LAS VEGAS (AP) — Momentum and mitigation were two questions mentioned by a federal judge who has to decide whether environmental studies need to be redone for a massive eastern Nevada water pipeline proposed to serve Las Vegas.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon said Monday it'll be several weeks before he issues a ruling.
The judge wondered at the end of arguments in Las Vegas whether he has authority to tell the federal Bureau of Land Management to fix shortcomings if he finds them in environmental reports that took eight years to develop, or if he'd have to tell everyone to start over.
A pipeline could cost billions to build, but the Southern Nevada Water Authority says it may become essential if drought keeps shrinking the Lake Mead reservoir on the Colorado River.