jraby@blm.gov

Dear Mr. Raby,

Please reject the 5 solar projects proposed to be built on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) managed lands in the South Pahrump Valley. Some of the projects are just within a couple miles of residential areas.  The projects will harm our property values, visual landscape, wildlife, recreation, cultural and archeological resources, and water resources. The projects will all use lithium battery banks which commonly catch fire and release toxic smoke. The Yellow Pine Solar Project has already been built and has used up groundwater, created an outbreak of invasive weeds, stirred up fugitive dust, killed dozens of desert tortoises and damaged the visual landscape in the area. Collectively, all of these projects would develop about 20,000 acres and use nearly 5,000 acre-feet of water in an overdrafted basin. The Rough Hat Clark County Solar Project was approved on January 17th, 2025. The BLM did not adequately review the impacts this project would have on local property values, groundwater and desert tortoises. This project can be reviewed with a supplemental environmental impact statement, like the recent Executive Order directed for the Lava Ridge Wind Project in Idaho.  All the solar projects proposed for the Pahrump Valley are very unpopular and the new administration should rethink these plans and reject them. 

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