Nye County Water District is seeking federal restitution for water contaminated by nuclear weapons testing.

From 1951 to 1992, the former Nevada Test Site was home to a barrage of nuclear experiments, both in the air and below ground, and a legacy left by this period of American history is radioactive contamination.

One of the resources damaged by nuclear testing at the site is water and in 2024, the Nye County Water District began the process of attempting to secure some form of compensation for the contamination of this critical resource that otherwise could have been put to public use.

It is not a straightforward process, though and, as discussed at the Nye County Water District Governing Board’s October meeting, it is an issue that will require more effort going forward.

“This item is purely due to the water that was tainted by the federal government within the test site boundaries, which lies wholly within Nye County and is supposed to be upward of a trillion gallons of water,” water board member Michael Lach explained at the meeting. “And the federal government had knowledge of what happened, they were remiss in protecting the state waters and it’s my belief that Nye County should be compensated for what they did to waters that we could have pumped into Pahrump at some point in time, if water was needed.”

Water board member Ed Goedhart reiterated, “That’s enough water to fill a lake 300 miles long, a mile wide and 25 feet deep. That’s water that will be contaminated for hundreds or thousands of years. That’s water that is no longer available to the residents and citizens of Nye County.”

Providing background, Nye County Water District General Manager Dann Weeks said the district has been working closely with Schroeder Law, a firm well-versed in water law, on the issue. The law firm had developed a “white paper” outlining the water district’s position and requesting the Nevada Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) take action to seek compensation for the damaged waters, as water in Nevada is controlled by the state. Only if the state declines to act can the water district itself pursue restitution.

“Essentially, once they have chosen not to act, it becomes our opportunity,” Nye County’s water district general manager stated.

“We would say obligation,” Goedhart interjected, with Weeks agreeing, “I think that is a wiser word.”

Goedhart reiterated an action taken by the Nevada Legislature in 2011, while he was an assemblyman — Nevada Assembly Joint Resolution No. 5. The resolution urged the federal government to address the remediation, containment and mitigation of the contaminated test site waters but to no avail.

“There was not a single opposing vote and we never got a response back,” Goedhart remarked. “This is a crying shame. For people who really want to bite on something and get behind something, this is one of the greatest injustices that have ever been perpetrated on a state and a rural county in the history of the United States. So, get involved.”

Nye County Commissioner Debra Strickland, who acts as liaison to the water board, noted the parallel between what the water district was seeking and the compensation given to those who worked at the Nevada Test Site, known as Cold War Patriots.

“If they can do it for the people who worked there, they can do it for the water,” Strickland asserted. “So, how did they do it? What was the trigger that made that happen?”

Weeks said the compensation for former test site employees came about as a result of a lawsuit from energy department workers themselves and Strickland emphasized that this sets a clear precedence to support the water district’s position. Thus far, the state has failed to act but Schroeder Law recommended continuing to pressure the DNCR and federal officials, specifically with a federal lobbyist. However, the issue may end up in litigation if these routes proves fruitless.

“The recommendations that have been made by Schroeder Law are underway,” Weeks said. “And what Schroeder Law is telling us is, we need to keep trying… And as you know, we have Marcus Faust as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. and we’re in the initial stages of engaging Schroeder Law and Marcus Faust’s team so they can coordinate and get that traction that we’re looking for in Washington, D.C.”

Before the discussion drew to a close, Schroeder Law Associate Attorney Jeff Nadeau added, “If we can’t get any traction there, we will proceed with a lawsuit.”

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com