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Ely council approves proposal to approach White Pine County on exchange of 420.4 acre‑feet of irrigation rights
Summary
The Ely City Council voted unanimously to approach White Pine County with a proposal to deed 420.4 acre-feet of the city’s irrigation water rights in exchange for 420.4 acre-feet of the county’s industrial water rights; a Georgetown Ranch lessee urged the council not to proceed, citing harm to her lease and irrigation plans.
Mayor Nathan Robertson and the Ely City Council voted April 10 to ask White Pine County to consider an exchange that would transfer 420.4 acre-feet of the city’s irrigation water rights associated with APN 010-424-04 in return for 420.4 acre-feet of industrial water rights in Steptoe Valley.
City Engineer B.J. Almberg told the council the swap is intended to improve system reliability during peak summer demand. "No, this won't prevent them from using the surface water. We're not moving all of the surface water; we are only moving the small percentage that's on this little parcel," Almberg said, describing a metered arrangement that would split pumping and specifying an example where an 80/20 split of pumped water would result in a proportional division of the power bill.
The exchange, as presented, would send a proposal to the county for its consideration; the council did not execute a final deed or contract at the meeting. Mayor Robertson framed the vote as authorization to approach the county and direct staff to draft an agreement if the county is receptive.
Members of the public raised objections. Betsy K. Vogler, the current lessee of Georgetown Ranch, said transferring the surface and sewage-treatment-related irrigation rights could "have serious detrimental consequences on my existing lease" and asked the council not to approve the proposed agenda item. George Chachas also urged denial, arguing the industrial allocation is not equivalent to irrigation rights and that existing contractual obligations to the lessee should be honored.
Almberg and the mayor said the city's intent is to move only a small portion of the city’s rights and to preserve or create a metered supplement for the ranch. Almberg added state officials he consulted see the exchange as potentially beneficial to both parties by providing redundancy and lowering the city's peak system load.
The council voted unanimously to move forward with the proposal and directed staff to contact White Pine County and to communicate with the lessee to address her concerns. No final deed, ordinance, or intergovernmental agreement was approved at the meeting; those steps would require further negotiation and a subsequent council action.
