Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) payments are made annually to counties for tax-exempt lands like the Sand Mountain Recreation Area, which is administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Steve Ranson/NNG, file
Payments in Lieu of Taxes totaling more than $32 million have been made to Nevada’s 16 counties and Carson City, reports the Silver State’s senatorial delegation.
According to a joint statement released Wednesday by Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, a majority of the funding or 87.5% is earmarked to Nevada’s rural counties. Churchill County will receive more than $2.9 million, while four other counties — Clark, Elko, Nye and Washoe — will each be paid more than $4 million. PILT payments help local governments carry out such vital services as firefighting and police protection, construction of public schools and roads and search-and-rescue operations.
According to the senators, payments are made annually for tax-exempt federal lands administered by Department of the Interior agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, federal water projects as well as the military such as the U.S. Navy in central Nevada. In addition, PILT payments cover federal lands administered by the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission.
“Every year, the PILT program helps rural Nevada counties pay law enforcement and first responders, fund housing and education and undertake critical conservation projects,” Cortez Masto said. “I’m glad to see more federal funding headed to Nevada, and I will continue to do everything I can to help our rural communities thrive.”
The formula used to compute the payments is contained in the PILT Act and is based on population, revenue-sharing payments and the amount of federal land within an affected county. PILT payments are made in addition to other federal payments to the states, such as those for oil and gas leasing, livestock grazing and timber harvesting.
This year’s total amount of PILT funding is slightly above the $31 million that was awarded in 2023.
Churchill County receives $2,973,815 in PILT money, while neighboring Lyon County receives $2,773,741. Mineral County, which is home to the Hawthorne Army Depot, a U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command ammunition storage installation, receives $928,963.
Since these payments began in 1977, more than $12 billion in PILT payments have been distributed to 49 states (all but Rhode Island), the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands.
“Since day one, I’ve been working to deliver federal funding and resources to rural Nevada for essential services, including for law enforcement and firefighting, in addition to supporting local education and infrastructure repairs,” Rosen said. “I’m proud to have helped secure $33 million in PILT funding this year for rural communities across our state. I will keep fighting to ensure communities in rural Nevada get their fair share of federal funding.”
Both senators say PILT payments are one of the ways the Federal Government can fulfill its role of being a good neighbor to local communities.
Local Unit Of Government Total paid this FY Total acres
Carson City $139,711 42,807
Churchill County $2,973,815 2,135,104
Clark County $4,409,260 4,719,923
Douglas County $850,998 255,920
Elko County $4,398,821 7,904,593
Esmeralda County $167,517 2,253,155
Eureka County $419,468 2,156,826
Humboldt County $2,226,439 4,978,471
Lander County $1,265,138 3,332,331
Lincoln County $1,009,155 6,388,048
Lyon County $2,773,741 859,166
Mineral County $928,963 1,936,566
Nye County $4,100,393 8,547,900
Pershing County $1,265,138 2,918,834
Storey County $48,440 14,474
Washoe County $4,472,019 2,934,618
White Pine County $1,547,289 5,185,702
Total $32,996,305 56,564,438