H.R. 972 — Sloan Canyon Conservation and Lateral Pipeline Act

This section defines, for purposes of the Act, the “Conservation Area” as the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area and the “Secretary” as the Secretary of the Interior acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management.

This section expands the boundary of the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area by amending the map reference to “Proposed Sloan Canyon Expansion” dated May 20, 2024 (from “Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act” dated October 1, 2002) and increasing its acreage to 57,728 acres (from 48,438 acres). The section further (1) directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Land Management, to grant the Southern Nevada Water Authority, without rents or charges and within one year of enactment, temporary and permanent rights-of-way outside the area boundaries for water pipeline infrastructure, powerlines, facilities, and access roads (including authority to excavate and dispose of tunneling materials under a required memorandum of understanding), subject to terms protecting area resources, avoiding permanent adverse surface impacts, and excluding wilderness areas; (2) subjects the expansion to valid existing utility transmission corridors and rights-of-way approved prior to enactment, without precluding their operation, maintenance, repair, replacement, or new authorizations under the National Environmental Policy Act and other laws; and (3) preserves existing area management except for the new rights-of-way.