Residents air concerns over Snake Valley pipeline project

Opponents of pumping water from the Snake Valley aquifer for Las Vegas households were assured that a draft agreement dividing the water between the two states protects the interests of Utah and its water users.

Critics of the proposal remain wary and say it backs Utah into a corner, allocating a precious resource when the scientific effects of the pumping remain unknown.

"What are the safeguards to prevent politics from trumping science?" asked Don Ries, who was among dozens of concerned residents thirsty for answers who turned out Tuesday at a meeting on a draft agreement dividing the water in the Snake Valley Aquifer between Nevada and Utah.

Four years of negotiations among representatives from both states, including state engineers, resulted in the document, which was precipitated by the Southern Nevada Water Authority's application to pump 50,000 acre feet of water from the aquifer and pipe it to Las Vegas households.

Snake Valley straddles the two states, and while most of the land is in Utah, the majority of the water originates in the mountains of Nevada, giving rise to the claim it should be a shared resource among the two states.

Opponents aren't buying that and say Nevada should not quench its water needs at the expense of Utah's environment.

Once it is pumped, "I don't think they will ever turn the water off," one resident said. "It will be a political disaster for you (the negotiating team) and a biological and environmental disaster for us."

Rupert Steele, chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Indian Reservations, said the agreement impacts two tribes which were not consulted.

"It makes us look like we are extinct already," he said.

The negotiating team has been holding a series of public meetings to air provisions of the agreement and listen to concerns prior to the conclusion of a public-comment period Sept. 14. Tuesday's meeting at the state Department of Environmental Quality will be followed by a final hearing Thursday in Las Vegas.

Subject to modification based on the comments received, the agreement would then be penned by state natural-resource heads at the consent of both governors within 30 to 60 days.

"This agreement sets up a framework," said Allen Biaggi, Nevada's director of Conservation and Natural Resources. "Let me make it clear: This does not authorize any pumping."