Nevada Seniors Ask Babbitt for Re-Evaluation of Water Pipeline Project

Wednesday, Oct. 16, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

The organization mailed a letter Tuesday to Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt complaining about the pipeline's ability to draw more water than is in the state's Colorado River entitlement. The Southern Nevada Water Authority insists the pipeline is only a back-up and will not draw more water than is allowed.

The seniors also said they were concerned about the pipeline's effects on Las Vegas' air and water quality.

The Interior Department already released an Environmental Impact Statement of the Southern Nevada Water Authority's plan to add a 12-foot-wide pipeline from Lake Mead to the Las Vegas area.

The coalition is asking the Bureau of Reclamation, which is in the Interior Department, to deny permits for construction of the pipeline. The coalition also wants another evaluation of the environmental impacts associated with the project, including the effects on razorback suckers, a native Colorado River fish species.

The Nevada Seniors Coalition sent a letter to Carol Browner, head of the Environmental Protection Agency last week, asking her to investigate water quality monitoring data, assess the maximum fines for any violations of the water quality standards and order the restoration of more than 1,000 acres of wetlands in the Las Vegas Wash.

Kenneth Mahal, president of the coalition, said Babbitt has until Oct. 31 to respond.