Navajo lawsuit could block river deal

Monday, March 17, 2003 | 11:02 a.m.

The Navajo Nation has asked a federal judge to block the Interior Department from allocating any uncommitted water from the Colorado River, a move that could mean less water for Las Vegas.

If the tribe wins its lawsuit, water for thousands in Southern Nevada and millions in California, as well as dozens of agreements among Arizona, Nevada, California and other Indian tribes, would be in jeopardy.

The lawsuit also threatens a recent truce among water agencies in California that local officials hoped could mean more water for Las Vegas' thirst.

California water agencies recently agreed to a tentative settlement that officials hoped would resolved an outstanding legal issue that moved the Interior Department to cut off use of the so-called "interim surplus" Jan. 1.

Nevada this year had counted on taking about 37,000 acre-feet of river water over its basic state allocation of 300,000 acre-feet. California, historically, has taken 800,000 acre-feet over its basic allocation of 4.4 million.

An acre-foot is 326,000 gallons, or about enough water for a family of five for one year.

Both states are counting on using the surplus water for 15 years as a buffer against growing needs and to provide time to develop alternative sources, such as groundwater sources and desalinization plants on the Pacific Ocean.

California and Nevada officials are hoping that California's tentative agreement, vetted by water agencies from seven states last week, will win approval in California and by Interior officials. If so, Interior officials have indicated they are likely to resume delivery of the surplus water -- which is actually unused state allotments from the Colorado River Upper Basin states of Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico.

Issues of tribal rights have long been a random element in the complex law of the river that governs who gets how much water.

"This looks like it goes back to their long-standing belief that they have a claim on some of that water," Vince Alberta, spokesman for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, said.

He said it would be difficult for his agency to gauge the local impact until the water authority staff has a chance to look at the court filing in detail. Federal officials said the same thing.

The Navajo Nation, in its lawsuit, wants its claims on the river quantified, even if that means taking water from Arizona's allotment. That could upset a complex water deal that has allowed the Southern Nevada Water Authority to "bank" water in an Arizona groundwater reserve for future use.

Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. said his tribe filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Arizona to address a basic issue of fairness.

"While water from the Colorado River presently serves Phoenix, Los Angeles and Denver, Navajos who live on reservation lands next to the river are still hauling water to their homes," Shirley said.

The suit alleges that the United States breached its trust responsibility to the Navajo Nation by failing to consider the tribe's water rights in Interior's ongoing management of the Colorado River. Interior Secretary Gale Norton and numerous other federal officials are named as defendants.

Louis Denetsosie, Navajo Nation attorney general, said the unresolved claims by his tribe on river water need to be cleared up before any user can be confident of continued access to the resource.

But the former director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources said the tribe's case won't be easy to prove.

"Their reservation does sit on the Colorado, but there's the argument that they're not historically an agrarian culture," said Rita Maguire, now president of the Arizona Center for Public Policy.

The Associated Press

contributed to this story.