Thanks JDubski for the link. I watched the whole pre-hearing. It did not go as well as we might have hoped. The purpose of the hearing was to set the dates and terms for the actual hearing. While some involved in this pre-hearing (Lithium Nevada and the Nevada Hearing Manager) had anticipated an August hearing, the Protestants introduced for the first time the requirement to collect irrigation data from this year’s irrigation season, which runs through October, in order to put forth their case. Apparently this data is not available from past years because there had been no need to collect it. 

Nevada Lithium’s lawyer explained that their client wanted to get on with their major project and reminded everyone that lithium is a critical mineral that is needed now, but the state hearing manager was sympathetic to the Protestants’ position, saying that it’s more important to get it right, than right now.

The Protestants are going to submit a written explanation for why they need data from this year’s irrigation season and Nevada Lithium will be able to respond. I think it will be the State Engineer who will decide if the data is critical to the hearing, and this decision will dictate the timing of the hearing.

So the participants agreed that the hearing would be 8 days long, and two windows were identified for the hearing. The earliest dates are Sep 15-24, and the later window is Dec 1-10. Judging from the attitude of the hearing manager, I think the later date is the most likely, which is very unfortunate because this will delay the final water permits and the start of construction. It may even delay the timeframe for securing any partner.