September 24, 2018

Commissioner Koenig

asked if the presented cloud seeding effort will directly affect our basin. With the substantial amount of re-charge for the basin coming from the Spring Mountains, yes, it will. It is a general estimate that a foot of snow generates an inch of water in recharge. Oz also asked about projects in Northern Nye County, specifically in the Toiyabes. Frank stated if bill gets in front of legislature and is approved, then the Toiyabes will be cloud seeded next winter (2020). John Klenke asked based off typical weather patterns, if there is a feel of what will fall on the Pahrump side of Spring Mountains. Frank stated the goal is to land at 8,500 feet or above. Wind direction, speed and timing will determine how much will land on both sides. The Water District Governing Board requested an update of progress in Spring of 2019.

Commissioner Koenig

asked why Fiscal Year 2018’s ending balance is not Fiscal Year 2019’s beginning balance. Savannah explained that the Legal FY19 Budget is projected in May, so it’s an anticipated number at that time, to be provided to the Department of Taxation. . b. Board Reports I. LVVWD/SNWA II. CNRWA – John Koenig The next CNRWA meeting is 10/12/18 in Fallon at 10am. Both Commissioner Koenig and Oz will be in attendance. c. Staff Reports I. Oz Wichman Last April, Oz attended a meeting in Railroad Valley discussing the increasing lithium interest in the area. In September, he met one-on-one with community members / ranchers including: Kym Williams (runs 800 head of sheep, all on deeded land) Pat Knight (Railroad Valley Advisory Board) The Duckwater Tribe (Annette George, Jerry Millett + 2 others) Current Ranches (Norcutt) Blue Eagle Ranches (Jones) Carol Hanks Nyala Ranches (Higbbe) The Forrester’s (Large Hay operation) There is a definite interest in holding our Water District Governing Board meeting in Railroad Valley on 12/10/18. Oz is seeking approval for this date, time 10am and location of Currant Community Center. He has commitments from Jason King and Senator Goicoechea to be present. With main goal to give the folks of Railroad Valley a voice in the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) filings and potential business interests (lithium), petroleum and agriculture. There are some policy items Oz has been trying to push on behalf of Northern Nye County citizens. They include: 1. Protect priority doctrine (first in time-first in right). 2. Oppose evaporative processes for the processing of lithium. 3. Continue to support our protest against SNWA filings. Both Nye County Water District and Nye County have protests on file. 4. Any project that comes into a basin and proposes to use the water at the exclusion of the everything else is not good for Nye County or Nevada. Diverse industry should be supported. More follow-up in December, but Oz is going to asking for additional monies for some groundwater monitoring in Northern Nye County. He is hoping that someone that lives in Railroad Valley will be able to perform water level measurements. Oz has also spoken to the Nature Conservancy, whose interest is in water for the environment. Oz has personally investigated public trust doctrine. He has also had Legal counsel (Sev) research it. In a snapshot, Nevada has not gone down the path of public trust doctrine. We’ll all keep an eye on how Nevada will strike the balance. An update was provided by Oz on Order 1293. Order 1293 was issued on 12/9/17 and was challenged in court. Nevada Division of Water Resources later issued 1293A. It is the same order but allows those who filed intent to drill cards between Dec 11 and Dec 19, 2017, or were actively engaged in building a home, to drill a domestic well without relinquishment of water rights. It’s estimated this will total approximately 15-acre feet of water (not a substantial impact to the Ground Water Management Plan). Parties have agreed to withdraw the original case and start over from scratch. A different judge will hear the case. It will be heard sometime in December-January. We will have to wait and see what District Court has to say about the new Order 1293A. Lastly, the Desert Research Institute is having a meeting regarding the Pahrump Ground Water Model. Oz has asked Dwight Smith (on contract with Shaw Engineering) and John Klenke to attend. II. John Klenke Provided an update on the wells mentioned at the 7/30/18 meeting in Tonopah. John will be meeting with the BLM and USGS on 10/1/18. These are the wells that the BLM is paying for, so we can collect additional water level measurements in Pahrump Valley. The priority is the installation of 3 wells along the border of Nevada and California. If funding holds out, then a 4th well would be installed at Gamebird and Blagg. A 5th on Basin Ave, 1.8 miles east of 160. Additionally, John has requested funding for us to do Quality Assurance on these wells. This would be performed by a geologist on site, who would collect log cutting samples and encasing records. We have someone in mind for this (who has worked for NWRPO office in the past). III. Christal Behrends Christal provided a Carbonate Aquifer Funding update. Reviewing the project phases, phase 1-4 are focused on pre-development and are geophysical in nature. Phases 1-4 total approximately 4.2 million dollars. Christal has been consulting with Susan Dudley and the biggest challenges determined is project eligibility (pre-development) and entity eligibility (we’re not a purveyor of water). In addition, the nature of funding is shifting to loans vs. grants. Susan had exhausted funding sources to include: USDA, EPA, CDBG, State Funding, State Revolving Loan, Land & Water Conservation Fund, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, Environmental Financial Advisory Board, National Resources Conservation Services and the National Science Foundation. Christal and Susan still think there may be potential with: Bureau of Reclamation (Water SMART grants), Army Corp of Engineers (which will require US Senator backing), USGS and the WIFIA (Water Infrastructure Finance & Innovation Act) Loan program. Susan has not previously funded anything under WIFIA. It is a new program and is part of the President’s Infrastructure Plan. It is loan based, so the community has to “have a stake in the game”. The program only finances 49% of project total. Interest and terms are favorable (1-3% interest, up to 40 years). In 2017, WIFIA funded 4 loans totaling 1 billion dollars. The program has received 62 letters of interest in 2018 and will fund 9.1 billion. We will be keeping a pulse on what type of projects are funded to better determine if they will consider pre- development projects. Oz prioritized our focus going forward to be: 1. Grants 2. Collaborative funding with those who have a common interest in project 3. Raise parcel fees to fund / loans 4. Do nothing Christal will continue to initiate info gathering meetings with WIFIA and Army Corps of Engineer funding officers. She will download any Water SMART grant applications (first of which should be posted in November 2018) as well as continue her networking and research efforts. All while consulting with Susan Dudley. Providing an update on the website re-design, Christal presented sample copies of what our main page and an interior page will look like. We are still in the design phase and on target for a launch date of 11/8/2018. d. Projects Status Reports I. Staff Covered Above e. Board Liaison Reports I. Commissioner John Koenig The BOCC gave the Desert Research Institute permission to use County land for cloud seeding in Nye County. Commissioner Koenig continues to get feedback (both pro & con) from public. f. Report form other individuals, groups and or agencies regarding water-related Issues; for informational purposes only. None