Nevada water hearing criticized
Issue could have implications for West
By BRENDAN RILEY
Associated Press
Tuesday, July 8, 2008 10:29 AM PDT
CARSON CITY, Nev. — A conservation group claimed Monday that a Las Vegas water agency wants to exclude ranchers, Indian tribes, local governments and others from full participation in hearings on the agency’s bid for billions of gallons of rural Nevada water.
But a spokesman for the Southern Nevada Water Authority said the claim by the Great Basin Water Network has ‘‘nothing to do’’ with what gets presented at the state water engineer’s review of the plan to tap groundwater in Snake Valley, more than 250 miles north of Las Vegas. State Engineer Tracy Taylor has scheduled a July 15 prehearing on efforts by SNWA to pump up to 16 billion gallons of water a year from Snake Valley, which straddles the Nevada-Utah border.