|
West of Las Vegas, county commissioners in Nye County, Nevada are pushing back against growing pressure from mining and solar development that threatens the county's water supply. The Nevada Current reports that county commissioners unanimously approved a letter asking the Interior Department to protect the area around Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge from a possible open-pit lithium mine.
Canadian mining company Rover Metals received initial approval for exploratory drilling near the refuge last year, but the Bureau of Land Management revoked the permit after a lawsuit and public opposition. Rover submitted a new plan last month, prompting the county to seek permanent protection through a mineral withdrawal for the area around the refuge, which contains a network of natural springs.
"These springs are an oasis in one of the hottest, driest places on earth," the letter reads. "This habitat area is home to more than 25 rare plants and animal species that exist nowhere else on the planet, some of which are protected under the Endangered Species Act."
Separately, Nye County is home to an emerging conflict between residential and solar development along the border with neighboring Clark County. The counties share a hydrographic basin, and Nye county commissioners say that if Clark County approves solar projects in its side of the basin, the development will threaten the water supply for residents of Pahrump, a Las Vegas exurb in Nye County.
|
People hear about this law and they say, no, no, no, that can’t be right. Then they learn more and realize it’s even worse than they thought.”
