White House wants changes to water right-of-way bill

Suzanne Struglinski

Tuesday, July 20, 2004 | 11 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration wants several technical corrections made to a bill that would jump-start a potential water pipeline project between Clark and Lincoln counties.

The Interior Department does not want the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the Lincoln County Water District specifically named in the pending bill that creates a right-of-way for infrastructure projects through federal land. It also wants the public to be involved in where the right-of-way would be established, according to testimony from Rebecca Watson, the department's assistant secretary of Land and Minerals Management.

Watson, speaking to a House Resources subcommittee this morning, said the Bush administration otherwise supports the Lincoln County Conservation, Recreation and Development Act.

The Nevada congressional delegation introduced the bill a month ago, touting its economic development and land preservation for the county. A provision in the bill creates a 256-mile and 192-mile pipeline corridor for the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the Lincoln County Water District respectively, partly to allow the water authority to transport water from the rural county to the Las Vegas Valley.

But instead of naming the utilities in the bill that could use the corridor, the administration would rather see any utility that would want to use the corridor apply for a right-of-way through the Bureau of Land Management, she said.

She also took issue with the map designed to show where the corridor would be if the bill was approved.

"We are concerned that a rigid adherence to a specific line may not be in the best interest of the protection of cultural resources, habitat and other resource uses," Watson said. "Rather, we would prefer that the lines on the maps be guidelines and that the (Bureau of Land Management) establish the actual utility corridors through a public process which would allow both the BLM's expertise and the public's interest to be considered."

Pat Mulroy, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, also wanted to change maps included with the bill for the rights-of-way, saying they should not be located along U.S. 93 and U.S. 95, but she fully endorsed the plan otherwise.

Mulroy said the bill "will help expedite a solution to Southern Nevada's current water situation without compromising public involvement and environmental compliance."

The corridors could provide Southern Nevada with access to 200,000 acre-feet of water and, combined with the authority's other water conservation and reuse programs, it could reduce the region's dependency on the Colorado River by one-third, she said.

Lincoln County Commissioner Ronda Hornbeck said the county will need the pipeline corridors to deliver water to any new areas in the county, but her testimony did not include any comments on water going to Clark County.

Hornbeck requested a study be done in the county investigating ground water quantity, quality and flow characteristics. The bill already contains a similar study for White Pine County.

Ellen Pillard, chairwoman of Toiyabe Chapter of the Sierra Club in Reno, and Brian O'Donnell, who testified on behalf of the Nevada Wilderness Coalition, also supported a water study in Lincoln County.

"Hydrological and environmental information is lacking on whether any ground water is available," Pillard said.