BAKER, NV — Less than 72 hours after releasing a massive document for the Cedar City Pipeline, federal regulators veered from normal public review policies and approved the massive water grab in the Great Salt Lake Desert just south of Great Basin National Park. The approval of the pipeline project triggers the next phase in the fight to stop the water-sucking effort for Cedar City: an imminent challenge from our coalition in the Interior Board of Land Appeals, a quasi-judicial arena for fighting back against arbitrary and capricious decisions.
The Bureau of Land Management’s approval of the project caps the environmental review process for the effort by Central Iron County Water District. Iron County Water officials have been working with BLM to get the first of three phases of the Cedar City Pipeline built in Pine Valley. GBWN and its partners spent the weekend reviewing a massive document outlining the project proposal that BLM released late Friday afternoon. The BLM then issued a Record of Decision early Monday morning. Collectively, the document was publicly available for approximately 5-6 business hours.
The approval of the pipeline’s right-of-way signals that Great Basin Water Network and its partners will continue fighting the project in other venues. The decision from the Bureau of Land Management to approve the project ignores key elements of the National Environmental Policy Act and other federal laws, USGS data, harms to private property, and grave uncertainty about the long-term impacts on groundwater flow.
“This is not the end for the fight against this greed-driven, unnecessary water grab,” said Kyle Roerink, executive director of GBWN. “This is the beginning of the next phase of the fight. Our coalition includes such diverse interests — county and tribal governments, farmers, and water advocates — because we all know that the government is not following the law by approving the pipeline’s right-of-way.”
The decision arrives as federal regulators take great liberties with long-standing notions of due process and public involvement over major federal actions on public lands. This questionable decision-making further solidifies the coalition among farmers, tribal leaders, government watchdogs, and environmental advocates who are questioning the judgment of exporting billions of gallons of groundwater every year from the inter-connected aquifers of the Great Salt Lake Desert Flow System.
“This is a battle for the soul of the west: water rights, tribal rights, land use rights, and the rights of the public are all on the chopping block,” Roerink said. “Let this be a warning to us all. Today it might not be your rights on the table. But tomorrow, if this decision holds, it certainly could be your rights that are on the menu.”
WATCH A FILM ON THE PROJECT, AND SEE THE IMPACTS OF GROUNDWATER MINING IN THE GREAT SALT LAKE DESERT.
The groundwater grab and pipeline will tap into the headwaters of a connected groundwater system that flows in the West Desert Region toward the Great Salt Lake. Known as the Great Salt Lake Desert Flow System, the region’s groundwater moves a mix of ancient water that is the remains of Lake Bonneville and the recharge from snow and rain from the mountain ranges near the Nevada-Utah border. Snake Valley, Tule Valley, Wah Wah Valley and many other basins will be impacted by the pumping in Pine Valley alone, according to USGS data. The project will harm water rights for Beaver County residents, the Indian Peaks Band of Paiute, and for water users in multiple counties in Nevada and Utah. Federal resources like Great Basin National Park and Fish Spring National Wildlife Refuge are all in question.
“The BLM’s flippant disregard for decades-old practice of public review and comment demonstrates the core of the issues with the Pine Valley Pipeline,” said Megan Ortiz, staff attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. “They are disregarding the public’s will to protect water, wildlife, and ecosystems throughout the Great Salt Lake Desert region and Eastern Nevada. We will continue to stay on top of this project for as long as it takes.”
When the document came out on Friday, Coalition members issued the following statements:
“Iron County water officials will siphon away our federally reserved water rights if the government approves this project,” said Tamra Borchardt-Slayton, chairwoman of the Indian Peaks Band of Paiute. “We will continue to work to protect our interests from this pipeline and water grab.”
“Iron County water officials are not living up to their obligations — forcing so many of us rural counties to band together and take action,” said Beaver County Commissioner Tammy Pearson. “You can’t pump all that water from Pine Valley and not expect impacts everywhere else in the region. Iron County is robbing Peter to pay Paul. We will continue to do what’s best for our county’s residents and our future as we review this giant document.”
“Iron County’s own model shows that their pumping will dry up my springs,” said Mark Wintch, a rancher in the West Desert’s Wah Wah Valley. “It is infuriating that the data show a senior rights holder getting harmed and our state government is sitting on their hands and not doing a thing. When something is wrong, it is wrong. I never thought I would be fighting alongside such diverse interests to protect my rights. But Iron County wants to drain the Great Salt Lake Desert for data centers and warehouses in Cedar City. This will have impacts beyond the West Desert over time. This isn’t about me. It’s about so much more, and that’s why so many rural interests are partnering to stop this.”
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