Advertisement

Laxalt’s End Run

Share

For good reason Congress has refused for 15 years to ratify a California-Nevada water compact that divides the waters of the Carson, Walker and Truckee rivers between the states. The compact negotiated by Govs. Paul Laxalt of Nevada and Ronald Reagan of California failed to incorporate a standard clause protecting the water rights of the federal government and the affected Indian tribes.

The two states had feared federal intervention to protect the environment of Lake Tahoe, part of the Truckee River system, against overdevelopment. They did not want Washington to use the compact as the wedge for control over Lake Tahoe.

Now Laxalt is on the eve of retiring from the U.S. Senate and wants to push through the compact before he leaves. It has been bottled up in the Senate Judiciary Committee, but Laxalt managed to attach a ratification rider to an appropriation bill now before the full Senate. The Reagan Administration rightly is opposing Laxalt. The Senate should defeat this effort and find another way to resolve the dispute.

Advertisement

As written, the compact would protect everyone’s water rights except those of the Paiute Indian tribe at Pyramid Lake, north of Reno. Without protection, the level of the lake could rapidly decline, thus jeopardizing two species of fish--the cui-ui and the Lahontan cutthroat trout--that are protected by federal legislation. The economy of the Paiutes is almost totally dependent on the fisheries.

Because of the cult of senatorial courtesy, there is sentiment to give Laxalt his going-away present. But this would be a mistake. As one participant in the dispute said, “Build him a library.” The better alternative is one suggested by David Kennedy, director of the California Department of Water Resources: that all parties submit their claims to the U.S. Supreme Court and have the court decide the most equitable distribution of the waters.

Advertisement