Water
The Need: Nevada’s current water law concerning interbasin transfers states that the State Engineer ”shall consider whether the proposed action is environmentally sound. However, there is no definition of what this means, nor are there specific standards in the law that give direction in making the determination whether a proposed transfer is environmentally sound. This results in allocation decisions that do not take “environmental soundness” into account.
2011 Legislative Session Recap: As our state continues to consider water importation projects via inter-basin transfers, it has become alarmingly clear that a definition is needed for “environmental soundness” in state regulations. AB 466 would have directed the State Engineer to develop a set of general criteria for defining “environmental soundness” when considering applications to remove water from a basin of origin to a new basin. The bill had wide support and passed out of the policy committee unanimously, showing yet again that protecting our environment is a non-partisan issue with support from both sides of the aisle.
Unfortunately, there is a cost to developing regulations, and the Division of Water Resources was not able to handle the increased load, mostly due to the fact that their budget has been slashed by nearly 20%. There is still a recognized need for this definition in regulation, and the State Engineer has committed to starting the process of developing the regulations, though we are likely three years away from a resolution on this issue. With some creative efforts and outreach we hope to find a solution outside of the legislative process that will address this vital concern for Nevada’s precious water resources.
