Sloan Canyon Conservation and Lateral Pipeline Act

It adds 9,290 acres to the national conservation area and advances water infrastructure while protecting wilderness, surface resources, and existing utility corridors.

What the law does ​

• Expands the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area from 48,438 acres to 57,728 acres using a May 20, 2024, map.
• Requires the Department of the Interior to grant the Southern Nevada Water Authority temporary and permanent rights-of-way within one year at no cost.
• Allows geotechnical work and the construction and operation of the Horizon Lateral Pipeline and related infrastructure.
• Allows the Water Authority to use or dispose of excavated tunneling material and requires suitable federal disposal land to be identified within 30 days after the rights-of-way are granted.
• Bars permanent harm to surface resources and prohibits rights-of-way through or beneath designated wilderness.
• Preserves existing transmission and utility corridors and permits authorized work and certain new rights-of-way within them, subject to environmental laws and federal conditions.

Who it affects ​

• The Southern Nevada Water Authority and communities served by its water infrastructure.
• Utility operators using existing transmission and utility corridors.
• Visitors, wildlife, and conservation resources within Sloan Canyon.

Breakdown ​

Sloan Canyon Conservation and Lateral Pipeline Act ​

This law expands the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area from 48,438 acres to 57,728 acres using a new 2024 boundary map. It also requires the federal government to provide the Southern Nevada Water Authority with free rights-of-way for the Horizon Lateral Pipeline and related infrastructure, while protecting conservation resources, wilderness, and existing utility rights.

Key takeaways

• The conservation area's boundary is expanded by 9,290 acres under a map dated May 20, 2024.
• The Interior Department must grant specified temporary and permanent rights-of-way to the Southern Nevada Water Authority within one year, without charging rent or other fees.
• The rights-of-way may be used for geotechnical investigations and for constructing and operating water transmission facilities and related infrastructure.
• The Water Authority may use or dispose of materials excavated during pipeline tunneling, and the parties must identify suitable federal disposal land within 30 days after the rights-of-way are granted.
• Pipeline construction may not permanently harm surface resources in the conservation area, and no right-of-way may pass through or under designated wilderness.
• The boundary expansion preserves existing transmission and utility corridors and allows authorized utility work and certain new utility rights-of-way within existing corridors, subject to applicable environmental laws and federal conditions.