Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe of Indians v. Ricci

OPINION

In this appeal, we review the State Engineer’s decision to grant Nevada Land and Resource Company, LLC’s (NLRC), change application for its water rights in Washoe County’s Dodge Flat Hydrologic Basin. In 1980, NLRC obtained permits to appropriate Dodge Flat groundwater for temporary use in a mining and milling project. That project failed to materialize, but NLRC kept its water rights valid and in good standing. Twenty years later, NLRC applied to change its use from temporary to permanent and from mining and milling to industrial power generating purposes. The Pyramid Lake Paiute…