Owens Valley Dust Storm. What Utah can expect to see if the pipeline is built
April 7, 2013. SL Tribune. Op Ed. Governor rejects the Water Grab. Much work still to be done to kill it. Great Basin dust is extremely toxic. http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/56107724-82/utah-nevada-erionite-las.html.csp
April 5, 2013. Op Ed. Deseret News. Just Say No to the Water Grab
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865576746/Say-no-to-Water-Pipeline-agreement.html
March 23, 2013. SL Tribune. Op Ed. Snake Valley Las Vegas pipeline will create an “Airpocalypse”.
http://www.sltrib.com/pages/comments?cid=56046241
Dec. 29, 2012. BLM issues the right of way for the water grab.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/55538357-78/nevada-blm-decision-groundwater.html.csp
August, 2012. BLM gives partial approval for the water grab.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/54624691-90/nevada-blm-final-eis.html.csp
March 23, 2012. Nevada water engineer predictably grants water rights
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/53775289-78/rulings-nevada-valley-pipeline.html.csp
Op Ed Piece for the SL Tribune
The Oct 5 article in S.L.Tribune “Utahns to Protest Pipeline to Las Vegas” left the readers to fill in the dots.
The article mentions the concerns of the Goshutes related to underground water flows. The LDS Church and SaltLake County are notably concerned and planning to attend hearings in Carson City Nevada. It would seem important to mention that this is not a Nevada vacation that is being planned. Salt Lake County and the LDS Church are looking into the future and truly understand that de-watering an area on the Utah Nevada border can have impacts on air quality deterioration along the Wasatch Front. History has provided some important lessons. When water from the Owens Valley, California was transferred to Los Angeles, the Owens Valley became a dust bowl and a source of particulate air pollution. Similarly the shrinking of the Aral Sea has been linked with an increase in infant mortality, respiratory illness, cancer, and a long list of similar badness. Soil that will be blown our way from Nevada contains chemicals similar to asbestos. This causes lung cancer and mesothelioma as has been seen in areas of Turkey Fallout from atomic testing in the 1950′s also may be in that soil. SL County is already in violation of the EPA’s national air quality standards for PM2.5 (small particle pollution.) These small particles penetrate deeply into the lungs.Salt Lake, Utah, and Davis Counties are all out of compliance or barely compliant for ozone, Pm-10 (large particle), and Pm-2.5 pollution.
It seems Utah would have learned from being down wind from above ground nuclear tests in the 1950s.
The Tribune article mentions that the Goshutes hope that Gov Herbert will hold off on signing a Snake Valley water-sharing agreement. It would have been important to mention that the BLM is currently doing an environmental assessment on the impacts of lowering the ground water level. Any premature agreement by Gov Herbert would be in complete disregard for the BLM analysis and the National Environmental Policy Act.
Any decisions on Snake Valley water should consider health impacts and resultant added health care costs.
