SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE
Opponents want additional sixty days
The Nevada Office of the Bureau of Land Management will allow more time to comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Clark, Lincoln and White Pine Counties Groundwater Development Project, moving the comment deadline back from September 9 to October 11.
“We appreciate the BLM being responsive to the many requests they received from organizations, elected officials and concerned citizens,” said Rob Mrowka, spokesman for the Great Basin Water Network (GBWN). “However, we reiterate that BLM should extend the comment period the full ninety days as we requested previously in order to consider the highly relevant information that will emerge during the State Engineer’s hearing in the fall on the SNWA water applications in Spring, Cave, Dry Lake, and Delamar Valleys,” he said.
GBWN, the coalition of ranchers, rural residents, conservationists, Tribes, and local governments leading the opposition to the project, has published a “DEIS Guide” to inform the public how to participate in the public process. The Guide highlights the potential impacts of the multi-billion dollar pipeline proposal that the BLM has identified, and critiques the flaws in the BLM’s analysis.
“We hope people will turn out in large numbers at the DEIS hearings August 2nd through August 18th, and we hope the guide will be a useful tool for folks to use at the hearings and as they prepare their comments,” Mrowka said. The DEIS Guide is available on the GBWN website www.greatbasinwater.net.
Hearings in Nevada are scheduled for Pioche, August 2, 5-8 p.m.; Baker, August 3, 5-8 p.m.; Ely, August 9, 5-8 p.m.; Elko, August 10, 5-8 p.m.; Las Vegas, August 15, 4-8 p.m.; Alamo, August 16, 5-8 p.m.; and Reno/Sparks, August 18, 3-8 p.m.
Utah hearings will be in Delta on August 4, 5-8 p.m. and in Salt Lake City on August 11, 4-8 p.m.
Citizens may request a hard copy of the DEIS Executive Summary and compact disks of the full DEIS by mail at Bureau of Land Management/Groundwater Projects Office/ P.O. Box 12000/Reno, NV 89520-0006 or by emailing [email protected]. The report also can be accessed at www.blm.gov/5w5c.
