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February 19, 2008
Navada to Decide Las Vegas Request to Grab Rural Water
In Carson City,NV, the State is nearing the end of hearings which will decide if Las Vegas casino executives, developers, union representatives and others will get their way and be allowed to have the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) prepare to pump more than 11.3 billion gallons of groundwater a year from Delamar, Dry Lake and Cave valleys, in rural Lincoln County, NV.
State Engineer Tracy Taylor will review the testimony and voluminous paperwork generated by the hearings and rule on the pumping project in a few months.
Simeon Herskovits, attorney for the Great Basin Water Network which opposes the plan, has been joined with Greg Walch, representing Cave Valley Ranch LLC which wants to develop land in that valley. Walch said that despite its remoteness, the valley has potential - but not without water.
Paul Taggart, attorney for SNWA, said, "This isn't a shell game. This isn't some kind of legal argument. This is science." in challenging Herskovits' comments about inadequate analysis by SNWA on the impact of the pumping, a key element in a multi-billion-dollar project to get more water for Las Vegas.
Claims from critics about the potential for economic and environmental disasters are like "a boy whistling in the dark," Taggart said, adding that the state engineer should trust that "ingenuity and engineering" by SNWA can keep the valleys from drying up.
Herskovits said SNWA's estimate of water availability in the valleys was based on "some real uncertainty, some real speculation," adding, "What we have is a great paucity of real evidence and instead some very creative analysis."
"Our suggestion is not to put Disneyland there," Walch said, adding, "None of us has a crystal ball - except for knowing that Cave Valley can't develop without water," as reported by the Associated Press.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at February 19, 2008 11:26 AM
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