BLM maps for new utility pipeline are being withheld from public

Suzanne Struglinski

Monday, Nov. 1, 2004 | 9:30 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The maps that the Bureau of Land Management will use to determine where a new utility pipeline may be built between Lincoln and Clark counties are being withheld from the public, officials with the Center for Biological Diversity say.

The pipeline is one element of a controversial Lincoln County Lands bill pending in Congress and could pave the way for Clark County to tap water in Lincoln County for transport to Las Vegas. If approved, the bill would allow Southern Nevada Water Authority to obtain land for a 299-mile water pipeline corridor if it passes environmental studies.

Daniel Patterson, an ecologist with the Center for Biological Diversity, said his group filed a Freedom of Information Act request for maps of the areas BLM would consider for the pipeline on Sept. 23. His group did not receive a written denial but did get a voice mail message saying the request would not be fulfilled, he said.

BLM spokeswoman Celia Boddington said the agency denied the request because the maps were prepared for Congress and Congress is not subject to FOIA.

"It's a service we provide to Congress. It reflects the views of the people we prepare them for, it doesn't reflect BLM's views," she said. "Those become property of Congress."

Boddington said members often ask for specific information to be included on a map, which makes it their map and not the BLM's.

The House and Senate passed the Lincoln County Lands bill before Congress adjourned earlier this month; the difference between the two bills may be worked out when Congress returns sometime in November.

"We thought this would be a no-brainer," Patterson said. "It's a real disappointment. What are they trying to hide?"

Patterson said the center wanted the maps do to an independent analysis on how a pipeline might affect critical habitat for the desert tortoise. Until the group knows where the pipeline might go, it cannot do the study.

"They haven't said they don't have them -- just that we can't have them," he said.

Patterson said the denial prevents conservationists from doing independent work and is yet another example of the Bush administration's unwillingness to share what should be public records.

Patterson said BLM produced the maps to give to Congress in the first place and there should be no questions that the documents would be public.

The group will appeal the decision with the Interior Department.