Joe Hunter, chief of staff for Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, said Cannon is looking after Utah's interests in the issue by making sure it has a seat at the table and a voice in the process.

In legislation introduced by the Nevada congressional delegation and signed into law late last year, Nevada and Utah must agree "prior to any transbasin diversion from ground water basins located within both the State of Nevada and the State of Utah."

"When we saw the legislation introduced, we immediately got involved with the Nevada delegation," Hunter said. "They agreed to include language which in essence was intended to give Utah the ability to defend its rights. There are several provisions in the legislation that did that, including requiring that the state of Utah has to agree to the project to the extent that it impacts Utah. The problem is determining what those impacts might be."

The groundwater development plan from the Southern Nevada Water Authority focuses primarily on the Spring and Snake valleys. But the aquifer system that feeds the Snake Valley also crosses over into Utah, stretching from Iron County northward to Tooele County.

Currently, the plan is in the "study" phase, including environmental impact studies. Hunter said the process is likely to take years and that from Cannon's perspective, "our involvement right now is to make sure that the studies are done correctly and funded adequately, and that Utah is at the table in this. We're working closely with the state in that regard. The state is the ultimate guardian of water resources. So our role is to make sure that they have the tools and the opportunity to do that."

Hunter said Cannon "is not comfortable yet" with the proposals set forth by the Nevada water authority and will be monitoring the situation closely.

"We'll be comfortable when we see the outcome of that (environmental impact study), and that it does what we want it to," Hunter said.

Warren Cook believes he already knows what will happen to Utah farmers and ranchers if Nevada gets its way.

"It'd be terrible," he said. "They've lived out there for hundreds and hundreds of years, and they're struggling. It was just starting to get better, and now this."

---

E-mail: jnii@desnews.com