Feds back tribe on water rights

Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2001 | 11:31 a.m.

The Moapa Band of Paiutes may jump to the head of the line for securing Southern Nevada water rights for its proposed power plant.

The Moapa tribe got the backing of the federal government Tuesday in its effort to persuade the state engineer to grant 7,000 acre-feet a year of ground water to cool a natural gas-fired generating plant on its reservation 45 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

If the tribe gets permission to use the water, the plant, to be built by Calpine Corp. of San Jose, Calif., could be operating by 2002, when other electric contracts in the state begin to expire.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs already supports the power project to boost economic conditions on the reservation and to supply electricity to growing Southern Nevada.

However, at first the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service protested the request, fearing it would harm wetlands along the Virgin and Muddy Rivers.

But their opposition softened Tuesday, as attorney Peter Fahmy, representing all three agencies, said the park service and fish and wildlife were negotiating with the tribe to monitor water withdrawals.

State Engineer Hugh Ricci took the request under advisement and did not indicate when he would rule on it.

Ricci admitted he doesn't even know how much water lies under the reservation. Use of that water is also being requested by the Las Vegas Valley Water District, Nevada Power Co., Moapa Valley Water District and Hidden Valley Ranch -- the oldest claim, dating to 1949.

All of the requests add up to 40,000 acre-feet per year from California Wash. An acre-foot of water is enough for a family of four to five for a year.

Before any of those claims are heard, however, Ricci has scheduled formal hearings on water rights in Coyote Springs, straddling the border of Clark and Lincoln counties, about 90 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

Major lobbyist Harvey Whittemore and his family have requested 108,000 acre-feet of ground water for a retirement community complete with casinos and golf courses. The Las Vegas Valley Water District has asked for 27,000 acre-feet.

Those hearings are expected to take a month, ending in mid-August, and it will take Ricci probably until the end of the year to rule on Coyote Springs water, he said.

No one knows if withdrawing that much water in Coyote Springs will affect the Moapa Valley area, Ricci said.

The Las Vegas Valley Water District, Moapa Valley Water District, Hidden Valley Ranch and Nevada Power do not have immediate projects planned for the water and are willing to wait until next year for an orderly series of hearings on their requests for California Wash water rights.

The Paiutes, on the other hand, say they are ready to build their power plant as soon as they get approval and are pushing for hearings sooner.

Nevada Power's request for 2,500 acre-feet would be used to expand its Reid-Gardner coal-fired power plant, but that expansion has not been planned.

In 1989 the Las Vegas Valley Water District applied for all unallocated ground water rights in remote areas of Clark county and rural counties to fill its future needs, but the state engineer has never acted on those claims.

The Moapa Valley Water District request also would cover future growth.

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