The group is challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s March 2 approval of the Pine Valley Water Supply Project — a proposed 66-mile pipeline in the high desert near the Nevada border. A timeline for construction has not been finalized.
The project is designed to move groundwater to the Cedar City area, where officials say population growth and development are increasing demand.
Opponents argue the federal review fell short, saying the agency relied on flawed science and failed to fully consider impacts on aquifers, rural water supplies and groundwater-dependent ecosystems.
Kyle Roerink, executive director of the Great Basin Water Network, said the consequences could ripple across the region.
“This project will take water away from the springs, and that will impact farmers and ranchers who use them. That will impact wildlife,” Roerink said. “So anything that is going to take that water away right now is a huge threat, not just to the people and wildlife that are currently using it, but to future generations.”
The coalition is asking the Interior Board of Land Appeals to pause the project while the case moves forward. The board is expected to decide in the coming weeks whether to grant that request.
Roerink also questioned whether the pipeline is the right solution for meeting future demand.
“Look at satellite imagery of Cedar City. The community is not running out of water like Iron County officials claim,” he said. “They are over-pumping and over-using their own supplies.”
Supporters of the project say it’s needed to secure a long-term water supply for a growing region.
The pipeline is part of a broader effort to tap groundwater from rural basins in southern Utah, an idea that has drawn opposition for years from communities concerned about the long-term impacts of large-scale pumping in the arid West.
Similar proposals to export groundwater in the region have faced significant opposition. One long-running effort by the Southern Nevada Water Authority was ultimately halted after years of legal and regulatory battles.
Now, with the latest appeal underway, the future of the project could hinge on whether federal regulators revisit their analysis, and whether opponents can convince the appeals board to halt it in the meantime.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between KUNR, Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
