“Congress has a lot of people who can come up with bills, and they can decide if they can pass a bill, and that’s their job,” said Bernhardt, a former lobbyist for the oil and gas industry. 

The legislation proposes a ban on oil and gas leasing on public land where there is zero to low oil potential. Under the bill, a parcel’s prospects for development would be determined based on a study known as a Reasonably Foreseeable Development Scenario, crafted with a public comment period.

This week's Indy Environment newsletter looks at the recent snow survey and the military's plan to expand the Fallon Naval Air Station. It also looks at the state's greenhouse gas inventory and the proposed legislation for a Clark County Lands Bill.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is working to change the conversation around the Clark County lands bill proposal, especially as it relates to conservation. To do that, the senator’s staff began floating legislative language — known as a “discussion draft” — Tuesday that aims to resolve some of the most controversial aspects of the county’s plan.

But now, Nevada political leaders are now facing a hard truth — the state is unlikely to meet its new and ambitious carbon reduction and climate change goals without implementing major policy changes — such as adopting California’s stricter standards for vehicle emissions.

A contentious $30 million, 10-year marketing deal between the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the Las Vegas Raiders is still on the table after two months of delay, but several members of an advisory panel that was tasked to review the agreement have raised questions about how cost-effective it is.

County commissioners on Tuesday scheduled a Jan. 21 public hearing for an ordinance that will consolidate the air quality department and the Office of Sustainability into a single Department of Environment and Sustainability.

Reduced precipitation from climate change and disputes over Colorado River water rights loom over Nevada’s water supply, but the agency that oversees it says officials can manage the uncertainty with a boost from new conservation programs and legislative mandates. The SNWA's Joint Water Conservation Plan was approved by the board’s seven member agencies in December, after significant updates to the conservation formula and strategies.

This week's Indy Environment newsletter looks at the state's decision to temporarily halt new housing developments that rely on groundwater in a valley north of Reno. The newsletter also looks at a Southern Nevada solar project and things to watch in 2020.

Documents obtained through two public records requests offer new insight into the relationship between business and government at an industrial park that lured companies with incentives and support from the state. The letter comes amid new scrutiny of those practices. Last month, The Nevada Independent detailed how the industrial park’s public water district, which wants to use eminent domain to build the pipeline project, blurred the line between a government and private utility for decades.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto said Thursday that the military’s proposed 300,000-acre expansion of the Nevada Test and Training Range does not “balance” different public land uses, the first time the senator has shared her position on the issue. On Thursday, Cortez Masto introduced compromise legislation supported by the entire Nevada delegation that would limit the proposal to roughly one-third of the military’s original ask — about 98,000 acres.

This week's Indy Environment newsletter focuses on a proposed water recycling project in Southern California that could help Las Vegas supplement its Colorado River supply. The newsletter also looks at the debate over oil extraction on public land and a new study on cheatgrass.

After years of deliberations over how to cut back water use on the Colorado River, Southwest water managers clicked pause on a new round of negotiations — likely to be even more challenging — during a conference in Las Vegas last week. Sort of.

Acting State Engineer Tim Wilson will take on the role in an official capacity, the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced on Thursday. The official appointment fills a position at the center of several ongoing legal fights over water use across the state.

During a swing through Nevada this week, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said he was opposed to opening federal land to oil and gas leasing in the Ruby Mountains near Elko. Sanders said that his opposition was part of a larger effort to end fossil fuel development on public land.

This week's Indy Environment newsletter looks at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's request to intervene in permitting for proposed energy storage projects at two Nevada lakes. It also breaks down the conversation around Clark County's climate efforts and the county's federal lands bill.

State officials have determined that Assemblywoman Heidi Swank is ineligible to lead Nevada’s newly formed outdoor recreation office, despite announcing the lawmaker’s appointment last month.

Clark County is one of the places in Nevada most at risk from the effects of climate change. With a new position and a concerted effort to address the issue, the county — with more than two-thirds of the state’s population — could play an outsized role in changing Nevada’s emissions portfolio.