 247 Neb. 482, 528 N.W.2d 306 (1995). The burden of establishing the unconstitutionality of a statute is on the one attacking its validity. Carpenter, supra; Swanson, supra; Kuchar v. Krings, 248 Neb. 995, 540 N.W.2d 582 (1995); Chrysler Motors Corp. v. Lee Janssen Motor Co., 248 Neb. 322, 534 N.W.2d 309 (1995). Section 46-613.01 provides: In arguing that the statute unconstitutionally delegates legislative authority, Ponderosa Ridge contends that "[w]ith the exception of beneficial use, the statute gives no guidance to [Ponderosa Ridge], or the [d]irector, as to how to apply [the] factors. Nor does it define the factors." Brief for appellant at 19. In Lincoln Dairy Co. v. Finigan, 170 Neb. 777, 780-81, 104 N.W.2d 227, 230-31 (1960), we observed: Such standards may not rest on indefinite, obscure, or vague generalities, or upon extrinsic evidence not readily available. Bosselman, Inc. v. State, 230 Neb. 471, 432 N.W.2d 226 (1988). See, also, Kwik Shop v. City of Lincoln, 243 Neb. 178, 498 N.W.2d 102 (1993). However, where the Legislature has provided reasonable limitations and standards for carrying out the delegated duties, there is no unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority. Bamford v. Upper Republican Nat. Resources Dist, 245 Neb. 299, 512 N.W.2d 642 (1994), cert, denied ___ U.S. ___, 115 S. Ct. 201,130 L. Ed. 2d 131; Bosselman, Inc., supra; In re Application U-2, 226 Neb. 594, 413 N.W.2d 290 (1987). In State ex rel Douglas v. Nebraska Mortgage Finance Fund, 204 Neb. 445, 464-65, 283 N.W.2d 12, 24 (1979), we wrote: See, also, Bamford, supra; Kwik Shop, supra; Bosselman, Inc., supra; In re Application U-2, supra. Delegation of legislative *158 power is most commonly indicated where the relations to be regulated are highly technical or where regulation requires a course of continuous decision. Anderson v. Tiemann, 182 Neb. 393,155 N.W.2d 322 (1967), appeal dismissed 390 U.S. 714, 88 S. Ct. 1418, 20 L. Ed. 2d 254 (1968). We have acknowledged the difficulties inherent in requiring the Legislature to spell out each standard in areas of complex fields where expanding technology and complex theories change rapidly, Bamford, supra, and the Legislature has recognized the expertise and experience needed to determine the difficult questions presented in the overall management of water in this state when it required, pursuant to Neb.Rev.Stat. § 46-701 (Reissue 1993), that the director be a professional engineer with at least 5 years' experience in a position of responsibility in irrigation work, Bamford, supra; In re Application U-2, supra The question, therefore, is whether the challenged statute provides the director with adequate, sufficient, and definite standards within which to exercise his or her discretion. Section 46-613.01 provides four factors that the director must consider in determining whether to grant a permit to withdraw ground water and transport it to another state. The first of these is whether the proposed use is a beneficial use of ground water. Ponderosa Ridge concedes in its brief that this factor is not vague and thus provides adequate, sufficient, and definite standards within which the director must exercise his or her discretion. Indeed, the term "beneficial use" is found throughout the statutes pertaining to water use and is a term used in the Nebraska Constitution. Neb. Const, art. XV, § 6; Neb.Rev.Stat. §§ 46-233.01(2)(d), 46-242(1), 46-246, 46-252(1), 46-288(2), and 46-642 (Reissue 1993). The second factor is the availability to an applicant of alternative sources of surface or ground water. Ponderosa Ridge complains that as this factor is not defined, its impact cannot be determined. That is to say, according to Ponderosa Ridge, the statute does not specify whether there must be no water at all available for appropriation from another source, or whether cost to the applicant for alternative sources is a consideration. Ponderosa Ridge's complaint seems to be that this factor is subject to interpretation by the director; that is, the impact of this factor will vary from case to case, depending on the facts of each case. But just as the fact that a term is subject to interpretation by an administrative agency does not render the term unconstitutionally vague, see, Good Samaritan Hospital v. Shalala, 508 U.S. 402,113 S. Ct. 2151,124 L. Ed. 2d 368 (1993); Vulcraft v. Karnes, 229 Neb. 676, 428 N.W.2d 505 (1988); Hodden v. Aitken, 156 Neb. 215, 55 N.W.2d 620 (1952), overruled on other grounds, Stauffer v. Weedlun, 188 Neb. 105, 195 N.W.2d 218 (1972), neither does such a circumstance in and of itself mean that there has been an unlawful delegation of legislative power. The test, as noted previously, is whether the director has been provided with an adequate, sufficient, and definite standard with which to exercise his or her discretion. By being told that the availability of water is a factor to be considered, such has been accomplished. The Legislature cannot be expected to foresee every possible circumstance under which it might be said that water is or is not available. The questioned language certainly puts an applicant, any objector, and the director on notice that the availability of water to an applicant is to be considered. The third factor is whether the proposed withdrawal would have a negative effect on surface or ground water supplies needed to meet reasonable future demands in the area of the proposed withdrawal. Given the language of § 46-613.01 that the "Legislature recognizes and declares that the maintenance of an adequate source of ground water within this state is essential to the social stability of the state and the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens," this factor is also sufficiently definite to put everyone, including the director, on notice of what is to be considered. The fourth and last factor allows the director to consider any other factor consistent with the purposes of the statute which the director deems relevant to protect the interests of the state and its citizens. In this regard, the director noted in his order that *159 although some of the parties raised issues with which he had not dealt, in view of his other findings, resolution of those issues was not required. He then specifically declined to apply this statutory factor. Thus, as Ponderosa Ridge has not been, and is not about to be, adversely affected by that factor, it has no standing to challenge it. See discussion concerning standing in part IV above. For the foregoing reasons, it cannot be said in this case that § 46-613.01 delegates legislative power to the director, in violation of Neb. Const, art. II, § 1, or art. Ill, § 1. When a legislative enactment is challenged on vagueness grounds, the issue is whether the two requirements of procedural due process are met: (1) adequate notice to citizens and (2) adequate standards to prevent arbitrary enforcement. In other words, due process requires that an enactment supply (1) a person of ordinary intelligence a reasonable opportunity to know what is prohibited and (2) explicit standards for those who apply it. Bamford v. Upper Republican Nat. Resources Dist, 245 Neb. 299, 512 N.W.2d 642 (1994), cert, denied ___ U.S. ___, 115 S. Ct. 201, 130 L. Ed. 2d 131; Kwik Shop v. City of Lincoln, 243 Neb. 178, 498 N.W.2d 102 (1993). As discussed in the immediately preceding subsection of this opinion, the challenged factors applied by the director provide the applicant, objectors, and the director with sufficient notice and standards. Therefore, the challenged statute is not unconstitutionally vague, in violation of U.S. Const, amend. XIV. In Sporhase v. Nebraska ex rel. Douglas, 458 U.S. 941, 102 S. Ct. 3456, 73 L. Ed. 2d 1254 (1982), the U.S. Supreme Court held that water was an article of commerce, implicating the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. See U.S. Const, art. 1, § 8, cl. 3. However, the fact that water is an article of commerce and that Congress has not exercised federal legislation in the area "does not foreclose state regulation of its water resources, of the uses of water within the State, or indeed, of interstate commerce in water." 458 U.S. at 954,102 S. Ct. at 3463. In Pike v. Bruce Church, Inc., 397 U.S. 137, 142, 90 S. Ct. 844, 847, 25 L. Ed. 2d 174 (1970), the U.S. Supreme Court provided the general rule for deteraiining the validity of state statutes affecting interstate commerce: Richard S. Harnsberger et al., Interstate Transfers of Water: State Options After Sporhase, 70 Neb. L.Rev. 754, 769 (1991), states: In Sporhase, supra, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a portion of the predecessor statute to the current § 46-613.01 was an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce. The predecessor to the challenged statute provided: § 46-613.01 (Reissue 1978). The U.S. Supreme Court stated that a facial examination of the first three conditions set forth in the predecessor statute did not impermissibly burden interstate commerce. Sporhase v. Nebraska ex rel. Douglas, 458 U.S. 941, 955-57, 102 S. Ct. 3456, 3464, 73 L. Ed. 2d 1254 (1982). However, the Court did find that the reciprocity provision of the *161 predecessor statute violated the Commerce Clause and was thus unconstitutional. As Colorado forbad interstate transfers of ground water, the reciprocity provision operated as a barrier to commerce between Nebraska and Colorado. Nebraska thus bore the initial burden of demonstrating a close fit between the reciprocity requirement and the asserted local purpose of conservation and preservation. The Court concluded that this burden was not met because there was no evidence that the restriction was narrowly tailored to the conservation and preservation rationale. On remand, we ruled that the reciprocity provision was severable from the statute and that the remainder constituted a viable statute. State ex rel Douglas v. Sporhase, 213 Neb. 484, 329 N.W.2d 855 (1983). Two other cases involving similar issues, City of El Paso v. Reynolds, 563 F. Supp. 379 (D.N.M.1983) (El Paso I), and City of El Paso v. Reynolds, 597 F. Supp. 694 (D.N.M. 1984) (El Paso II), are of note. In El Paso I, the city, located in the State of Texas, sought to transfer ground water from New Mexico to Texas. New Mexico denied the city's applications on the ground that the New Mexico Constitution precluded utilization of New Mexico ground water outside the borders of the state. A New Mexico statute also expressly prohibited the transport of ground water from New Mexico for use in another state. The city then sought a federal court declaration that New Mexico's ground water embargo was unconstitutional and sought an injunction against its enforcement. The federal district court held that the ground water embargo violated the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution and enjoined the defendants from enforcing it. The court reasoned that as New Mexico's embargo barred the export of ground water absolutely, it was an explicit barrier to interstate commerce and subject to the strictest scrutiny; i.e., the defendants were required to "demonstrate that the embargo servefd] a legitimate local purpose, that it [was] narrowly tailored to that purpose and that there [were] no adequate nondiscriminatory alternatives." El Paso I, 563 F. Supp. at 388. The defendants asserted that the purpose of the overall system of ground water regulation was to conserve and preserve the state's internal water supply; however, the court concluded that while the state's scheme of water regulation demonstrated a genuine effort to promote optimum utilization of its diniinishing water resources and might justify a limited, nondiscriminatory burden on interstate commerce, it could not support a total ban on interstate transportation of ground water. The New Mexico Legislature then repealed the challenged statute, enacted provisions dealing with the out-of-state use of water, and otherwise amended New Mexico's water code. El Paso II. Following these enactments, the defendants appealed the court's decision in El Paso I to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, urging that the case had become moot. The Tenth Circuit vacated the district court's judgment and remanded the matter for consideration in light of the intervening change in New Mexico law. In El Paso II, the city challenged the constitutionality of the intervening legislation. The new export statute required New Mexico's state engineer to find that an applicant's withdrawal and transportation of water for use outside the state would not impair existing water rights, would not be contrary to the conservation of water within the state, and was not otherwise detrimental to the public welfare of the citizens of New Mexico in order to approve an application. The city claimed that allowing exports only when they were not contrary to the conservation of water within the state and not otherwise detrimental to the public welfare of the citizens of New Mexico unconstitutionally discriminated against interstate commerce. The federal district court ruled otherwise, noting that on its face, the statute appeared to apply the conservation and public welfare criteria evenhandedly, as the new export statute mirrored the requirements of the statute governing applications for new instate appropriations of ground water from declared basins. In addition, the court wrote: El Paso II, 597 F. Supp. at 700-02. As for the conservation factor, the court stated that "[a] state may ... `conserve' water within its borders for the use of its citizens to the same limited extent that it may prefer its citizens in the utilization of the resource." Id. at 702. The city also objected to six additional factors that the state engineer was required to consider when acting upon any application to export ground water. The first four factors required the state engineer to determine whether there were water shortages within the state which could be alleviated by the intrastate transportation of the water sought for export. The El Paso II court found that there was a legitimate reason for this requirement in that a determination of whether a shortage of water existed in the state was necessary if the state engineer was to constitutionally exercise a preference for the citizens of New Mexico in accordance with Sporhase v. Nebraska ex rel Douglas, 458 U.S. 941, 102 S. Ct. 3456, 73 L. Ed. 2d 1254 (1982). The remaining two factors required an evaluation of the export applicant's water supply, of the demand placed on that supply, and of the alternative sources of supply available to the applicant in the state of import. The court found that there was also a legitimate reason for this requirement in that a state may favor its own citizens in the utilization of scarce water resources unless the burden imposed on interstate commerce is clearly excessive in relation to the putative local benefits, and the local benefits cannot be weighed against the burdens on commerce without knowledge of the export applicant's need for the water relative to that of prospective in-state users. The El Paso II court did, however, find those portions of the new legislation that required the application of conservation and public welfare criteria to all interstate uses of ground water, but only to some intrastate uses, to be unconstitutional gas discriminating on their face against interstate commerce. In that regard, the court wrote: El Paso II, 597 F. Supp. at 704. In contrast, the transportation of Nebraska ground water from the underlying land for any use, interstate or intrastate, is severely curtailed. The transportation of ground water for intrastate use is prohibited except for specific statutory exceptions. See, Neb.Rev.Stat. §§ 46-638 through 46-650 and 46-675 through 46-690 (Reissue 1993); Neb. Rev.Stat. § 46-691 (Supp.1995). See, also, Sorensen v. Lower Niobrara Nat. Resources Dist, 221 Neb. 180,190, 376 N.W.2d 539, 547 (1985) ("[b]y enacting the Municipal and Rural Domestic Ground Water Transfers Permit Act as a part of Nebraska's policy, the Legislature altered certain aspects of common law governing use of ground water. Permittees under the act are exonerated from the common-law prohibition against transfer and transportation of ground water"); State ex rel. Douglas v. Sporhase, 208 Neb. 703, 706-07, 305 N.W.2d 614, 617 (1981) ("[s]ince the Nebraska common law of ground water permitted use of the water only on the overlying land, legislative action was necessary to allow for transfers off the overlying land, even for as pressing a need as supplying urban water users.... [T]he Legislature has the power to determine public policy with regard to ground water and... it may be transferred from the overlying land only with the consent of and to the extent prescribed by the public through its elected representatives"), reversed on other grounds 458 U.S. 941, 102 S. Ct. 3456, 73 L. Ed. 2d 1254 (1982). If a proposed intrastate use comes within the purview of the Municipal and Rural Domestic Ground Water Transfers Permit Act, §§ 46-638 through 46-650, or the Industrial Ground Water Regulatory Act, §§ 46-675 through 46-690, the prospective user of the ground water is required to apply for a permit to do so, similar to the requirements imposed on interstate transportation of ground water. If a proposed intrastate use comes within the purview of the ground water transfer law, § 46-691, the applicable natural resources district is required to conduct an investigation of the withdrawal and transfer of ground water if an affected party objects to the transfer, and may prohibit the transfer if it does not comply with the district's rules and regulations or is required to request a hearing before the Department of Water Resources if the proposed transfer does not meet certain statutory requirements. The Municipal and Rural Domestic Ground Water Transfers Permit Act regulates the transfer of ground water for the supply of water to inhabitants of cities, villages, or rural areas for domestic or municipal purposes. In order to transfer ground water for such a purpose, a public water supplier is required to make an application to the director of the Department of Water Resources for a permit. § 46-639. Upon receiving an application, the director is required to cause a notice of such application to be published, and the notice must state that any interested person may object to and request a hearing on the application. § 46-640. The director must grant the application if he or she finds that the withdrawal and transportation of ground water requested by an applicant are reasonable, are not contrary to the conservation and beneficial use of ground water, and are not otherwise detrimental to the public welfare. § 46-642. The Industrial Ground Water Regulatory Act governs the use of water for industrial purposes. Any person wanting to transfer ground water from aquifers located within the State of Nebraska for industrial purposes is required to apply for a permit to do so. §§ 46-677 and 46-678. After the director accepts the application for such a permit, he or she is required to set a time and place for a public hearing on the application. § 46-680. The director shall grant the permit only if he or she finds that the applicant's withdrawal and any transfer of ground water are in the public interest. In determining whether the withdrawal and transfer are in the public interest, the director is required to consider: § 46-683. The ground water transfer law provides, in part: § 46-691(1). Any affected party may file an objection to the transfer with the office of the natural resources district containing the land from which the ground water is withdrawn. § 46-691(2). Either upon the filing of an objection or on its own initiative, the natural resources district is required to conduct a preliminary investigation to determine if the withdrawal, transfer, and use of ground water are consistent with the requirements of § 46-691(1). If the natural resources district has reason to believe that the withdrawal, transfer, or use may not comply with the rules or regulations of the district, it may prohibit such withdrawal, transfer, or use. If the natural resources district has reason to believe that the withdrawal, transfer, and use are consistent with the rules and regulations of the district, but may not comply with the requirements of § 46-691(1), the district is required to request a hearing before the department. § 46-691(2). Although the factors that the director is to consider in determining whether to grant a permit for an interstate transfer of ground water are not identical to those considered for other intrastate transfers of ground water, the differences do not require interstate commerce to suffer any greater burden than that placed on intrastate commerce. As noted earlier, the first of the factors the director must consider in determining whether to grant a permit for an interstate transfer of water, whether the proposed use is a beneficial one, runs throughout the code governing the regulation of water. Indeed, the common law in Nebraska forbids the owner of land from extracting ground water under his or her land in excess of a beneficial use. State ex rel. Douglas v. Sporhase, 208 Neb. 703, 305 N.W.2d 614 (1981), reversed on other grounds 458 U.S. 941, 102 S. Ct. 3456, 73 L. Ed. 2d 1254 (1982). The second factor, the availability of alternative sources of ground water, fosters the purpose of conserving and preserving ground water in the state, an "unquestionably legitimate and highly important" purpose. Sporhase v. Nebraska ex rel Douglas, 458 U.S. 941, 954, 102 S. Ct. 3456, 3463, 73 L. Ed. 2d 1254 (1982). The third factor, the negative effects of the proposed withdrawal, fosters the purpose of conserving and preserving ground water. Since, as determined in part IV(l)(a) above, the fourth factor, allowing the director to consider other unnamed relevant matters, was not applied in this case, Ponderosa *165 Ridge has no standing to challenge its constitutionality. Thus, although § 46-613.01 operates only on interstate uses and imposes a burden on interstate commerce, when compared with the regulation of intrastate uses of ground water, the overall regulation relevant to this litigation is evenhanded. "Obviously, a State that imposes severe withdrawal and use restrictions on its own citizens is not discriminating against interstate commerce when it seeks to prevent the uncontrolled transfer of water out of the State. An exemption for interstate transfers would be inconsistent with the ideal of evenhandedness in regulation." Sporhase, 458 U.S. at 956,102 S. Ct. at 3464. Consequently, the statute does not facially violate the Commerce Clause found in U.S. Const, art. I, § 8, cl. 3. But that does not end our Commerce Clause inquiry, for Ponderosa Ridge also asserts that the statute is unconstitutional in that regard as applied. It first argues that the director erred by requiring it to quantitatively determine the negative effects of the proposed withdrawal and requiring it to demonstrate why water from Wyoming sources was not its first choice. However, as discussed in part (2) below, Ponderosa Ridge bears the burden of presenting evidence on these factors in order that the director can make a determination on whether to grant the application. Such a requirement does not place an impermissible burden on Ponderosa Ridge. Ponderosa Ridge next argues that the director cliscriminated against interstate commerce in his order by stating: "Finally, denying [the application] will not result in the well being shut down. Instead it will be pumped with the water used to irrigate cropland in Nebraska...." The argument is that in the director's order, the purposes of conservation and preservation are not being considered if the ground water from the well is to be used in Nebraska, but are considered if the ground water is to be used in Wyoming. However, this aspect of the order more fully reads: The testimony of James R. Lerwick, vice president of the board of directors of Ponderosa Ridge and president of the company that manages the daily operation of Ponderosa Ridge's production facility referred to in the director's order, was as follows: The testimony of Christopher D. Lidstone, a geologist and hydrologist called by Ponderosa Ridge, to which the director referred, was as follows: Thus, the director was not cliscriminating against interstate commerce by the questioned statement in his order, but, rather, was noting that denying the permit will not cause a negative effect because the well could still be used as a monitoring point to check for contamination from leakage of Ponderosa Ridge's wastewater lagoons. In addition, the director did not state that the quantity of water sought to be transferred could still be used to irrigate cropland in Nebraska. Therefore, the inference Ponderosa Ridge wishes to draw, that the purposes of preservation and conservation were ignored because the water sought to be withdrawn for Ponderosa Ridge's project could be used to irrigate cropland in Nebraska, is not warranted. The North Platte Natural Resources District was required by the Nebraska Legislature to file a ground water management plan, which must address issues of ground water conservation and management, including when to impose quantity controls. § 46-673.01. The director's order therefore has no bearing on the quantity of water that can be withdrawn from the well to irrigate cropland in Nebraska. As on the issues in this case § 46-613.01 does not unconstitutionally delegate legislative power to the director, is not vague, and does not violate the Commerce Clause, there is no merit to the first summarized assignment of error. In considering whether the evidence supports the director's order such that the order is not arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable, we recall that a decision is arbitrary when it is made in disregard of the facts or circumstances and without some basis which would lead a reasonable person to the same conclusion. Central Platte NRD v. City of Fremont, 250 Neb. 252, 549 N.W.2d 112 (1996). A capricious decision is one guided by fancy rather than by judgment or settled purpose; such a decision is apt to change suddenly; it is freakish, whimsical, humorsome. Id. The term "unreasonable" can be applied to an administrative decision only if the evidence presented leaves no room for differences of opinion among reasonable minds. Id. As detailed in part (1) above, in its order, the director considered three of the four factors listed in § 46-613.01. First, the director found that Ponderosa Ridge's proposed use is a beneficial one. Since no appellee with standing to do so has filed a separate cross-appeal with respect to this finding, we do not concern ourselves with whether the use is in fact beneficial; rather, for the purpose of this analysis, we treat it as being such. As for the second, or water availability, factor, the director found that The record reveals that a supply of water is necessary for Ponderosa Ridge's planned operations and that there is no body of surface water in the vicinity of its premises. However, the record also establishes that a number of sources of ground water exist other than the source proposed in the subject application. Ponderosa Ridge has purchased the superior right to use the first 300 gallons per minute of continuous waterflow from the "Malm 3-1" well. In addition, it has purchased, if Malm Ranch Company finds using the effluent water is no longer economical, the right to use the Malm 3-1 well at 950 gallons per minute or 180 acre-feet from the Malm 33-1 well. In addition, Lerwick testified that Ponderosa Ridge could negotiate to use water from the "Anderson No. 2" well to flush and water the latter's facilities. Moreover, Ponderosa Ridge has not applied with the Wyoming state engineer to drill or change the use of any well to flush and water the facilities. Brief for appellant at 31-32. However, Vincent Dreeszen, a ground water consultant, testified that either the Malm 3-1 well or the Anderson No. 2 well would provide a capture zone for the entire project. The decision of the director concerning this second factor is supported by competent and relevant evidence. In considering the third, or negative effect, factor, the director found that Lidstone's computations were known to be in error. The director went on to write: In stating in the order that because of the uncertainty of Lidstone's computations, the negative effects of the withdrawal could not be quantitatively determined, the director seems to have placed a burden of production and proof on Ponderosa Ridge with regard to the negative effects of the withdrawal. Although the director did not make any finding as to what the negative effects of the withdrawal would be, he apparently found against Ponderosa Ridge on this factor because he could not make a determination as to the precise nature of the negative effects of the proposed withdrawal. The question is whether an applicant bears the burden of production and proof on a factor that the director must consider; i.e., Must an applicant prove that the negative effects of a proposed withdrawal are minimal or are outweighed by the potential benefits of the proposed use? The appellees cite to In re Application 2, 226 Neb. 594, 413 N.W.2d 290 (1987), for the proposition that the burden is on an applicant to convince the director to approve the application. In that case, a department regulation provided that in addition to notice to be published, each application was to be accompanied by sufficient hydrologic information. In dicta, we observed: Id. at 609-10, 413 N.W.2d at 301. However, a similar department regulation is not found in the record of this case, and for that reason, In re Application U-2 is not applicable to these facts. Nonetheless, someone must present evidence relating to the factors that the director must consider in order to determine whether to grant an application. Generally, it is the party asserting the affirmative of an issue that has the burden of proving that issue. Alliance RR. Comm. Credit Union v. County of Box Butte, 243 Neb. 840, 503 N.W.2d 191 (1993). We conclude that an applicant bears the burden of providing the director enough evidence on which to base a decision. Lidstone testified that there would be minimal negative impacts. However, Dreeszen testified that there could be significant negative consequences and criticized Lidstone's findings. The director was free to believe one expert and disbelieve the other. See Berggren v. Grand Island Accessories, 249 Neb. 789, 545 N.W.2d 727 (1996). In this case, not only did the director not believe Lidstone, he found that Lidstone's computations were in error. He therefore could properly find that Ponderosa Ridge had failed in its burden of proof in that regard, As the director could properly find that although the proposed use was beneficial, alternative sources of water were available, and that the negative effects of the proposed withdrawal could not be determined from the evidence presented, the director's denial of Ponderosa Ridge's application cannot be said to be arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable. Accordmgly, there is no merit to the second summarized assignment of error. Inasmuch as the record sustains neither summarized assignment of error, the order of the director is, as first noted in part I, affirmed. AFFIRMED. FAHRNBRUCH, J., not participating.