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Rancher Edward Bartell photographed Lithium Nevada pumping water from a well they were ordered to stop using. The company lost its permit following a court ruling that the state’s approval failed to protect Bartell’s senior water rights.
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Nevada regulators issued a cease-and-desist order after confirming illegal water use. Lithium Nevada was found to be drawing water without a valid permit, ignoring both state notification and court orders.
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Critics say rushed permitting under the first Trump administration bypassed proper environmental review. The watchdog group Great Basin Resource Watch called it an example of “sloppy permitting” and warned of potential long-term consequences.
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Lithium Nevada insists its operations comply with the law and claims further analysis will restore its permits. The company states that lithium production will help establish a domestic supply chain, although it now faces delays until at least 2028.
Tuesday, July 1, 2025 — In a dramatic water rights clash at Thacker Pass, Nevada cattle rancher Edward Bartell captured photos of Lithium Nevada illegally pumping from a contested well after their permits were revoked. The state has issued a cease and desist order following a court ruling that the permits were granted without properly analyzing the impact on Bartell’s senior water rights. The incident has sparked broader concerns over rushed permitting processes for lithium mining projects approved in the final days of the Trump administration, with watchdog groups calling it an alarming example of environmental oversight failure. This is based on the reporting by Jeniffer Solis of Nevada Current. Her article is republished below under the Creative Commons license granted by the Nevada Current.
State orders lithium mine to stop unauthorized water pumping, citing rancher dispute
by Jeniffer Solis, Nevada Current
June 26, 2025
Cattle rancher Edward Bartell waited patiently to take pictures of Lithium Nevada pumping water from a well the mining company had recently lost the right to use.
“I needed to make sure I caught them pumping and had photographs of them pumping, so I could prove that they were illegally using water,” said Bartell, who holds senior water rights in Thacker Pass.
His photos confirmed what the Nevada Division of Water Resources already suspected during an earlier field investigation. Lithium Nevada was, without a permit and despite a court order to halt, still pumping water from a contested well.
The state sent the mining company a cease and desist order Friday.
The Nevada Division of Water Resources, which manages public waters in the state, said Lithium Nevada continued using the well despite being notified in April that their water permits were no longer valid.
Lithium Nevada’s water permits were reversed after Nevada’s Sixth Judicial District Court found the state agency erred when they approved two water permits for mining operations in Thacker Pass without properly analyzing whether the action would conflict with Bartell’s senior water rights.
Lithium Nevada was given 14 days to comply with the cease and desist. Bartell said he’s standing watch to ensure they do.
“It’s very frustrating for a family business to try and keep operating our business when the huge mining company comes in and continues to trample our rights and adversely affect the springs and the ecosystem out there,” he said.
He added, “They’re the neighbor from hell.”
Lithium Americas CEO and President Jonathan Evans in a statement to Current said the company would “continue to follow all laws and guidance from our federal and state partners, and are optimistic we will come to a positive resolution with the state.”
Water watchdog group Great Basin Resource Watch said the reversal of previously granted water permits by the Nevada Division of Water Resource was an example of “sloppy permitting” for a project that was approved unusually quickly.
President Donald Trump approved the Thacker Pass lithium mine project in Nevada five days before his first term ended. It was one of several projects fast-tracked by his administration to advance energy and mining development on public land.
“I’ve never seen a cease and desist order from the state on water rights,” said John Hadder, director of Great Basin Resource Watch. “It doesn’t make sense to try to ignore the law.”
“That’s the rush we’re seeing with a lot of this lithium mining. Just push it through. But there’s consequences if you don’t do it right,” he continued.
Lithium Nevada said it’s looking at several options to cover its immediate water needs as construction continues, but that the company is confident further analysis will restore their previous water permits.
“We are excited to be moving forward with construction on the Thacker Pass lithium project to deliver a U.S.-produced lithium supply chain that reduces American dependence on foreign suppliers for critical minerals,” Evans said in a statement.
Lawsuits and delays have plagued the construction of the planned lithium mine in Nevada for years. Lithium Americas had initially planned to begin lithium production at Thacker Pass by 2026, but several permitting issues and litigation by Nevada tribes and conservation groups helped delay the project. Lithium production at Thacker Pass is now expected to run at full capacity in 2028.
Bartell has been fighting the approval of several water permits awarded to Lithium Nevada for the construction and operation of a massive lithium mine near the Nevada-Oregon border, arguing the mine would deplete the available water for his ranch.
Since 2008, Bartell has used his senior water rights to rear cow calves at his ranch before selling them to buyers across the nation. He fears the water he depends on will soon be drained to extract millions of tons of lithium from clay at Thacker Pass.
“We’ve definitely seen a diminishment of one of the springs. It’s definitely flowing a lot less water than it was,” said Bartell.
Before their permit was revoked, Lithium Nevada was using water from the contested well for construction work. Once the lithium mine is in operation, however, that water would be used to create a slurry out of lithium-infused clay the targeted lithium can be separated from through a complex evaporation process.
While lithium mining is water intensive, Lithium Nevada has repeatedly said their environmental assessment proves Bartell’s ranch will not be negatively affected by their operation.
Bartell was sceptical, arguing “the evidence is very clear that they will dry up our springs, but obviously they will spend enormous sums of money to try and argue otherwise.”
Nevada Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nevada Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Hugh Jackson for questions: info@nevadacurrent.com.
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