Application, Project Description, and Plan of Development Submitted to BLM

The Lincoln County Water District submitted the Kane Springs Valley Groundwater Development Project Right-of-Way Application to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on February 9, 2005.  The application was submitted to the BLM Ely Field Office, which is the office responsible for managing the BLM lands where the proposed project would be developed.  The BLM has the responsibility of processing all applications received.  The Ely Field Office assigned this project Case File Number N79742 and BLM determined that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) would be required to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

In late 2005, the BLM Nevada State Director established the Nevada Groundwater Projects Office to facilitate the preparation of the EIS.  Although the Nevada State Office is responsible for preparing the EIS, Nevada Groundwater Projects Office staff coordinate all efforts with the Ely Field Office staff and the Ely Field Manager will be the decision-maker.

The Plan of Development (POD) is a detailed project description created by the Project Applicant (also referred to as the Project Proponent).  This document must be submitted to the BLM prior to issuance of the Record of Decision.  If the project is approved, the POD and any additional site-specific stipulations that are determined by the BLM to be necessary on federal lands would be appended to the right-of-way grant issued by the BLM and would serve as a project resource manual.  On large and/or complex projects, the POD can be a working document that is updated as project components are clarified; all changes must be approved by the BLM.