United States Department of the Interior OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR Pacific Southwest Region San Francisco Field Office 333 Bush Street, Suite 775 San Francisco. California 94104 Direct Telephone: (415) 296-3381 Facsimile: (415) 296-3371 E-mail: [email protected] October 28, 2020 Mr. Tim Wilson Nevada Division of Water Resources, State Engineer’s Office 901 South Stewart Street, Suite 2002 Carson City, NV 89701-5250 Re: NPS and BLM Written Testimony on the Proposed Order Designating and Describing the Hamlin Valley Hydrographic Basin (11-196) within Lincoln and White Pine Counties, Nevada. Dear Mr. Wilson: On behalf of the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management (the DOI Agencies), I am submitting the DOI Agencies’ joint written testimony on the Nevada State Engineer’s proposed order designating and describing the Hamlin Valley Hydrographic Basin (11-196). The written testimony is submitted in accordance with the instructions noted in the hearing notice for the order. The DOI Agencies appreciate the opportunity to provide written testimony on the proposed order. If you or your staff have any questions regarding this written testimony, please contact me at your convenience. Sincerely, Karen D. Glasgow Field Solicitor-San Francisco Field Office Office of the Solicitor, Department of the Interior Cc (electronic): Forrest Harvey, Peter Fahmy, Jeff Hughes, Gary Karst, James Woolsey, Ben Roberts (NPS) Sarah Peterson, Roy E. Smith (BLM) Erica Anderson (Solicitor) Written Testimony on the Proposed Order Designating and Describing the Hamlin Valley Hydrographic Basin (11-196) within Lincoln and White Pine Counties, Nevada. The National Park Service (NPS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM Nevada), collectively referred to as the DOI Agencies, thank the Nevada Division of Water Resources (NDWR) for the opportunity to provide written testimony on the proposed order designating and describing the Hamlin Valley Hydrographic Basin (11-196). The NPS does not hold or claim any water rights in Hamlin Valley, but did protest the four pending water right applications on record for this valley based on concerns about cumulative pumping impacts to Great Basin National Park’s water resources that might result from this pumping and the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s (SNWA) formerly proposed groundwater pumping in Spring and Snake Valleys. The BLM holds state appropriated water rights and also claims federal reserved water rights in Hamlin Valley and protested two pending water right applications on record for this valley based on concerns about cumulative pumping impacts to BLM’s water resources that might result from this pumping and the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s (SNWA) formerly proposed groundwater pumping in Spring and Snake Valleys. After reviewing the information contained in the proposed order, the DOI Agencies support the NDWR’s decision that conditions warrant the designation of the basin, based on data and information available to the State Engineer, and that administration of the basin is justified under the provisions of NRS Chapter 534. Designation is the first step in the prudent management of this basin, given that the current committed groundwater appropriations and applications to appropriate water from the groundwater source far exceed the currently recognized perennial yield of the basin. As the NDWR moves forward with this effort, the DOI Agencies would like to offer the following suggestions for the NDWR to consider in administering the basin. Intentions on Developing Pending Water Right Applications The proposed order states on page 2 that applications to appropriate water from the groundwater source total 18,927.64 acre-feet annually. The DOI Agencies review of the pending water right applications on the Nevada side of Hamlin Valley based on a hydrographic abstract search of the NDWR’s online water rights database (as of September 25, 2020) confirms this amount, which is associated with four pending applications to appropriate, all filed by the same applicant(s). As a first step in administering Hamlin Valley as a designated basin, the DOI Agencies encourage the NDWR to determine whether or not the applicants still have any intent on developing the water under these pending water right applications. Two of these pending applications (64684 and 64685) were filed in December 1998 and are seeking a combined total of 10,240 acre-feet annually to be used to irrigate a total of 2,560 acres of public land administered by the BLM in northern Hamlin Valley. The NPS protested both of these applications, arguing these applications should be denied, in part, because “it would not be in the public interest to approve applications for use upon lands where the applicant does not control both the proposed well locations or the proposed places of use,” per Ruling No. 4548 signed by the Nevada State Engineer. Application Nos 64684 and 64685 have been awaiting action for 22 years, and there is sufficient information available for the NDWR to deny these two applications on the basis argued by the NPS above. NPS discussions with BLM personnel indicated they rarely permit irrigation on public land unless a land exchange is involved. While these pending applications mentioned that the land within the place of use is proposed to be acquired through a land exchange with BLM, the applicants have not made any good faith attempts to do so in the 22 years these applications have been pending before the NDWR. Because the land at these locations in Hamlin Valley does not fall under an area covered under the Lincoln County Conservation, Recreation and Development Act, the proposed action also would necessitate a BLM Land Use Plan Amendment. Given that the applicants do not own (control) the land associated with the proposed wells or the places of use, one can reasonably conclude these applications were speculative to begin with and should be denied. The other two applications (72907 and 72908, later changed by 73323 and 73324) were filed 15 years ago in June 2005 and are seeking a combined total of 8,687.64 acre-feet annually in northern Hamlin Valley for municipal use within the Coyote Spring Valley Hydrographic Basin (210). The DOI Agencies protested these applications. It was the DOI Agencies’ understanding that when SNWA was pursuing their groundwater pipeline conveyance project that would export large quantities of groundwater from Spring Valley and Snake Valley southward to the Las Vegas area, the applicants had an arrangement with SNWA that would allow them to use SNWA’s pipeline conveyance system to export their Hamlin Valley water southward to Coyote Spring Valley for use. In the wake of SNWA’s recent withdrawal of their groundwater applications in Spring Valley and Snake Valley associated with their defunct groundwater pipeline project, the applicants planned means to convey these proposed appropriations to their place of use through SNWA’s groundwater pipeline is no longer viable. The NDWR should inquire whether or not the applicants have the intention and financial ability to construct their own pipeline conveyance system to Coyote Spring Valley. If they cannot satisfactorily demonstrate to the NDWR that they have such intentions or means to put this water to beneficial use in the reasonably near future, the applicant should withdraw these applications accordingly or the NDWR could deny them. It is possible that at some future time there may be no need for designating Hamlin Valley if these four pending applications are denied and/or withdrawn. Groundwater Level Monitoring Online review of the NDWR’s groundwater monitoring network on the Nevada side of Hamlin Valley indicates there are 4 wells used by the NDWR to monitor groundwater level conditions only in the northern half of the valley. However, some of the wells historically utilized by the NDWR were measured by SNWA, and with the shutdown of their groundwater pipeline project, it is our understanding that SNWA has no plans to continue the collection of groundwater levels in these wells and reporting the data to the NDWR as they’ve done in the past. Most of these wells have several years of continuous or quarterly measurements that have proven useful in developing a baseline dataset of groundwater level conditions throughout much of northern Hamlin Valley. The DOI Agencies encourage NDWR staff to continue the collection of water level measurements in the SNWA-measured wells, so that consistent periods of record can be maintained in the northern half of the valley. One exception is the well located in Section 6, T8N, R70E (Well Name 383533114102901), which has shown a consistently flat water level for many years. The technical review panel for the Spring Valley stipulated agreement between SNWA and the DOI Agencies (including the USFWS) concluded this well likely is in poor communication with the basin-fill aquifer and was subsequently removed from their monitoring network in 2014. The remaining wells should help the NDWR to monitor any potential pumping-related impacts in the northern half of the valley over time and determine if additional administrative measures are needed. Cooperative Interstate Groundwater Management As the NDWR is probably aware, recent hydrological studies and monitoring conducted on the Utah and Nevada sides of Snake Valley indicate the water resources in several portions of the valley have been under stress due to the existing levels of groundwater withdrawals. Following the withdrawal of SNWA’s groundwater applications on the Nevada side of the valley, there are early indications of a local rush to secure any remaining unappropriated water on both sides of the valley. The Utah State Engineer’s office has begun a dialogue with Utah residents in Snake and Hamlin Valleys about developing either a groundwater management plan or changing the appropriation policy for the Utah side in the near future, since these valleys are managed as one unit in Utah.