Oct 4, 7:08 PM EDT

House passes bill to sell off federal land in Lincoln County

By ERICA WERNER Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) --

More than 100,000 acres of federal land in Lincoln County would be auctioned off to private buyers under legislation that passed the House of Representatives Monday. The bill would also open the way for a pipeline to carry water from the sparsely populated county to Las Vegas in the south. "As drought continues in the West and our state continues to grow, the development of in-state water resources grows increasingly important," Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., said on the House floor. "This growth, while impressive, has created and placed new and increased pressures on our existing precious resources such as infrastructure, education and water," he said. The Lincoln County Conservation, Recreation and Development Act passed on a voice vote. It now goes to the Senate, where Nevada Sens. Harry Reid and John Ensign hope to get it passed before the end of the year. The bill would authorize the sale of 100,346 acres in the large but sparsely populated county just north of Las Vegas and Clark County. That amounts to about 157 square miles of Lincoln County's 10,635 square miles. The total acreage includes 87,005 acres newly authorized for sale. The remainder was authorized earlier and the bill is directing that those sales be completed. Of the proceeds, 5 percent would go to the state education fund, 45 percent to Lincoln County for economic development, and 50 percent to the Interior Department for management and protection of archaeological resources and conservation. The bill would establish a utility corridor that would allow the Southern Nevada Water Authority to build a 256-mile pipeline to tap into groundwater in eastern Nevada and draw as much as 200,000 acrefeet of water per year - enough for more than half a million households - for thirsty Clark County. The utility would get the right of way free, even though Interior Department officials had sought payment for environmental and other work. The bill also would designate 770,000 acres as wilderness and establish a 260-mile off-highway vehicle trail in central Lincoln County. All five members of Nevada's congressional delegation support the bill, but it faced mixed reviews from environmental groups who wanted more wilderness protected and feared the effects of transferring so much water to southern Nevada. "We have significant trepidations concerning the utility corridor section of the bill," the Nevada Wilderness Coalition, a group of six organizations, said in a statement. Concerns from Utah lawmakers about losing aquifer water under the water transfer plan were addressed by adding an agreement to consult with Utah. Utah also was added to a study of ground water quality, volume and other issues required by the bill. The Mt. Irish and Big Rocks wilderness areas, which were taken out of the bill when it passed the House Resources Committee, were restored for passage by the full House. The East Mormon Mountains remain out of the bill. --- The bill is H.R. 4593. © 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.