Thu, Aug 31, 2006 (7:25 a.m.)

The Southern Nevada Water Authority and a clutch of federal land-management agencies are close to an agreement that would withdraw federal protests to a plan to draw ground water from rural White Pine County.

Both sides said Wednesday that talks are continuing in Las Vegas over concerns about federal land and water rights that prompted the government's protest against elements of the Water Authority's ground water program.

The plan to draw 91,000 acre-feet - almost 30 billion gallons - annually from Spring Valley has drawn protests from some residents of the rural area and environmentalists, but the Water Authority says the water is a matter of economic survival.

Without the infusion of new water supplies, the existing, overtaxed and drought-stricken Colorado River will not be enough to support Las Vegas' nation-leading growth rate for another decade, Water Authority officials argue.

Nevada State Engineer Tracy Taylor, chief administrator of how much water can be taken from the ground and from where, has scheduled three weeks of hearings beginning Sept. 11 on the authority's applications.

Dozens of witnesses for both sides are scheduled to testify. Withdrawing the federal protests could shorten the hearings by a week.

The federal agencies and the Water Authority have some agreements already, including one stipulation: Air quality impact questions will be handled by a separate, independent environmental review conducted by the federal agencies. The review is under way.

Bob Williams, the state's U.S. Fish and Wildlife director, said the talks are designed to develop a monitoring system so that ground water supplies and the environment are not jeopardized by the authority's plans.

"The negotiations are going well," he said.

Diana Weigmann, who represents the Interior Department in the talks, agreed. The Interior Department oversees the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs and Fish and Wildlife Service.

"We're optimistic that we will reach an agreement, but we are still very much discussing the issues," she said. "The discussions have been very intense and very time-consuming, and we are approaching them as the Department of Interior, so we can have a coordinated approach."

Weigmann said she and her federal colleagues were committed to protecting federal environmental resources in Spring Valley.

Scott Huntley, Water Authority spokesman, echoed the federal officials: "We're very optimistic that we will reach an agreement."

He reaffirmed his agency's commitment to the environment of White Pine County: "We definitely would mitigate or minimize the impacts."

Matt Kenna, attorney for the Western Environmental Law Center, is representing the coalition of ranchers and environmentalists opposing the Water Authority's $2 billion plan to tap ground water from Spring Valley, neighboring Snake Valley and much of Lincoln County.

Kenna said any agreement between the federal agencies and the Las Vegas water wholesalers would have little effect on the state engineer's decision.

"It's not going to affect our protestants' claims one way or the other," Kenna said from his office in Durango, Colo. "We're still going to present the same evidence. We still have the same strong evidence that the water is not there for SNWA to take.

"We were never relying on the federal government. Anything it would put out there would just be a bonus. I don't mind us being the only substantial protesters."

An environmentalist from Reno, however, said the federal government should be careful before entering into another agreement with the Water Authority.

"The federal agencies are mandated to protect federal resources," said Rose Strickland, head of the Sierra Club's effort to block the ground water plan. "We don't understand how unenforceable agreements with SNWA meet the federal mandates."

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