This bill became law on 2026-05-19 as Public Law No. 119-91.
The summary below describes the bill at the version we last reviewed; the enacted text may differ.
YourVoice.Now Summary
EnvironmentTargeted & Unrelated ProvisionsSloan Canyon gained 9,290 acres of protected land near Las Vegas — and a water agency got free land for a pipeline.
Environment
The conservation area runs along the south edge of the Las Vegas valley. The law swapped in a newer map, dated May 2024. That added about 9,290 acres, bringing the total from 48,438 acres to 57,728 acres.
The pipeline cannot run through or under land Congress set aside as wilderness. Today that means the North McCullough Wilderness, which sits inside the area.
Building the pipeline cannot do lasting harm to the land surface here. Interior can also add its own rules to the grant to protect the area.
Interior usually decides on its own whether a project may cross public land. Its land-use plans guide that call. Here Congress ordered the grant within one year and set those plans aside.
Power lines already approved inside the added land keep running. Interior can let new lines go in there too. But they must stay inside those same strips of land. And they must pass an environmental review.
Targeted & Unrelated Provisions
The Southern Nevada Water Authority is the agency that supplies water to the Las Vegas area. It gets the land rights for the pipe, power line, and access road. It pays no rent for them.
Tunneling will bring up sand, gravel, and rock. The Authority can keep, use, or dump it at no cost. Interior must agree within 30 days on where it can go.
More about this bill
Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area sits on the southern edge of the Las Vegas valley. It is now bigger. This law raised its size from 48,438 acres to 57,728 acres. The land that was added is now run as part of the conservation area. If you live outside southern Nevada, you will see no change in daily life. The law also cleared the way for a new water pipeline. The Interior Department must give the Southern Nevada Water Authority the land rights it needs by May 2027. The Authority pays no rent for that land. It can also keep the sand, gravel, and rock dug out while tunneling, at no charge. The route cannot cross or run under wilderness. Building it cannot cause lasting harm to the surface of the conservation area. Power lines already approved inside the new boundary keep running.
Congressional Summary
Sloan Canyon Conservation and Lateral Pipeline ActThis act expands the boundaries of the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area in Clark County, Nevada, and grants rights-of-way through the conservation area and other land administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for the construction of a water transmission pipeline and related facilities.Specifically, the act requires the BLM to grant certain rights-of-way to the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) for the purposes of (1) performing geotechnical investigations within the rights-of-way, and (2) constructing and operating a water pipeline and related facilities. The rights-of-way may not be located through or under areas designated as wilderness, and construction of the pipeline may not permanently adversely affect surface resources within the conservation area. The BLM may place other reasonable terms and conditions on the issuance of rights-of-way as necessary to protect the conservation area’s resources.In tunneling the water pipeline, SNWA may excavate and dispose of sand, gravel, minerals, and other materials as needed. The BLM must enter into a memorandum of understanding with SNWA to identify federal land on which SNWA may dispose of such materials. The act also adds approximately 9,290 acres of land to the conservation area. This expansion of the conservation area is subject to valid existing rights (e.g., utility transmission rights), must not preclude authorized activities within existing rights-of-way or corridors, and must not preclude the BLM from authorizing new utility rights-of-way.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Public Law
- Action Date
- 2026-05-19
- Date Added
- 2026-07-14
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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