Federal Water Tap, December 31: BLM Gives Final Approval for Southern Nevada Groundwater Pipeline

Ground Game
The Bureau of Land Management issued its final approval for a pipeline that would move water from several aquifers in central Nevada to the Las Vegas area, a distance of nearly 482 kilometers (300 miles). Earlier this year the Nevada state engineer granted rights to the water to the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the regional supplier. The BLM’s decision does not allow SNWA to extend the pipeline into Snake Valley, which straddles the Nevada-Utah border. The two states are discussing a deal for the water underlying that valley.

Job Opening
Lisa Jackson, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, announced that she would quit her job sometime after the State of the Union address in January.

Superfund in the City
Cleaning a Superfund site in Brooklyn contaminated with heavy metals and PCBs from decades of industrial activity will cost $US 467 million to $US 504 million, according to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plan. The EPA will dredge segments of the Gowanus Canal and restore them. Areas with liquid coal tar will be held together with concrete before being covered with multiple layers of clay, sand and gravel. Public comments on the plan are being accepted through March 28, 2013.

Sandy Bill
The Senate approved a $US 60 billion aid bill for damage from Superstorm Sandy. House Republicans, however, have not decided whether to take up the bill, Reuters reports. They would need to do so by January 2, or the legislation will have to be resubmitted in the next session of Congress.

Carbon Storage
The Department of Energy published an updated version of its national atlas of carbon storage sites. The atlas shows the rocks and fissures into which carbon can best injected. Through its regional partnerships, the DOE runs 23 small-scale carbon sequestration projects and 3 large-scale programs in the U.S.

Federal Water Tap is a weekly digest spotting trends in U.S. government water policy. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton