Whose water will Las Vegas be stealing next?

This just in from the feds. Our environmentally minded congress is taking another step toward butchering the wilderness and promoting development over sustainable living.

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"The legislation grants rent-free rights of way across federal land for a massive proposed pipeline system that would carry groundwater from rural Nevada to the Las Vegas area.

It authorizes the sale of 90,000 acres of public land — the equivalent of three San Franciscos — for private development in Lincoln County, a huge, lonely swath of southeastern Nevada that is almost entirely owned by the federal government. "

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And, who is going to foot this bill? The taxpayer! RENT FREE! Yikes. And the big winner is...drum roll please:

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"And it eliminates a federal right of way that interferes with a big Southern Nevada development proposed by a friend of one of the bill's sponsors, Democratic Sen. Harry Reid , the soon-to-be Senate minority leader...."

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Even the democrats are guilty of cronyism.


More damage to the environment that won't be assessed nor measured just so the Luxor can turn the faucets on in the face of increased oppulant development in the desert that really is Las Vegas.

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"It is really the epitome of a bad lands bill," said Janine Blaeloch, director of the Western Land Exchange Project, a public lands watchdog group. "It pushed for privatization of federal land where there is no demand…. It does tremendous damage to the entire landscape. We're going to lay pipelines from here to kingdom come on public land for no charge and suck water from rural Nevada down to Las Vegas."

The pipeline rights of way are granted to the Southern Nevada Water Authority, which wants to pump water from a deep regional aquifer to supply booming Las Vegas and Lincoln County, which has a deal with a private water company to develop local groundwater to serve growth.

The pumping proposals have raised concerns that they could jeopardize rural water supplies as well as springs in Death Valley National Park, which sits on the western edge of the aquifer, just over the California border."

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In my view, places that are originally desert, should not be habited because there is no sustainable water source. If there isn't any water, in enough quantities to use viably and sustainably, isn't that a good indication that there shouldn't be any development?