158 



SUBCOM^lITreE ON PUBLIC U'NDS 



TES'nmNY TOR THE JUNE 30, 1987 HEARING iy%CORD 



S 854 NEVADA-FLORim LAND EXQIANGE AUl'HOHIZATION ACT OF 1987 



Jean Perry- Jones, 30 Aspen, Mt. Qnarleston, Nevada 



I am here to testify against the Nevada-Florida land Exchange 

 Authorization Act of 1987, S854 and HR1845. 



This seems to be a little-publicized act in Nevada, liavever 

 the more Nevadans I speak to, the more vocal their indign.ant replies 

 become. Ncvadajis ai-e appalled at this unotjualled "Land Exchange." 



Nevada is not a vast desert wasteland, good only for gambling 

 and weapons testing. Nevada has its deserts, but the only waste- 

 lands are those that have been bombed and nuked beyond habitation 

 by Iran. Nevada is a beautiful state, with rrountains, forests, 

 wildlife, and the spaciousness of a last frontier. It is a state 

 for dreamers, e>53lorors, and settlers. Nevada attracts tliousands 

 of Americans as new residents each year, and its metropolitan areas 

 are growing at an astounding rate. 



Florida, too, is a beautiful state. Its wetlands certainly 

 need to be preserved for their wildlife and ecological irrportance. 

 However, Florida swanps are not \sorth t\velve times the value of 

 Nevada's land, and that is the "exchange" equivalency. 



Aerojet is also asking for water rights, an issue that has 

 triggered nany a battle in the arid West. The water they want 

 rights to is a deep carbonate Pleistocene aquifer, which runs through 

 the states of Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. Recent hydnological 

 studies of the aquifer have been unable to discern when and if the 

 aquifer is replenished. It has not yet been tapped as a single 

 water resource in any significant amount. Yet, Aerojet is currently 

 planning on punping 2 million gallons per day of this pure water 

 source in a desert enviroriment to use for industrial purposes. 



We have seen the devastation of lowered water tables in 

 Nebraska from water taken from aquifers in Texas. We should te 

 able to learn from past mistakes. 



Furthermore, immediate results from using 2 million gallons 

 per day would be the likely stagnation and destruction of the 

 Pahranagat Wildlife Refuge and the elimination of one of the few 

 desert wetland habitats and breeding grounds. 



The I^as Vegas water sipply would also be throatonod by tlie 

 tapping of the aquifer. As the Las Vegas area continues its rapid 

 growth, it will need to have all of its resources available as the 

 waters flow to the Vegas valley, and not have the flow shut off by 

 such extravagent demands for its water. 



Nevadans also fear Aerojet 's track record of land mismanagement, 

 as was evidenced in the Sacramento area. Rather than correct their 

 problem of polluting the Sacramento water sufply in a timely manner, 

 they increased the problem by expensive and long court battles. The 

 lawiTBkers' hands were hopelessly tied while Aerojet played out the 

 legal system. 



