Monday, Jul 25 2011 4:15PM
Public meetings will be held in early August for the public to comment about the pipeline project.
Many Utah lawmakers signed a letter on July 20, asking the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to accept public comments on a proposed water pipeline project in Nevada until the end of the year.
According to the Associated Press, at least 75 legislators signed the letter. The lawmakers state the project would have severe economic and environmental impacts on rural communities in Utah and Nevada.
"A more deliberative process will produce better comments which will better inform BLM's decision-making," the lawmakers stated in the letter.
Additionally, the Great Basin Water Network (GBWN) filed a complaint against the Southern Nevada Water Authority on the same day. The GBWN states the project would bring "irreversible" changes to rural land, such as increased dust pollution, and have harmful effects for ranchers' and farmers' lands.
Shortly after state lawmakers sent the letter, the BLM released its Environmental Impact Statement, which the public will be able to learn about in a series of meetings scheduled in early August.