Water ‘coup’ by developers threatens precious Nevada resource, report warns
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Water conservationists are attacking developers and political insiders they believe are mounting a “soft coup” that threatens control over precious water resources in Nevada.
In a report released Wednesday by the Great Basin Water Network, a water conservation watchdog run by Kyle Roerink, describes developers’ attempt to subvert the state’s water managers through proposals to “modernize” government processes. What that really means is limiting public participation and creating new political supervision over the state’s chief water decision-maker, the report suggests.
“The proposals would systematically install new layers of subversive bureaucracy to limit meaningful participation, co-opt lawmakers with industry propaganda, and institute new layers of pseudo governmental entities — undermining an existing system where the public can already appeal to courts and take other actions to hold regulators accountable,” according to the report.
An attempt to pitch the modernizations before the Nevada Legislature’s Interim Committee for Natural Resources failed when it was removed from the May 10 agenda.
The proposal called for a state water commissioner to be picked by Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, as well as a “water caucus.” The report criticized the arrangement, saying it would be abused by lobbyists brought in to “educate” lawmakers.
“There are no specific examples as to why the current law isn’t working aside from casual references to limited oversight of the state engineer,” according to the report.
The modernization effort has been in the works for more than a year. A recent finding by the Nevada Supreme Court upheld the state engineer’s authority to manage water decisions in the public interest.
Roerink’s group identifies Vidler Water Company, Resource Concepts Inc. of Carson City and private water developer Water Asset Management as businesses involved in the movement. It cites an email with “more than 25 well-connected people” copied — while leaving out State Engineer Adam Sullivan, Nevada’s authority when it comes to water decisions.
Roerink said developers and others behind the plan have long championed groundwater exportation and overuse. “Vidler has a long history of working to turn paper water rights into profits in arid regions of the U.S.,” the report said.
8 News Now has reached out to Donald Pattalock at Vidler for comment. Pattalock is named in the report as a player in water politics and currently involved in trying to secure water for housing developments in north Reno. We have also reached out to others for comment. Sullivan is out of the office and unavailable through next week. The Southern Nevada Water Authority had no comment. State Senator Julie Pazina, who runs the interim committee that was to review the proposal, hasn’t responded to our request for comment.
Vidler, which has a Carson City office, has been entwined with Nevada water politics for decades. The company bought ranches in eastern Nevada as plans formed to build a water pipeline to Las Vegas. That plan is now dead, Vidler sold one of the properties to SNWA for the water rights, according to Great Basin Water Network.
Now, the battle over water is front and center and people are paying more attention after nearly 2½ decades of drought.
“We hope lawmakers see this proposal for what it is: an effort to undermine the only safeguards we have,” the report warned.
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