Feb. 08, 2010

“AT LONG LAST, THINGS ARE GETTING INTERESTING” - GEORGE KNAPP

Remember that scene from the Monty Python movie where the Black Knight gets his arms and legs hacked off? Blood spurts out of stumps that previously were appendages, but the knight tells his enemies “it’s only a flesh wound.” That’s the same attitude displayed by the Southern Nevada Water Authority. The state Supreme Court used a meat cleaver to chop SNWA into tiny Mulroy McNuggets but, heck, it’s only a flesh wound.

Cockroaches have nothing on SNWA. Both would survive nuclear winter. A giant asteroid could wipe out half the globe and SNWA would march into the crater to file for water rights. Reptilian ET’s could invade Earth and the water folks would sell them overpriced arugula salads from Wolfgang Puck’s café.

To hear SNWA tell it, this decision by the Nevada Supremes to essentially void all of the water rights that are at the heart of the proposed rural water grab is nothing to worry about, a mere speedbump on the highway to victory, as insignificant as a bug smashing against a White Pine windshield. We can always count on SNWA to slap on a happy face while explaining why the rest of the world is completely wrong.

This ruling proved a stern test even for SNWA’s experienced army of spin doctors. The best they could come up with was to say nullifying all those water rights the agency presumably locked up more than 20 years ago probably won’t cause a delay in the water grab because, after all, the project hasn’t even been formally approved by the board. Formally approved by the board? That’s rich. It makes it sound as if the board has any say in how the project will proceed.

You know, for a project that has yet to be approved, SNWA sure has spent a hell of a lot of money---well over $100 million-- to lay the groundwork. And didn’t we hear Pat Mulroy tell us just a few months ago that the pipeline construction will automatically begin whenever the water level at Lake Mead drop to 1075 feet? Will the board be casting a ceremonial vote on that momentous occasion or will Mulroy send them an email?

Make no mistake. This decision by the court was an ass-whooping, a knock-down, drag-out, bitch-slap, gut-punch. SNWA can spin to its hearts content but the court ruling must have felt like a wooden stake ripping through the agency’s black and shriveled heart. It is a very serious setback, not quite a silver bullet death shot, but certainly a monumental defeat for water bosses who are not accustomed to having their actions challenged by mere mortals.

It’s obvious they are still groping in the dark for a good way to explain it. Once again, they seem ready to pin the blame on Judge Norman Robison, the jurist who first pummeled SNWA last year when he took away water rights that had been granted by the state engineer, saying SNWA can’t have the water because it was already overallocated.

Ever since then, the judge has a new first name. He is known henceforth as “Rural” Judge Robison. It’s subtle but harsh, implying the judge twisted the law as a favor to his fellow country bumpkins. SNWA and its pals want to besmirch Robison by conjuring up images of Roy Bean or maybe good ol’ Uncle Joe, sittin’ on the porch, decidin’ which of the girls gets to go to the big Petticoat Junction barn dance.

Judge Robison is a highly regarded jurist who happens to live in Gardnerville, which is a rural community, but one that is on the opposite side of the state from the areas targeted by SNWA. (Of course, if the Mulroy folks thought Gardnerville had so much as a warm bucket of spit to siphon, the pipeline might be headed that way as well.) The mere fact that Robison hails from somewhere other than Las Vegas is proof enough for SNWA that he is biased.

During last year’s court proceedings, water agency representatives could barely contain their snickers. They belittled the judge in public, and it came back to bite them on the ass. They then figured they could count on the politically-sensitive Supreme Court to set things right, but guess what? Those 7 justices who flipped a collective middle finger in the face of SNWA were the same folks who appointed Judge Robison to oversee the first water case. Maybe they didn’t like the snickering that was directed at one of their colleagues. The ruling last week was unanimous. And here’s the best part. Guess which judge will get to rule whether SNWA must start all over again in its quest to lock up all that rural groundwater? Yep, Judge Norman “Rural” Robison. What a wonderful little slice of instant karma.

So what’s next for SNWA’s spinmeisters? Will they characterize the Supremes as rubes and clodhoppers? Or will they use their tried-and-true method of intimidation through money and muscle? Will our justices start getting phone calls from developers, casino operators, and other major campaign contributors? In a way, I hope so, because I’d love to see how this particular court would respond to the kind of smash mouth pressure politics that has always served SNWA so well. SNWA has used scare tactics and propaganda to nearly always get what it wants, but winning isn’t the same as being right.

If SNWA is forced to start all over again, there’s a good chance the pipeline will never be built. Unlike 1989’s water filings, this one will not sneak up on anyone. Instead of receiving 800 opponents file with the state, there will be thousands of parties lining up to stop the water grab. I read in a local paper that opponents have no new arguments because it’s all be said before. It is astonishing that anyone could make such an ill-informed argument, unless it is ignorant on purpose.

The whole point of the Supreme Court ruling is that opponents were denied due process. They never got the chance to make their case against the water grab. Most of the 800 were never even informed there would be a hearing. Others died or moved away in the two-decade interim. The idea that there are no new arguments to be made sounds like wishful thinking.

We know far more about hydrology today than we did in 1989. There have been several in-depth studies conducted. Some of them—sponsored by SNWA—were never put into the record because the water bosses didn’t like the results. Opponents are far better organized today, backed up by local and national environmental groups, armed with ecological studies and predictions of dire consequences. We also have a little thing called global warming present today that wasn’t a concern back in 1989. It will be very tough for Pat Mulroy to downplay the effects of long-term drought on areas like White Pine County now that she has had her p.r. advisors transform her into a champion of climate change awareness.

Of course, even though the Black Knight’s severed arms are bleeding on the ground, and its chopped-off legs are rotting in a ditch, I’m sure we will hear soon about how it’s nothing more than a flesh wound.

[Emily Green features George Knapp investigative work in her blog below]

http://chanceofrain.com/2010/02/at-long-last-things-are-getting-interesting/