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Mining bristles at water conservation bill to prevent abandoned pits
Hundreds of thousands of abandoned mines litter Nevada, left by their owners decades ago. From those mines, plenty of valuable minerals have been extracted: gold, silver, lead, copper. What’s left behind in many cases, however, is acidic water and heavy metals leaching into the state’s waterways. Reno Democratic Assemblywoman Sarah Peters and conservation minded Nevadans […]
Washoe County puts Gerlach geothermal project on ice
In a major victory for a small rural town at the edge of the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, county officials revoked a permit for a contentious geothermal energy project locals have fiercely opposed. On Tuesday in a 3-2 vote, the Washoe County Board of County Commissioners denied Ormat Technologies a permit for a geothermal […]
NV and other lower Colorado River Basin states face major water cuts under federal proposal
Federal officials on Tuesday proposed unprecedented cuts to the amount of water Nevada, California, and Arizona could get from the Colorado River in an attempt to course correct after decades of drought and overuse. The U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation released a draft environmental impact statement detailing three possible operation revisions, one of […]
Robust streamflow projected in NV this summer
Nevada can expect robust streamflow well into the summer and brimming reservoirs into the fall as federal water managers forecast snowmelt twice that of previous years. After four months of above average snow and rain, March saw the biggest snow accumulation on record across the Sierra Nevada and Great Basin, with some records dating back […]
Lawmakers tackle groundwater depletion in conservation bill
Although Nevada is the driest state in the nation, the state is lined with an intricate network of groundwater aquifers, and with a megadrought draining water reserves, lawmakers are now pushing for a bill that would buy out water rights. Lawmakers say the proposed legislation, SB176, would help address and avoid conflicts over groundwater by […]
Judge sides with Lombardo on conservation agency appointment
A Nevada district judge has sided with Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo over a recent controversial appointment that prompted a lawsuit from a conservation group. Earlier this year, the Center for Biological Diversity and a former state employee challenged the appointment of former Republican state Sen. James Settelmeyer as director of the Department of Conservation and […]
Reno-based geothermal developer set to sue Biden administration over toad’s endangered listing
A geothermal energy developer vowed to sue the Biden administration over its decision to list a rare Nevada toad as endangered. The endangered listing could potentially derail the company’s latest renewable energy project in Nevada. In a letter filed Wednesday, Reno-based Ormat Technologies Inc. announced their intention to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service […]
How NV tribes are saving Lahontan cutthroat trout from extinction
Thousands of captive-raised specimens of the largest cutthroat trout species in North America are released into Pyramid Lake every year, but despite the trout’s size and might, they are also one of the most threatened. Decades of overfishing, dam building, water diversion, and other human actions have set the Lahontan cutthroat trout up for unrelenting […]
Nevada treasurer applauds Biden veto of ‘anti-free market’ bill
Nevada State Treasurer Zack Conine praised President Biden’s first veto for a bill that would have repealed a rule allowing asset managers to consider climate change, social and governance issues in their investment decisions. “It’s unfortunate that extremists continue to support anti-competitive and anti-free market legislation at the expense of our retirees,” said Conine in […]
Biden makes it official, designates sacred site in Nevada a national monument
After decades of work by Native American tribes in the Southwest, a culturally significant and sacred swath of land in Nevada finally gained permanent protections Tuesday. During a White House summit on conservation, President Joe Biden will announce the establishment of Nevada’s fourth national monument: Avi Kwa Ame, fulfilling a commitment he made last year. […]
U.S. proposes ‘huge’ fee increase for most green card applications
Nearly 7,000 comments were submitted in response to a proposed increase in US visa fees, the majority, voicing fierce opposition and concerns. Last week, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) ended public comment for a proposed fee increase unveiled by the Biden administration in January. The deadline for public comment was initially set for […]
First NV gas plant in 15 years gets expedited approval, customers likely to get the bill
Nevada regulators have approved an NV Energy plan to build a natural gas-fired power plant they say will help address system reliability as weather grows more extreme and unpredictable across the region. The energy monopoly will build a 400 MW gas-fired combustion turbine – or “peaker plant” – on the site of the Silverhawk Generating […]