Governor stays out of water dispute

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Monday, March 2, 1998 | 8:29 a.m.

Miller's attorney Ann Nelson said under state law, State Engineer Mike Turnipseed is supposed to act independently.

"The governor has always been extremely careful not to inject himself into the process when we're dealing with a regulatory committee or agency," Ms. Nelson said. "That would be totally improper and illegal."

The Pyramid Lake Paiute Indian tribe in January sent a letter to Miller and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt.

Tribal officials complained that Turnipseed's boss, Pete Morros, was holding up a decision and using it as a bargaining chip to resolve water disputes between the tribe and Fallon-area farmers.

The tribe wants to water for Pyramid Lake. Farmers along the Newlands Project want it to irrigate crops.

Turnipseed held hearings on the matter in the spring of 1994 and in February of last year, but has not made a ruling.