Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Bill settles water dispute between Nevada tribe, ranch

Harry Reid

Harry Reid

Mark Amodei

Mark Amodei

President Barack Obama signed a bill into law today that ends an eight-year dispute over water rights for a Native American tribe in Northern Nevada.

The bill ratifies an agreement between the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and Fish Springs Ranch over the ranch’s decision to build a water pipeline near the tribe’s reservation.

In 2007, the tribe sued the ranch over its decision to build that pipeline because it would lower water levels of the lake.

The tribe dropped its suit after the ranch agreed to pay the tribe $7.2 million and give it several thousand acres of land next to the reservation. The tribe also gets 12 percent of water sales from the ranch.

​Nevada’s congressional delegation, led by Democratic Sen. Harry Reid and Republican Rep. Mark Amodei of Northern Nevada, pushed the bill through Congress in less than a year. Reid, the Senate majority leader, made sure it passed the Senate in September as one of the last things Congress did before heading home for seven weeks.

“This law allows an important tribal water settlement in Nevada to move forward,” Reid said in a statement.

Nevada’s delegation hopes the bill paves the way for more lands bills stuck in Congress to pass.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy