The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has hired a contractor to prepare the Environmental Impact Statement for the Clark, Lincoln, and White Pine Counties Groundwater Development Project. ENSR International, headquartered in Ft. Collins, Colorado, was awarded the competitive contract. A team of professionals from the company will assist BLM to assess the impacts to the environment that could result from Southern Nevada Water Authority’s proposal to build pipelines capable of exporting groundwater from rural Clark, Lincoln, and White Pine Counties to the Las Vegas Valley.

“ENSR International is a highly respected company that has extensive experience working on major pipeline projects,” said Gene Kolkman, BLM’s Ely Field Office Manager. “I look forward to working with them. The company has managed other environmental projects for us and they’ve always done a great job.” ENSR was responsible for completing the Environmental Assessment for the Lincoln County land sale which took place in February and is currently under contract with BLM to develop the Resource Management Plan for the Ely District.

The company has tapped Scott Ellis to lead the team of hydrologists, biologists, and other specialists at ENSR who will work on the EIS. Ellis has more than 30 years experience developing environmental documents for projects on public lands. He has served as the senior manager on several pipeline development projects around the West.

Most of the wells that will be drilled as well as the pipelines that the Water Authority would like to build are located on public land managed by the BLM, which has triggered the need for a right-of-way permit. The Water Authority, in August 2004, filed a right-of-way application with BLM. However, before deciding whether the right-of-way should be granted, BLM must comply with federal environmental laws, including the requirement to prepare an EIS.

An EIS is a comprehensive decision-making tool that federal agencies must use to ensure alternatives and impacts to a proposed project are studied. The public will be invited to participate throughout the development of the EIS, beginning with scoping meetings, which are designed to identify appropriate issues and alternatives that ENSR International will analyze for BLM in the EIS. “There will be several key meetings in the next several weeks” said Kolkman. “Public participation is critical to good decision making, so I encourage everyone to attend at least one of the meetings.”