State, Indians continue battle over Humboldt River water

Thursday, June 27, 2002 | 9:11 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Another battle between the state and Indians over water has been played out before the Nevada Supreme Court.

Raymond Rodriguez, attorney representing the South Fork Band of the Te-Moak Tribe of the Western Shoshone Indian Tribe, says the state and District Judge Richard Wagner are overstepping their authority in trying to regulate the flow of the Humboldt River.

But Deputy Attorney General Paul Taggart told the court in arguments Tuesday that the tribe must be governed by the water decree distributing water to the users along the river.

The dispute stems from an incident when state Water Commissioner Wayne Testolin went on the Indian reservation to make sure the tribe was not using water in excess of its allotment. Testolin was detained, handcuffed, charged with trespassing and escorted off the reservation.

A petition was filed by the state to charge the tribe and its chairman Marvin McDade with contempt for violating the Humboldt decree. Judge Wagner told McDade he wanted the tribe to pass a resolution ensuring the safety of water commissioners who come on the land or he would impose a $10,000 fine.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also is weighing a case on whether the tribe has sovereign immunity.