# Plain Language Summary: Sloan Canyon Conservation and Lateral Pipeline Act

This bill makes two main changes to the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area, a protected desert region near Las Vegas. First, it expands the conservation area by adding about 9,300 acres of land—increasing the total protected area from roughly 48,000 acres to about 57,700 acres. This expansion means more desert landscape will receive federal protection and management. Second, and more significantly, the bill grants the Southern Nevada Water Authority a special right to build water pipelines through and around this conservation area without paying fees or rents. The water authority gets one year from when the bill passes to obtain this permission.

The pipeline project is the real focus here. The water authority can construct water transmission lines, power lines, access roads, and related facilities to move water through the region. If they need to dig tunnels for the pipeline, they can keep and use the sand, gravel, and other materials they excavate without paying for them. The bill also allows them to dispose of these materials on federal land, as long as the Interior Department agrees it serves the government's interests. Importantly, the pipeline cannot go through designated wilderness areas, and construction cannot permanently damage the conservation area's surface resources.

The bill preserves existing utility corridors and transmission lines that were already approved before this law passes, meaning companies with older permits can continue operating as before. It also allows new utility facilities to be built within existing transportation and utility corridors, following normal environmental review processes. For most people, this bill means the conservation area gets bigger, which protects more land, but it also creates a specific pathway for a major water infrastructure project to move forward in that region without the usual competitive bidding process that typically applies to federal land use.

Sloan Canyon Conservation and Lateral Pipeline Act

Titus, Dina

Sloan Canyon Conservation and Lateral Pipeline ActThis bill expands the boundaries of the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area in Clark County, Nevada, and grants rights-of-way&nbsp;through the conservation area&nbsp;and other land administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)&nbsp;for the construction of a water transmission pipeline and related facilities.Specifically, the bill requires the BLM to grant certain rights-of-way to the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA)&nbsp;for the purposes&nbsp;of (1) performing geotechnical investigations within the rights-of-way, and (2) constructing and operating a water pipeline and related facilities.&nbsp; Rights-of-way may not be located through or under areas designated as wilderness, and construction of the pipeline may not permanently adversely affect surface resources within the conservation area. The BLM may place other reasonable terms and conditions on the issuance of rights-of-way as necessary to protect the conservation area’s resources.&nbsp; &nbsp; In tunneling the water pipeline, SNWA may excavate and dispose of sand, gravel, minerals, and other materials as needed. The BLM must enter into a memorandum of understanding with SNWA to identify federal land on which SNWA may dispose of such materials.&nbsp;The bill also adds approximately 9,290 acres of land&nbsp;to the conservation area. This expansion of the conservation area is subject to valid existing rights (e.g., utility transmission rights), must not preclude authorized activities within existing rights-of-way or corridors, and must not preclude the BLM from authorizing new utility rights-of-way.