Here is the opinion in Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe of Indians v. Ricci.

Excerpts:

In this appeal, we review the State Engineer’s decision to grant Nevada Land and Resource Company, LLC’s (NLRC), change application for its water rights in Washoe County’s Dodge Flat Hydrologic Basin.  In 1980, NLRC obtained permits to appropriate Dodge Flat groundwater for temporary use in a mining and milling project.  That project failed to materialize, but NLRC kept its water rights valid and in good standing.  Twenty years later, NLRC applied to change its use from temporary to permanent and from mining and milling to industrial power generating purposes.[1]  The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe (the Tribe) opposed the application.  After the State Engineer granted the application, the Tribe filed a petition for review in district court.  The district court denied the petition, and the Tribe now appeals to this court.

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Substantial evidence supports the State Engineer’s conclusion that Dodge Flat Basin contains unappropriated water and that any harm to existing water rights or the public’s interest is the result of the Tribe’s unpermitted use.  We therefore affirm the State Engineer’s ruling.