Water law change may help Nevada

Thursday, March 8, 2001 | 10:39 a.m.

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Idaho's Republican senators have introduced a bill that experts said would change Western water law, making it harder for the federal government to get water for Indian tribes and the wilderness while helping Nevada battle a nuclear waste repository.

Sen. Mike Crapo, an attorney specializing in water law before coming to Congress in 1992, introduced the bill last week with Sen. Larry Craig. Rep. Mike Simpson plans to introduce an identical bill in the House next week, co-sponsored by Rep. Butch Otter. Both are Idaho Republicans.

The bill would require the federal government to stand in line like everyone else to get a state's water. The legislation would abolish the concept of an implied, federal right to water that has been upheld in federal court to ensure federal reserve lands get necessary water.

Nevada is one example Simpson used in pushing the legislation. Last year the state engineer denied the Department of Energy ground water required to build and operate a high-level nuclear waste dump 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, citing threats to public health, safety and Nevada's tourist economy.

The DOE appealed the decision to federal court, which last fall ruled that state courts should decide the matter. The decision is considered a victory for Nevada because it is believed no state judge, in a seat that requires election, would ever overturn a state engineer's decision.

Simpson said Nevada and other states should have sovereignty over their water, even if it means the Yucca Mountain repository isn't built and states, including his own, must continue to store their high-level nuclear waste.

"If it interrupts it (the Yucca proposal), that's the way it is," Simpson said. "I suspect the federal government will have to do some serious negotiating with the state of Nevada."

Nevada Sens. Harry Reid, a Democrat, Nev., and Republican John Ensign took a cautious approach to the proposal, pointing out how difficult it is to overcome federal sovereignty, a staple of federal law since the nation's founding.

"That would give the state extra teeth in its battle over Yucca Mountain," Reid staffer David Cherry said. On the other hand, water rights for parks, endangered species and Indian tribes could be threatened. "It cuts both ways," he said.