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CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) -- The Nevada Supreme Court on Thursday dealt a big setback to Southern Nevada Water Authority's claims to thousands of acre-feet of rural water near the Nevada-Utah line, saying the state engineer waited too long to act on dozens of water rights applications filed two decades ago.
The water authority in response immediately re-filed its original applications to restart the process, saying the applications "represent the emergency water supply for the entire Las Vegas Valley should Lake Mead continue its decline."
The agency also warned that the ruling could have sweeping consequences and call into question thousands of applications or water permits statewide.
In an unanimous ruling, justices said Nevada law required the state engineer to act on SNWA's 1989 water rights applications within a year. Instead, they weren't considered until 16 years later, after many people who initially filed protests had either died or moved away.
Some people who later moved into affected areas were unaware of the applications, and others, like conservation groups, were later denied standing by the state engineer to participate in hearings.
At issue is 34 water rights applications in the Spring, Snake, Cave, Dry Lake and Delamar valleys near the Nevada-Utah line. The applications are part of SNWA's $3.5 billion project to pump water from rural areas to diversify Las Vegas' water supply, which currently receives most of its water from the Colorado River.
After the ruling, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert suspended negotiations with Nevada over Snake Valley water that was ordered by Congress in 2004.
"This ruling significantly changes the landscape upon which our ongoing discussions have been based," Herbert said in a written statement. "We now have additional opportunities to continue to look at the issue and ensure that Utah's interests are protected well into the future."
Existing law when the original applications were filed required the state water engineer to act on applications within one year of the final protest date, unless the applicant and opponents provide written authorization for a postponement. Delays also were allowed for ongoing water studies or court orders.
Though an amendment passed by the 2003 Legislature allowed the state engineer to extend the hearing process for municipal use applications, the Supreme Court said it was not retroactive.
Thursday opinion reversed a 2007 ruling by Senior District Judge Norman Robison, and sent the case back to the lower court to determine if the state engineer must re-notice SNWA's 1989 applications and reopen the protest period, or if SNWA must file new water applications.
Environmental groups hailed the ruling as a "home run for the public."
"If we follow law and the science, there will be no misguided pipeline threatening the environment and economies of rural Nevada and Utah," said Rose Strickland, coordinator for Great Basin Water Network.
The network, along with other environmental groups, ranchers and private citizens, had challenged the lower court ruling in the Supreme Court.
SNWA said it's not uncommon for water rights applications to take longer than 12 months, and that the ruling could jeopardize more than 1,800 pending applications and put in doubt thousands of other permits.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
