Truckee-Carson Irrigation District v. Secretary of Department of Interior, and Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe of Indians, Defendant-Intervenor-Appellee

This case is another chapter in the long story about the legal relationships pertaining to the waters of the Truckee River. Truckee-Carson Irrigation District (TCID) in this case seeks an injunction prohibiting the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) from terminating TCID’s contract to oper ate the Newlands Reclamation Project. The Secretary terminated the contract due to TCID’s violation of operating criteria related to the Project. TCID’s suit also sought a declaration that the operating criteria are invalid. The district court held for the Secretary and TCID appealed. We affirm.

I.

BACKGROUND

In its natural state, the Truckee River flowed into Pyramid Lake, which, like most Nevada lakes, has no outlet. Early in this century, however, the United States built the Newlands Reclamation Project under the Reclamation Act of 1902. This project diverts water from the Truckee River into the Truckee Canal at Derby Dam. The diverted water flows through the Truckee Canal into Lahontan Reservoir, where it is merged with water from the Carson River. Of course, any water that is diverted into Lahontan Reservoir does not enter Pyramid Lake. Water from Lahontan Reservoir is used to…