Federal Government Agency To Buy 52,000 Rounds Of Ammo For Hoover Dam, Won’t Say Why

A federal government agency known as the Bureau of Reclamation, which is charged with overseeing the construction of dams, power plants, and canals, has bid on 52,000 rounds of ammunition to be used at the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead facilities. The purchase is causing many to wonder exactly why the nonmilitary agency is in need of such a large stockpile of ammo. However, it doesn’t seem like the local community will be getting answers anytime soon, as the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation spokesperson says that they plan to “limit the amount of information” surrounding the project because they don’t want “bad guys” knowing about their “protection capabilities.”

The Las Vegas Sun reports that the federal government’s Bureau of Reclamation has bid on 52,000 rounds of ammunition for law enforcement officials at Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. After learning about the startling purchase request, Nevada Representative Mark Amodei vowed to find out exactly what the ammunition would be used for through a review process. The review disclosed that federal procurement records indicate that the Bureau of Reclamation “solicited bids in June for 41,600 rounds of hollow-point ammunition, along with 10,400 rounds of shotgun ammunition.” That means the bureau placed bids for 52,000 rounds of ammunition in a single month.

Amodei asked the Bureau of Reclamation to disclose more about its operations, including the number of officers at various locations carrying weapons and how much ammunition was used each year. However, instead of numbers, the bureau’s spokesperson said the information is being limited as they do not want “bad guys” to know their protection capabilities.

“We want to limit the amount of information any bad guys might have about our protection capabilities.”

Following the inquisition, it seems that Amodei was left with more question than answers. However, as the Las Vegas Sun uncovered a 2008 review of federal law enforcement, which noted that there were only 21 officers patrolling the Hoover Dam that year. Therefore, that leads one to wonder why a unit of 21 officers would need 52,000 rounds of ammunition?

According to the Blaze, the Bureau of Reclamation claims they are not using federal funds to pay for the ammo. Instead, it was noted that the money used to purchase the ammunition would come from money paid by utility companies for electricity from the Hoover Dam, rather than with taxpayer dollars.

Interestingly, the Bureau of Reclamation isn’t the only government agency that has been accused of stockpiling ammo. The Blaze points out that the Department of Homeland Security admitted to making plans to purchase 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition over five years as a money-saving effort.

“In 2013, the Department of Homeland Security admitted to planning to purchase as many as 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition over five years because doing so was cheaper. The Government Accountability Office launched an investigation following the acknowledgement and some Republican lawmakers tried to limit how much ammunition federal agencies could purchase.”

The lawmakers were unable to get the stockpiling laws passed, and the issue was pushed to the side. What do you think about nonmilitary government agencies stockpiling ammunition? Should there be a law in place to limit the amount of ammunition in nonmilitary agency hands? Why do you think the Bureau of Reclamation wants to purchase 54,000 rounds of ammo for Hoover Dam and Lake Mead protection? Could water shortages be increasing concerns over attacks on the west’s major water supplies?

[Image Credit: Getty Images / Ethan Miller]