How Harry Reid Is Fighting for Burning Man
See what the veteran lawmaker is doing.
— -- The Senate's top Democrat has joined the ongoing fight between the Burning Man arts festival and the Bureau of Land Management over adding amenities to the famed do-it-yourself celebration.
The agency, which administers government-owned land, has asked organizers to construct a million-dollar compound for officials supervising the event, which is held on federal land.
In a letter to U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, slammed the BLM's "outlandishly unnecessary" demands as out of touch with the spirit of Burning Man.
Among other amenities, the facility would include washing machines, flushing toilets and 24-hour access to ice cream, according to documents obtained by ABC News.
"Part of Burning Man's philosophy is self-reliance and living with the elements is part of the experience," Reid said in the letter. "Flush toilets and laundry facilities can be found about ten miles away ... if BLM's employees need such amenities."
The request comes as event organizers and federal officials negotiate the term of the permit for this year's event.
Federal officials maintain that the accommodations are needed to support staff monitoring the growing event in its remote location, a spokesperson said. Festival organizers say the requests are excessive, and not cost-effective.
Nearly 70,000 people flocked to last year's festival, a famously grungy affair in the Nevada desert where attendants camp out, bring their own food and share bathrooms.
Reid isn't the only politician to side with Burning Man over the federal government.
Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nevada, told the Gazette-Journal that the demands were "over the top," while Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nevada, has also raised his concerns with BLM Director Neil Kornze.
"The BLM ... appears to be asking for the Black Rock Desert version of the Four Seasons hotel as a condition of the permit," he said in a statement to ABC News.
The Bureau of Land Management is now reassessing its original proposal, according to a spokesperson.
The story was first reported by the Reno Gazette-Journal.