UTILITY CORRIDOR AND RIGHTS-OF-WAY.

SEC. 301. UTILITY CORRIDOR AND RIGHTS-OF-WAY. (a) Utility Corridor.—118 STAT. 2413(1) In general.—Consistent with title II and notwithstanding sections 202 and 503 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1711, 1763), the Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this section as the “Secretary”) shall establish on public land a 2,640-foot wide corridor for utilities in Lincoln County and Clark County, Nevada, as generally depicted on the map entitled “Lincoln County Conservation, Recreation, and Development Act”, and dated October 1, 2004.(2) Availability.—Each map and legal description shall be on file and available for public inspection in (as appropriate)—(A) the Office of the Director of the Bureau of Land Management;(B) the Office of the Nevada State Director of the Bureau of Land Management;(C) the Ely Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management; and(D) the Caliente Field Station of the Bureau of Land Management.(b) Rights-of-Way.—(1) In general.—Notwithstanding sections 202 and 503 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1711, 1763), and subject to valid and existing rights, the Secretary shall grant to the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the Lincoln County Water District nonexclusive rights-of-way to Federal land in Lincoln County and Clark County, Nevada, for any roads, wells, well fields, pipes, pipelines, pump stations, storage facilities, or other facilities and systems that are necessary for the construction and operation of a water conveyance system, as depicted on the map.(2) Applicable law.—A right-of-way granted under paragraph (1) shall be granted in perpetuity and shall not require the payment of rental.(3) Compliance with nepa.—Before granting a right-of-way under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall comply with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), including the identification and consideration of potential impacts to fish and wildlife resources and habitat. (c) Withdrawal.—Subject to valid existing rights, the utility corridors designated by subsection (a) are withdrawn from—(1) all forms of entry, appropriation, and disposal under the public land laws;(2) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and(3) operation of the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws.(d) State Water Law.—Nothing in this title shall—(1) prejudice the decisions or abrogate the jurisdiction of the Nevada or Utah State Engineers with respect to the appropriation, permitting, certification, or adjudication of water rights;(2) preempt Nevada or Utah State water law; or(3) limit or supersede existing water rights or interest in water rights under Nevada or Utah State law.(e) Water Resources Study.—118 STAT. 2414(1) In general.—The Secretary, acting through the United States Geological Survey, the Desert Research Institute, and a designee from the State of Utah shall conduct a study to investigate ground water quantity, quality, and flow characteristics in the deep carbonate and alluvial aquifers of White Pine County, Nevada, and any groundwater basins that are located in White Pine County, Nevada, or Lincoln County, Nevada, and adjacent areas in Utah. The study shall—(A) focus on a review of existing data and may include new data;(B) determine the approximate volume of water stored in aquifers in those areas; (C) determine the discharge and recharge characteristics of each aquifer system; (D) determine the hydrogeologic and other controls that govern the discharge and recharge of each aquifer system; and (E) develop maps at a consistent scale depicting aquifer systems and the recharge and discharge areas of such systems.(2) Timing; availability.—The Secretary shall complete a draft of the water resources report required under paragraph (1) not later than 30 months after the date of the enactment of this Act. The Secretary shall then make the draft report available for public comment for a period of not less than 60 days. The final report shall be submitted to the Committee on Resources in the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in the Senate and made available to the public not later than 36 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.(3) Agreement.—Prior to any transbasin diversion from ground-water basins located within both the State of Nevada and the State of Utah, the State of Nevada and the State of Utah shall reach an agreement regarding the division of water resources of those interstate ground-water flow system(s) from which water will be diverted and used by the project. The agreement shall allow for the maximum sustainable beneficial use of the water resources and protect existing water rights.(4) Funding.—Section 4(e)(3)(A) of the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998 (112 Stat. 2346; 116 Stat. 2007; 117 Stat. 1317) is amended—(A) in clauses (ii), (iv), and (v), by striking “County” each place it appears and inserting “and Lincoln Counties”; (B) in clause (vi), by striking “and” at the end; (C) by redesignating clause (vii) as clause (viii); and(D) by inserting after clause (vi) the following:“(vii) for development of a water study for Lincoln and White Pine Counties, Nevada, in an amount not to exceed $6,000,000; and”.