Nye County Water District hires federal lobbying firm to pursue $10M groundwater redistribution authorization

The Nye County Water District voted unanimously on Oct. 14 to engage federal lobbying representation to pursue a $10 million authorization for the district’s groundwater redistribution plan. The manager said the authorization is preliminarily allocated but requires active lobbying, agency coordination and a clear engineering plan to secure funding.

Two firms addressed the board: Ackerman (Jane Sargent and Rick Spieth) and Marcus Faust’s team. Ackerman emphasized long-standing work with Nye County and experience securing community project funding for local infrastructure; Marcus Faust described broad experience representing water districts and counties, including work in Nevada and the interagency and appropriations arenas. Faust noted the importance of pursuing authorization and multiple agency funding sources beyond a single appropriation account.

Manager said the district will need professional representation to navigate congressional and federal agency processes: "If this board does have desire to pursue the goals ... we're going to need a federal lobbyist. Dead in the water without one," he said. After discussion about timing and contract structure, the board made a motion to hire Marcus Faust’s firm for an initial period, with the option to cancel; the motion passed 5-0. Staff said the firm will assist with congressional delegation outreach, agency coordination (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and others), and a multi-pronged funding approach.