Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe of Indians v. United States Department of the Navy James Webb, as Secretary of the Navy

We must determine whether certain practices of the Department of the Navy in leasing acreage and contiguous water rights to local farmers in Nevada violate federal law. The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe of Indians alleges that these practices seriously threaten the continued viability of an endangered species of fish, the cui-ui, in violation of the Endangered Species Act. The Tribe also alleges that the Navy’s practices violate the National Environmental Policy Act as well as the Navy’s fiduciary obligations to the Tribe.

I

The Department of the Navy (the “Navy”) owns and operates Fallon Naval Air Station (“Fallon”) in Nevada. Located within the Carson Division of the Newlands Reclamation Project (the “Project”), Fallon contains nearly 3,000 acres of Project water right land.

The Navy conducts extensive flight training throughout most of the year at Fallon. As a result, the station is the site for hundreds of aircraft and repeated takeoffs and landings. The remote desert location of Fallon provides the Navy with certain training capabilities not available at any other naval facility. Fallon faces certain unique dangers, however, because of the desert conditions. For example, the…