Sponsors
The bill expands protected acreage and improves Southern Nevada's water infrastructure and administrative clarity, but it expedites approvals, shifts some costs to taxpayers, and risks undermining conservation and local/stakeholder input.
Residents and water users in Southern Nevada gain new water transmission capacity via SNWA's Horizon lateral, improving regional water supply reliability.
Public lands users and nearby communities see a larger Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area (expanded from ~48,438 to ~57,728 acres), increasing acreage under conservation.
The law requires environmental protections and lets the Secretary impose terms to limit permanent surface harm in the conservation area, which can reduce long-term damage from projects.
Pipeline construction and tunneling for the water project risk disturbing cultural, archaeological, and ecological resources in the Conservation Area despite required protections, potentially causing significant local environmental and cultural harm.
The one-year statutory deadline to grant rights-of-way may rush permitting, limiting thorough environmental review and public input on routing and impacts.
Granting rights-of-way without rents or charges shifts project costs to taxpayers and reduces potential federal revenue from land use permits.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Expands the conservation area acreage and requires the Interior Secretary to grant SNWA temporary and permanent rights-of-way for a lateral water-transmission pipeline, with environmental safeguards.
Requires the Secretary of the Interior (through the BLM) to grant temporary and permanent rights-of-way to the Southern Nevada Water Authority for a lateral water-transmission pipeline and related facilities, subject to environmental review and protections, and expands the acreage and adjusts the boundary of the National Conservation Area. Grants must be issued within one year of enactment and permit geotechnical investigations, construction, tunneling excavation, and material disposal under specified conditions, while preserving existing valid rights and conservation-area management requirements.
Introduced February 4, 2025 by Alice Costandina Titus · Last progress May 19, 2026