State engineer promoted

Wednesday, June 21, 2000 | 10:56 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- State Engineer Mike Turnipseed, who last year rejected applications for water for construction and operation of the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump, is being promoted.

Gov. Kenny Guinn was expected to announce today that Turnipseed will succeed Peter Morros, who is retiring as state director of conservation and natural resources Aug. 1. The job pays $92,914.

Turnipseed, 56, has been state engineer since 1990 and prior to that he was chief of the surface water and dam safety in the division. Before that he worked for the Utah state engineer for 12 years.

Last year Turnipseed denied the applications of the Department of Energy for permanent water rights for Yucca Mountain, saying the use of that water "threatens to prove detrimental to the public interest." The federal government has sued and the case is before both a federal and a state court.

archive