Print View From: "Richard Spotts" To: Date: Tuesday - September 29, 2009 8:20 PM Subject: Please postpone signing UT/NV Snake Valley agreement until all the facts are available September 29, 2009 Dear Utah officials: Please postpone signing the UT/NV Snake Valley agreement until all of the current related hydrological and biological studies are completed, as well as the BLM's NEPA process of preparing a Draft and Final Environmental Impact Statement. At that time, the best available scientific information will be available, and the BLM's NEPA and related public involvement process would be finished. With all of that scientific information and public input at hand, the Utah and Nevada officials should take a fresh look at this draft agreement and decide whether or how it should be revised. The parties to the draft agreement, and the language of the agreement itself, acknowledge that there is no rush to execute this agreement at this time. Doing so now would be patently premature, and arguably would circumvent or denigrate the importance of the pending studies and NEPA process. Please do not put this important cart before the horse. Please be patient and wait for the full picture. Snake Valley ranchers concede that the ground water table has already been falling, and that many wells and springs have already dried up. This creates a clear presumption that current groundwater extraction already exceeds the natural recharge rate, and that perhaps there have already been more water rights granted than the aquifer can sustainably provide. Climate change will likely cause prolonged droughts in the West, which would make the currently bad situation much worse. Absent objective studies that demonstrate a clear "surplus" of water in this aquifer, it would seem foolish and wasteful to proceed with an agreement that purports to allocate water well in excess of reality. Please add me to any snail and/or E-mail list to receive news or updates on this matter. Thank you very much for considering my comments. Sincerely, Richard Spotts 1125 W. Emerald Drive St. George UT 84770-6026 spotts@infowest.com