9th Circuit rules in Pyramid Lake Paiute case

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday ruled in a long-running water rights dispute between the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and the state of Nevada.

The tribe challenged holdings in 10 water rights applications made by the state engineer. In a unanimous opinion, the court affirmed most of the holdings but reversed and remanded some issues affecting 3 applications.

The Truckee River water litigation has been in the court system since 1917. "We appreciate that the State Engineer and some of the applicants are becoming mighty tired of their trips to and from the federal court system," the 9th Circuit wrote.

Get the Story:
Appeals court upholds state ruling on Truckee water transfers (The Nevada Appeal 12/11)

Court Decision:
Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe v. Nevada (December 7, 2008)