Congress Passes Pyramid Lake Tribe Settlement Act

LAS VEGAS, Sept. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- A landmark Indian water settlement, the only such bill to pass this session of Congress, was approved shortly before the Senate adjourned Thursday night.

Don Springmeyer of Wolf, Rifkin, Shapiro, Schulman & Rabkin LLP, lead attorney for the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, announced the passage of H.R. 3716 by the full Congress.

"This was a remarkable bi-partisan effort led by Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) and Congressman Mark Amodei (R-NV), including co-sponsorship by Congressman Steven Horsford (D-NV) and Senator Dean Heller (R-NV)," said Springmeyer.

Passage of the legislation brings to a close more than eight years of litigation and congressional consideration of a conflict between the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and the Fish Springs Ranch of Carson City, Nev. The dispute centered on a water pipeline constructed by Fish Springs adjacent to the Pyramid Lake Reservation.

Fish Springs agreed to pay $7,200,000 to the Tribe and transfer to the Tribe title to several thousand acres of land adjacent to the Reservation, in return for the withdrawal of the Tribe's legal challenges to the project. Congressional ratification of the settlement was required and obtained.

"A unique feature of the settlement," says Springmeyer, "is the water sales partnership going forward between the two parties. The Tribe will receive a 12% share of certain future water sales by Fish Springs as part of the agreement."

President Obama is expected to sign the Act into law within the next few days.

Wolf, Rifkin, Shapio, Schulman & Rabkin LLP is a full-service law firm of over 40 lawyers with offices in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Reno. Don Springmeyer is the partner-in-charge of complex litigation for the firm's Nevada offices.

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SOURCE Wolf, Rifkin, Shapiro, Schulman & Rabkin LLP