Feds, like tribe, must face state court in water battle

The federal government, like the Te-Moak Tribe, must fight the state over management of the Humboldt River in state, not federal court.

U.S. District Judge Edward Reed this week ordered the battle over contempt citations sought by the state of Nevada back to the Sixth District Court in Winnemucca.

The order matches the Nevada Supreme Court's Aug. 24 ruling which says the Te-Moak tribe can't ignore state court on the issue either.

The tribe claims they don't have to submit to state water regulation on the Humboldt. The state says the tribe is interfering with access to the head gates that control the river by preventing state water commissioners from crossing tribal land.

The state says every drop of the Humboldt is owned by someone and that, if the tribe can control access to the head gates, it can take more than it is legally entitled to.

While the tribe denies misusing any of the water, state officials say air flights over the head gates show the tribe irrigating before it should and a reservoir constructed on tribal land.

The Nevada Supreme Court ruled the tribe waived its sovereign immunity when it accepted the water rights because they were already subject to the Humboldt Decree and ordered tribal officials to submit to the jurisdiction of state court on the issue.

Reed did the same this week when he returned two contempt actions against the federal government back to state court in Winnemucca.

"Judge Reed's decision is significant because it allows the state court to decide how water rights should be distributed," said Deputy Attorney General Paul Taggart. "The federal government always tries to avoid being in state court but, in this case, the United states and the tribe should be forced to appear in state court because they voluntarily purchased water rights that were under that court's control."