Wednesday, May 26, 1999 | 5:50 a.m.
CARSON CITY - A Senate committee endorsed a major water rights bill Wednesday, though the attorney for an Indian Tribe involved in the deal complained the terms were changed after the agreement.
The bill now goes to the full Senate for approval.
AB380 has been described as a "win-win" for Pyramid Lake Paiutes and Reno and Fallon-area factions. The varying interests have been involved in court fights for years over Truckee River water.
Though the deal had been negotiated and approved in the Assembly, Senate Finance Chairman Bill Raggio said AB380 must include some assurances that everyone involved will uphold their responsibilities.
Changes in AB380 include giving the Newlands Project Water Rights Fund, created by the bill, $3.3 million dollars, but limiting the amount that can be spent over the next two years to $1.6 million.
Legal actions by the city of Fallon and Churchill County would have to be withdrawn, and the project would be reviewed by the 2001 Legislature to gauge progress.
The changes weren't welcomed by the attorney for the Paiute Tribe, Robert Pelcyger, who said the deal was predicated on getting the money up front.
"The tribe feels we have a deal and they're sticking to it," said Pelcyger. "It is not the tribe or the tribal council who is changing the terms of the deal."
It's always been the state's understanding that the money would be paid over five years, said Raggio, R-Reno.
Pelcyger wouldn't guarantee that he'd recommend the revised plan to the Paiute Tribe, which frustrated committee members.
"Frankly I'd like to see this worked out, but I'm not sure how much more effort I'm willing to put up," said Sen. Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas.
Other participants in the deal, including representatives from Gov. Kenny Guinn's office, Reno Chamber of Commerce and Sierra Pacific Power, supported the amendment.
Assemblywoman Marcia de Braga, D-Fallon, authored AB380 and played a key role in getting terms of the agreement worked out. She praised U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., for lining up $7 million in federal funds to help buy water rights in the Fallon area.
Another $3.3 million in state funds plus $2 million from other sources, including Reno-area interests, will be included in the effort to buy some 6,500 acre-feet of water. The Truckee flows through Reno and is a major water source for the city and neighboring Sparks.
Under the plan, the funding will enable the Paiutes to buy up Fallon-area water rights. The Indians benefit because Truckee water not diverted by a canal to Fallon eventually flows into their Pyramid Lake, 30 miles north of Reno.
Pending litigation that has kept the groups at odds will be settled out of court. And Fallon interests would stop trying to cancel water rights held by developers in the Reno area. Without the deal, the developers would face years of legal hassles.
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