Residents press Yerington council on Libra Solar water use and transparency during public comment

During the public comment period at the July 27 Yerington City Council meeting, residents pressed the council for more information about local water agreements and raised concerns about the Libra Solar project.

Leo Solari asked the council to explain a water agreement and objected to how Libra Solar had described its water needs: "Libra solar should not get water from anywhere or anyone else besides the city," he said, and requested that the City identify the state engineer and publish the factual record for the public.

Robin Biggs said the Walker River Paiute Tribe has not received all of its water rights and alleged the city is sending water out of the county. "There is no transparency," Biggs said, and she also raised concerns about finding meeting minutes on the city website.

Dave DeGrendele told council members he opposes projects in the desert and encouraged the city not to support what he described as inefficient power projects. Several speakers at the later presentation also echoed concerns about water and asked for visuals and more public outreach from project proponents.

None of these public-comment items led to formal council action at the meeting; subsequent agenda discussion was curtailed when the council lost a quorum and adjourned.