Monday, June 2, 2003 | 11:13 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- The floodgates opened wide Sunday night on the Assembly floor during a lengthy battle over Vidler Water Co.'s agreement with Lincoln County to develop water rights for sale.
But the California-owned company won narrow approval to form a water district with Lincoln County on a voice vote. The amendments included in Senate Bill 336 allow Lincoln County commissioners to develop water resources in and out of the county for sale or lease and to make deals with private companies such as Vidler.
But the emphasis of the bill is on providing the water resources for water customers "within the service area," essentially the boundaries of Lincoln County. The amended bill resuscitates Vidler's fortunes, stymied until now, but is more limited than earlier legislation that failed to move through the Assembly.
Eleven Assembly members, representing both parties, opposed adopting the conference committee report on SB336 -- a bill that was amended in the Senate. The bill resuscitated Vidler and Lincoln County's effort to gain legislative authority for their relationship, which was challenged in an attorney general opinion last year.
Earlier legislation that would have allowed Vidler to continue its relationship with Lincoln County and set up similar deals throughout all of the state save Clark County was killed by Assemblyman Mark Manendo, D-Las Vegas. The bill passed the Senate and the Assembly Government Affairs Committee, but Manendo, the committee chairman, did not bring the Vidler bill to the floor for a vote.
Assemblyman Rod Sherer, R-Pahrump, led the support of the revived measure, saying: "It doesn't give anything, any different, than any other water district has."
But Assemblywoman Peggy Pierce, D-Las Vegas, gave an impassioned plea on the floor, saying that creation of a water district cements the agreement that the attorney general's office has said is illegal.
"This water issue, next to taxation, is the most important issue we'll consider this session," Pierce said. "Nothing this important should be decided in a conference committee on the 118th day" of the 120-day session.
Pierce detailed Vidler's parent company, Pico Holdings, remarking about the La Jolla-based parent office owning more water rights and private land in Nevada than anyone else.
Pierce said she thought lawmakers and the public should have as much scrutiny of Pico as they do of gaming.
"When a company gets as much power out of the rurals as I think this company will get, we need to look out for that," Pierce said.
Later she remarked: "I think there is the possibility that there will never be another county commissioner in Lincoln that is not hand-picked in California."
Harry Mortenson, D-Las Vegas, said he supported the bill because the water is Lincoln County's to do with what it chooses.
"Lincoln County wants very much to have this bill and the state (water) engineer still has an enormous amount of influence," Mortenson said. "I trust the state engineer's authority and judgment on this.
Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, Democratic majority leader, said the bill amendments appeared to be more limited in scope than the earlier legislation, which some observers believed could have positioned Vidler to set up water-for-profit deals statewide. Despite the scaled back character of the amendments, Buckley said she still did not feel comfortable with the legislation.
"I had some concerns about the idea of a local government and a private company agreeing to develop water resources for a profit," Buckley said Sunday evening, a few minutes before the floor fight on the issue. "I still have those concerns."
She voted against the bill.
Some legislators supported the amendments included in the conference report because of companion legislation that gives the state some oversight over the activities of the new Lincoln County Water District.
Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, on Saturday pushed through the Assembly an amendment to a companion bill, Senate Bill 216, giving a legislative committee oversight on any public or private "planning, development or distribution of water resources." That would include the latest Lincoln County plan.
Lawmakers said that under public scrutiny the county is unlikely to sell water for profit, as the earlier legislation could have allowed.
Sen. Warren Hardy, R-Mesquite, said the two bills together would help the sparsely populated county north of Las Vegas without letting local governments turn water under their land into dollars and split profits with private companies.
"No water district with the public watching has ever, that I'm aware of, sold water at a profit," Hardy said. He had opposed the earlier measure backed by Lincoln County and Vidler.
SB216 passed 41-1, with Tom Collins, D-North Las Vegas, opposed.
Collins has championed Vidler's efforts to receive legislative approval earlier this session for the company's deal with Lincoln County.
Lincoln County, immediately northeast of Clark County, entered an agreement with Vidler in 1998 to develop water rights in the rural county, 98 percent of which is owned by the federal government.
Vidler did the leg work to develop the rights and has sought permits from the state water engineer. The company's agreement with the county is to split the profits from water sales 50-50.
The amended SB336 passed 30-11, with Bernie Anderson, D-Sparks; Buckley; John Carpenter, R-Elko; Jason Geddes, R-Reno; Giunchigliani; David Goldwater, D-Las Vegas; Sheila Leslie, D-Reno; Garn Mabey, R-Las Vegas; Manendo; Bob McCleary, D-North Las Vegas and Pierce opposed.
Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, was standing at the speaker's lectern as both the ayes and nays stood. After the bill passed, he did not say which way he voted.
Hydrologists believe Lincoln County has potentially huge untapped groundwater resources, and Las Vegas water officials have for years eyed the water as a source for Clark County's ever-growing thirst.
Earlier this year the Southern Nevada Water Authority entered into an agreement with Lincoln County that divides up the water resources in the rural county. In exchange for getting enough water -- at least potentially and on paper -- for a half-million people, the Las Vegas agency agreed not to actively oppose Lincoln County and Vidler's legislative efforts.
The water authority serves as the water wholesaler for municipal water distributors, including the Las Vegas Valley Water District, in Southern Nevada.
Vince Alberta, water authority spokesman, said the deal struck with Lincoln County earlier this year does not appear to be affected by the legislation passed Sunday.
"Our deal is with the Lincoln County Commission, and the commissioners are going to be the governing body for the (new) water district," he said. "The concept of the legislation is very similar if not identical to other rural water districts in the state. It will be interesting to see how the district is developed."
Mark Fiorentino, a lobbyist for both Vidler and Lincoln County, said the deals between the company and the county, and the county and the Southern Nevada Water Authority, may have to be renegotiated with the new water district -- but he added that the need for new negotiations is still under review.
"It's good step forward, but we still have a lot of work to do," he said.
Although the bill allows Lincoln County to sell water outside the service area, he said that is unlikely to happen soon. Much of the available water will probably go to a water-cooled power plant Vidler and Lincoln County hope to build near the Lincoln-Clark county line, Fiorentino said.
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