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Feds say water cuts to 3 states are enough to protect Colorado River – for now
A robust water year for the Colorado River has given states that rely on the mighty waterway a few more years of stability as climate change takes its toll, federal officials said Wednesday. Last year, federal officials gave Western states two options to protect the over-allocated Colorado River from the effects of a two-decade megadrought: […]
U.S. proposes ‘huge’ fee increase for most green card applications
Nearly 7,000 comments were submitted in response to a proposed increase in U.S. visa fees, with the majority voicing fierce opposition and concerns. Last week, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ended public comment for a proposed fee increase unveiled by the Biden administration in January. The deadline for public comment was initially set for […]
Waiting for California: 6 Colorado River states reach agreement even as 7th still on sidelines
Six Western states along the Colorado River have reached a tentative agreement to cut back on shared water use from the river’s two major dams, but California — which receives the largest share of water from the river — did not sign on to the deal. In June, Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton issued […]
DOE offers contentious Nevada lithium mine $700 million loan
Citing a need to secure a domestic supply of lithium for electric car batteries, the Biden administration has pledged $700 million for a planned lithium mine on the habitat of an endangered Nevada wildflower. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Energy announced it agreed to provide the financing to Australian developer Ioneer Inc. under a […]
Burning Man sues BLM over geothermal project in Nevada
Burning Man is suing the Bureau of Land Management over its approval of a geothermal exploration project in Gerlach, Nevada. In a filing Monday, the Burning Man Project—the nonprofit behind the festival —argues the agency failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act when it ruled in October that the exploration project would have […]
Water managers across drought-stricken West agree on one thing: ‘This is going to be painful’
Water authorities in the Western U.S. don’t have a crystal ball, but rapidly receding reservoirs uncovering sunken boats and other debris lost in their depths decades ago give a clear view of the hard choices ahead. If Western states do not agree on a plan to safeguard the Colorado River — the source of the […]
Feds seek to hasten clean energy development on public lands in the West
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland on Monday announced new steps to accelerate solar energy development on federal land in the West, a move that could further incentivize renewable energy development on Nevada’s vast public lands. During a visit to the Sonoran Solar Energy Project in Arizona – a project on public lands expected to […]
Nevada officials take another shot at killing Yucca Mountain Project once and for all
Over the past two decades, the state of Nevada has filed multiple lawsuits against the federal government to end the Yucca Mountain Project. Now Nevada leaders are hoping a new motion will terminate Yucca Mountain once and for all. On Tuesday, Gov. Steve Sisolak and the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects announced they filed a […]
Federal officials order more water cuts for lower Colorado River Basin states
Nevada and Arizona are facing a second year of mandatory water cuts as drought and climate change threatens the Colorado River’s flow, federal officials announced Tuesday. Under the cuts, Nevada will lose about 8% of its allocation, or 25,000 acre-feet of water, starting January 2023 as a stopgap solution to stabilize water levels at Lake […]
Nevada’s Nye County first in nation to offer voting in Shoshone language
Thanks to a decades-old amendment to the landmark Voting Rights Act, Nevada’s Clark County is federally required to provide ballots in Spanish and Tagalog. Now Nye County will offer assistance in another non-English language: Shoshone. Nye County will be the first and only county in the country to provide Shoshone language assistance — a traditionally […]