Don't expect Nevada officials to intervene in the battle over allegations of telephone and e-mail privacy invasions by the federal government.

That's the gist of a letter the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada received from the Public Utilities Commission.

The ACLU asked the Nevada commission to investigate allegations that AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth may have violated Nevada privacy laws when they supplied the National Security Administration with call records, although the phone companies didn't receive subpoenas.

"Based on your complaints, the companies responses and our review of the responses, we do not find a basis for further action at this time," according to a letter dated July 18 from PUC general counsel Richard Hinckley and Rick Hackman, consumer complaint division manager. "We appreciate your concerns with the issues raised and will continue to monitor various actions to keep abreast of what is being decided on these important matters."

The ACLU supplied a copy of the letter Tuesday.

The PUC response is "one more government entity who has refused to be part of checks and balances" that the Constitution provided through creation of three branches of government," said ACLU public advocate Lee Rowland.

The ACLU received negative replies from other utilities commissions. Congress promised to hold hearings but then changed its mind after news coverage and public attention to privacy violations declined, she said. The Federal Communications Commission refused to intervene in the matter, she said.

The Justice Department notified Verizon and others that disclosing information about cooperation with the NSA program "would be inconsistent with and pre-empted by federal law," the state commission said.

The Justice Department argued that any claim that AT&T violated the law cannot be pursued through a lawsuit because court proceedings "would put at risk the disclosure of privileged national security information," according to the PUC letter.