A Q&A with environmental lawyer Simeon Herskovits (GBWN) (tags)
Environmental lawyer Simeon Herskovits discusses the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) and their proposed water pipeline from the rural aquifers of Snake Valley to Las Vegas as being primarily for the interests of developers (Whittemore) on cheap land (purchased from Aerojet) much further north of the urban region. Indigenous tribes, ratepayers, ranchers and the ecosystem will all pay the price for Whittemore's wealth from the latest water heist.
SNWA Whistleblower Shows Ratepayers Bilked for Spring Valley Ranches (tags)
The Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) has used rate hikes and government subsidies to purchase ranches at six times above market value to appear as landholders for water rights for their proposed pipeline. An employee of the SNWA turned whistleblower has come forward with evidence of bribery of local officials and yearly losses of money on the SNWA ranches. In related news Sen. Mike Roberson introduced SB 232 with bipartisan support to require greater transparency by the SNWA and would require the water authority to obtain approval from the PUC before increasing water rates.
Water Theft from Aquifers Benefit Developers at Expense of Ecosystems (tags)
Water theft from rural aquifers for the short term benefit of Las Vegas developers is a crime against the ecosystems and human communities that depend upon their water for survival. The theft of the aquifer water by SNWA is a sequel of the Owens Valley water grab by LADWP nearly a century ago. Any ELF actvists looking for training sites have over 200 miles of practice targets if this pipeline goes through. Maybe someone should send LADWP a message that water theft can be stopped by preventing transport. When the pipeline is ruptured in numerous places this water theft will become a more costly endeavor! The LADWP and SNWA needs to stop stealing water from aquifers and desert lakes!
Mega-developer H. Whittemore Remains Under Indictment for FEC Violations (tags)
In new documents, government lawyers challenged embattled developer Harvey Whittemore’s claims that the federal charges against him for allegedly making illegal campaign contributions to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., should be thrown out.
BLM Support of SNWA Pipeline is "Pure Folly" (tags)
The decision last week by the BLM to support the SNWA pipeline shows their disregard for science and inability to protect species that are under their watch. The developers who plan projects like Coyote Springs 50 miles north of Las Vegas are dependent upon this pipeline, NOT Las Vegas. Just more hype so that some developers (Whittemore/Seeno/etc...) can profit at the expense of the desert spring ecosystems in Snake and Spring Valleys. There isn't enough water in these aquifers to support the suburban sprawl of Coyote Springs 100,000 homes, golf courses, etc...
Spring Snails Survival Threatened by SNWA Pipeline (tags)
The spring snails of the Great Basin region are threatened by construction of the SNWA pipeline to Las Vegas. Spring snails are vital as primary consumer herbivores to reduce algae and thereby prevent eutrophication, also being the base of the trophic food web pyramid that supports trout, eagles and humans. Spring snails should be protected under ESA and are more valuable than golf courses and sprawl development north of Las Vegas.
Whittemore indicted on conduit contribution charges, lying to FBI (tags)
Nevada mega-developer Harvey Whittemore was indicted Weds. for illegal conduit campaign contributions to Senator Harry Reid from the Wingfield Co. (shared with another mega-developer Albert Seeno). It is understood that these contributions were to allow Wingfield's Coyote Springs housing development to proceed despite violating numerous environmental laws and requiring the contruction of the $15 billion SNWA pipeline from the rural districts 300 miles to the north.
Seeno Family Developers Inflate Home Prices (tags)
For activists in Nevada who were battling Coyote Springs development and the SNWA pipeline, we've gone from the frying pan into the fire. Our prior nemesis Mr. Harvey Whittemore has now been replaced by Mr. Albert Seeno and Family. Just as was the case with Mr. Whittemore, environmental regulations are simply obstacles for Mr. Seeno & Co. to avoid, bend and break when needed.
NRDC Propaganda Praises Pipeline Pat (tags)
Propaganda from the NRDC praises SNWA pipeline proponent General Manager Pat Mulroy for her brilliant plan to heist groundwater from under the Goshute Nation and deliver it to her developer friends like Mr. Harvey Whittemore, an early funder of the pipeline. In the process of depleting the aquifer an entire spring fed ecosystem with endemic spring snails will be destroyed, but hey, we need more suburban sprawl in the desert so Whittemore and Mulroy can have a nice retirement at all of our expense!
SNWA General Manager Mulroy; A Legacy of Cultural Genocide Against the Goshute Nation (tags)
The use of propaganda to coerce transfer of indigenous populations from their homeland and cultural base is a violation of the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and could be defined as cultural genocide. Will this be the legacy of SNWA General Manager Patricia Mulroy's pipeline?
Owens Lake Reminders for SNWA Pipeline’s Water Grab from Northern Aquifers (tags)
The recent decision by the NV State Engineer to support the SNWA's proposed pipeline follows the same tactics used by San Fernando Valley developers who removed water from Owens Lake and Valley by using deception and purchasing land and favors from government officials.
SNWA Scare Tactics Attempt to Coerce Vegas Ratepayers into Supporting Pipeline (tags)
The proposed SNWA pipeline is running into additional obstacles, Gen. Manager Mulroy's claims of drought on the Colorado and threats by terrorists are exposed as fear-mongering methods to scare the people of Las Vegas into paying for this $15 billion dollar pipeline that would mostly benefit developers such as Coyote Spring's Harvey Whittemore, who would make $30 billion from an additional 100,000 homes.
Response 2 SNWA; NO Water Theft 4 Developers! (Part 2) (tags)
part 2
Response 2 SNWA; NO Water Theft 4 Developers! (tags)
This report is one of many public comments given throughout several locations in Nevada in opposition to the proposed SNWA 300 mile pipeline from the Snake and Spring Valley aquifer system to provide water for developers like Harvey Whittemore (Coyote Springs, U.S. 93 & NV 189), KB Homes and other developers interested in furthering the suburban sprawl outside of Las Vegas despite many homes remaining unoccupied and in foreclosure. The developers revealed their true motives as the only comments in favor of the SNWA pipeline were from homebuilders associations and other construction related industries.
NV; Oct. 7 - Public Comment on SNWA Pipeline (tags)
Please help the Great Basin Water Network, indigenous tribes and many others in voicing their opposition to the SNWA's proposed pipeline from the Snake and Spring Valler aquifer system to Las Vegas that is being planned mostly for the benefit of suburban sprawl developers like Harvey Whittemore. The public hearing will be held in Carson City, though this planned extraction of 41 billion gallons per year will destroy an ecosystem that connects to Great Basin National Park and is a national resource that is for all to share in it's natural state, NOT to water Mr. Whittemore's 16 planned golf courses and 100,000 more homes for sprawl development nearly 50 miles north of the urban core of Las Vegas!
Public Comment Needed on SNWA Snake Valley Pipeline to Vegas! (tags)
Another chance for members of the public to comment to the BLM and share their views on the proposed SNWA pipeline from Snake and Spring Valley aquifers to the Las Vegas region. Please request the BLM take the NO ACTION alternative and deny the pipeline access across public lands held by the BLM. We do not need any more aquifers being overdrafted for extra golf courses and suburban sprawl development (ie., Coyote Springs from Harvey Whittemore), we need flowing springs and seeps for our ecosystems!
Nevada Supreme Court Rules Against SNWA Water Grab. (tags)
Recent articles discuss the ruling by Nevada Supreme Court Judge Robinson that prevents another potential water grab by the SNWA and their developer funders. Additional research reveals the intent of the SNWA pipeline from northern aquifers would benefit the developer of Coyote Springs, one Harvey Whittemore. The urban residents of Las Vegas would cover the bill of SNWA's misadventures in sheep ranching, pipeline lawsuits and other related issues for the benefit of some far out developer's scheme.
Rainwater Harvesting; Alternatives to SNWA Pipeline Project (tags)
Another option for Las Vegas is to outfit roofs with rainwater harvesting systems, both for collecting water and to reduce runoff that creates flash floods. This would create jobs and result in permanant solutions to increasing water supplies, unlike the SNWA's proposed pipeline from the Snake Valley aquifer that would cost billions and most likely overdraft the aquifer in less than 10 years time. Though the pipeline's promise of indefinite future supplies (real or imagined) could make some developers like Harvey Whittemore happy in the short term!!
NV; New Cave Species at Risk from SNWA Pipeline (tags)
Two new cave species were discovered near Great Basin Natn'l Park's Lehman Caves, part of the same cave aquifer system that SNWA plans to pump billions of gallons away from with their proposed pipeline. The species found were a shrimp called an ostracod and a cave millipede. Both depend on groundwater in caves that would be taken to Whittemore's suburban sprawl developments outside of Vegas city limits.
SNWA's 300 Mile Pipeline to Las Vegas Faces Growing Opposition (tags)
At a recent SNWA board meeting, the SNWA's proposed 300 mile pipeline from Snake Valley aquifer to Las Vegas has met with a few bumps in the road, mainly strong public opposition and increasing hesitancy on the part of SNWA board members to jump into this plan without a safety net. Though the SNWA board voted to continue seeking an EIS for the pipeline, the reality of future costs and risks of an overdrawn aquifer made several board members question their previous zealotry in following Gen. Manager Pat Mulroy down her pipeline's path for much longer.
Gambling with Extinction; Snails, Dace, Chub & Trout Threatened by SNWA Pipeline to Vegas (tags)
Petition for endangered species status and a lawsuit by conservation groups to protect spring snails could delay or even stop the destructive aquifer draining pipeline to Las Vegas proposed by SNWA.