Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribal Council (2021)

Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribal Council

Post Office Box 256

Nixon, Nevada 89424

Telephone: (775) 574-1000

Fax (775) 574-1054

WATER TEAM MEETING MINUTES

Tribal Chambers

March 17, 2021

Members Present

Janet Davis, Chairwoman Steven Wadsworth, Vice Chairman

Harriet Brady, Councilmember Nathan Dunn, Councilmember

Edward Ely III, Councilmember Natalia Gonzales, Councilmember

Carolyn Harry, Councilmember Irwin Mix, Councilmember

James Phoenix Councilmember Georgina Wadsworth, Councilmember

Note: Due to COVID-19 Tribal Council meetings are closed to the public to ensure the health and safety of

attendees. Councilmembers attended in person, keeping to 6-foot distancing, and via audio conferencing.

Chairwoman Davis called the March 17,2021 Water Team meeting of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribal Council

to order at 6:03 p.m.

ROLL CALL

Roll call was taken by Brenda A. Henry, Tribal Secretary. Councilmember Dunn connected at 6:15 p.m. All

other Tribal Councilmembers were present at roll call and a quorum was established for this meeting.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

There were no changes to the agenda.

Councilmember Brady made a motion to approve the agenda. Councilmember Wadsworth seconded the

motion. Votes were eight (8) for and zero (0) opposed with zero (0) abstentions. Motion carried.

CONSENT AGENDA

Following items on the consent agenda:

1. Approval payment Kemp Jones LLP February 2021 Invoice

2. Approval payment Stetson Engineers LLP January & February 2021 Invoice #1336-2101, 1336-01-

2101, #1336-2102 and #1336-01-2102

Councilmember Harry made a motion to approve the consent agenda. Councilmember Ely seconded the

motion. Votes were eight (8) for and zero (0) opposed with zero (0) abstentions. Motion carried.

PRESENTATION

1. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Revised Environmental Assessment (EA) Government to

Government Consultation. Mark Hall, Field Manager, Black Rock Field Office & Line Officer for the San

Emidio North Valley Project, Tye Subia, Project Lead, Shannon Deep, Native American Coordinator,

Winnemucca District Office and Peter Gower, EMPSI, Official Notetaker.

Mr. Hall introduced staff that will be presenting with him. He explained they are present due to concerns

expressed by the Tribe with the San Emidio Project. When last they met with Donna Noel, Natural

Resources Director and the Tribe’s contractors, they came up with a monitoring plan which BLM has

reviewed and considered and felt parts of the plan can be done. On March 2nd, they had another meeting

with Ms. Noel and the Water Team to present a response to the monitoring plan. From that meeting, a

modified plan was drafted and forwarded to Cemex on March 5th.

Tye Subia listed the wells that would be monitored: Stag and San Emidio monitoring well both of which

Ormat agreed to, as well as monitoring Moses Rock Spring, San Emidio Spring, Stags Spring, Sheep Pass

Spring, Summit Spring, Jackass and Bull Basin Springs. The five that are on tribal lands are contingent

monitoring, these are contingent on access. They will also be monitoring the Gollum monitoring well, it is at

the southern edge of the project area and is to catch any negative potential impact before they reach

further south where it could potentially take longer for the resources impacted to recover. Sage Flat well

will to be monitored annually. Surface water is monitored quarterly which includes the Serna Media well

and Gollum monitoring well. Wedge Flat and other wells up north including the Empire Farms area will be

monitored annually.

Mr. Hall said the data, which is put together by a third party will be shared with the Tribe. The Tribe

proposed drilling three wells into the geothermal reservoir inside the reservation but itis problematic for

BLM to put into a decision record without some sort of agreement between the Tribe and Ormat. The State

Office hydrologist and the hydrologist in their office felt the monitoring wells outside the reservation would

provide the opportunity to catch any problems before the Tribes resources would be impacted. They are

open to comments from the Tribe and if the Tribe would like to submit a comment letter they still have

time. They would like to sign a decision record for the project sometime in April.

Councilmember Brady asked the wells that Ms. Subia was talking about to be put in a written document.

When she was speaking about the wells between the Gollum and the Stag and the one’s in between, she

wanted to confirm the reason BLM couldn’t adhere to the Tribe’s requirements, was that the inside drilling.

Ms. Subia responded she was talking about the springs located in the northeastern area of the reservation,

the surface water springs.

Mr. Hall said if the Tribe provided them with an email, he will provide the list of the wells. In answer to

Councilmember Brady's question regarding inside drilling, that is something he couldn’t order. In speaking

with their solicitor, the only way it could work is if the Tribe and Ormat came to an agreement, then they

would memorialize it in the decision record. Part of it has to do with the Tribe's sovereignty and he doesn’t

have the authority to order a proponent if there is no agreement in place.

Councilmember Brady commented it looks like the ones monitored quarterly are wells closer to the

reservation and ones that are further are monitored annually.

Ms. Subia said that’s correct, wells on private land in the north are required to report to NDWR and that

data is available to the public. The monitoring wells within the project area and the two at the southern

edge near the canyons plus the springs on the reservation, they are monitored quarterly.

Chairwoman Davis commented that if it’s only yearly, it seems that it would be a concern because a whole

year would go by before they would get any data.

Mr. Hall explained anything put in the decision record, Ormat is required to do and if they don’t complete it

and they don’t deliver a report, they get a phone from his office asking why it’s not being done. If they don’t

have a reason why they are not completing what is stated in the decision record then they get a warning

letter, then non-compliance which is legally binding, after which they have a timeframe in the noncompliance to either take it to court. Just to note the private wells in the north are part of Scandinavian

basin, like the Empire Farms, they are required by state regulations to report their data. They will provide

the Tribe with a letter in response to all the questions in writing or in the comment section of the EA and

they will also work with Ms. Noel on the issues.

Councilmember Harry asked what it meant by acknowledging the Tribe’s concerns in writing, does that

give the Tribe any way to stop the project or put a halt to the project knowing the impacts that have already

been determined by the Tribe’s hydrologist, that it is going to impact Pyramid Lake because it still needs to

be taken into consideration.

Mr. Hall said it will be taken into consideration. The BLM hydrologist, even though they see the situation

differently, they will go into more depth in the letter. Some of the comments and criticisms from the

Pyramid Lake hydrologist and specialists have been put into the second version of the draft EA and in the

second version of the hydrology report.

Councilmember Harry asked if the Tribe will receive an updated copy of the BLM hydrologist report

because the report they saw didn’t have any supporting data or numbers, it was generalized statements.

Mr. Hall said the Tribe currently has access to everything that is released to the public. They have also

provided copies and it’s also available through the e-planning website. Currently, in terms of new well

development and plant construction, Ormat is operating under the old EA. They are producing about 11.6

megawatts of electricity. For new developments, they have no authorizations, that is what this new

document is for.

Allan Richards, Stetson Engineers, Consultant for the Tribe, said he remembered BLM saying there would

be a second revised draft EA and maybe a second revised hydrology report. He wanted to confirm if there

will be another draft or if the next report is a final.

Mr. Hall said the second draft was available since the end of December, the next version will be the final.

The issues brought up in the second round will be addressed in either the hydrology report or the EA.

Ms. Noel asked what is the timeline for them to comment on the monitoring plan. Mr. Hall said he would

like those comments before April 15,

2. Ormat Project Review. Scott Nichols, Regulator Affairs Manager

Mr. Nichols apologized on behalf of Ormat for not having a conversation with the Tribe months ago which

should have been ongoing throughout the existence of the previous San Emidio project. They worked with

members of the Tribe when they were looking at different avenues for power transmission and

opportunities for development of tribal resources but due to changes in the operations and staff that did

not happen. He is asking for the Council’s consideration on two items. One is to an ongoing dialogue with

Ms. Noel and the Water Team to discuss opportunities on a neighborly working relationship. Not ona

government to government relationship but working directly with the Tribe’s staff regarding ideas and

concerns so they can address items quickly and efficiently.

The second request or a comment, for the record, since they don’t know what the BLM has proposed

regarding the water monitoring plan. They are committed to resolving any outstanding issues regarding

the geothermal proposal that the Tribe may have in the North Valley.

Councilmember Harry wanted to know why they just now contacted Ms. Noel a month ago when the

Washoe County Regional Planning Commission meeting was held a year ago and the Tribe had comments

with their concerns against the project.

Mr. Nichols said he was just brought on from the Northwest region where he worked for 10+ years and was

asked to come back to work in the business development section and one of his first tasks was to reach out

to Ms. Noel. He doesn’t have a full understanding of the history but he believes the Truckee Meadows

Regional Planning Council meeting was held in late January or early February and that’s when they

received a letter from Stetson Engineering that outlined a number of concerns the Tribe had with regards

to the North Valley Geothermal Development. He has read through the comments and based on their

extensive testing, there is scientific evidence, measured data, measured water information, and measured

chemistry that would show along with hydrologic understanding of the area there is probably no

opportunity for the development of additional geothermal in that area. He would be comfortable sitting

down with Mr. Richards and their hydrogeologist to talk about the points and address the concerns. The

important part through ongoing monitoring and documentation of the outcome, is there is an early warning

system for an opportunity or a response if they see an impact or drawdown of a spring system located in

Pyramid Lake.

3. United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) EPA Action Overview Government to

Government Consultation. Amy Miller, Director of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division

USEPA Region 9 San Francisco

Ms. Miller is providing an update on the status of USEPA’s oversight of the CEMEX facility. She introduced

Fran Berg, Assistant Director for Water Compliance Issues and Eric Magnum, who overseas Wastewater

Compliance and John Tinger, lead inspector, Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division.

Mr. Tinger said the clean water act regulates the discharge of pollutants into waters of the United States,

and the Tribe has treatment as a state for implementing and developing water quality standards for all

water bodies within the tribal boundaries. USEPA Region 9 has the authority for issuing MPDES permits,

which authorize the discharge of pollutants in wastewater int those waters. The primary issue that they

have had is that CEMEX did not have the authorization to discharge, they didn’t have a MPDES permit.

There are two types of wastewater, Industrial Stormwater and the other is the mine pit dewatering. These

two types of wastewaters have separate permitting schematics. Some overarching concerns are for the

discharges from CEMEX in terms of water quality, the unpermitted discharge. The facility did have

discharge permit from 2010-2015 but they failed to reapply for that permit, so they been discharging for

over five years with the authorization. 13 million gallons per day which is high volume of water being

discharged. The Truckee River, at this point, is impaired for both temperature and total dissolved solids.

Impaired, meaning it’s not meeting what the standards that the Tribe identifies as necessary to properly

support all the aquatic organisms in the beneficial uses of that water body. In addition, to not meeting

standards, there is concern with high value threatened and endangered species. Another concern is CEMEX

has not sampled their effluent at all during this time. The Tribe has done their own sampling of the effluent

for a certain limited number of parameters, but the facility never sampled what the wastewater was going

into the river. There are unknowns there and there’s potential concerns or impacts on the water quality

and supporting the aquatic life of Truckee and downstream to Pyramid. Since the Tribe contacted them

back in June and looking at the issues with the drinking water volumes the Tribe was having at that point,

they realized the facility didn’t have an MPDES Permit either. They were able to do an inspection with the

Tribe in October and have an administrative order on consent in November. Because of some of the unique

circumstances to the discharge this was a quick timeframe. Since that timeframe they have gone back a

couple of times on some of their responses to the administrative order on consent that was issued. The

administrative order on consent means the CEMEX company agreed with proposals on how to address the

situation and they seem to be responsive to the concerns and comments. The mission of the order is to

focus on four specific areas, one was to immediately cease all discharges to the Truckee River. Even though

they stopped dewatering their pit there was still an ongoing discharge of unauthorized water. They fixed it

and stopped the discharge. The second is to get sampling data because of the unknown of what potential

pollutants may be in there with one concern being a naturally occurring arsenic in the groundwater which

is common in that area. Luckily, when the pit sampling data came back there wasn’t any indication of any

contamination or other pollutants to be too concerned with that they didn’t previously know about. The

Tribe has conducted their own sampling over the past number of years where they have identified

problems with nitrates with total dissolved solids and temperatures which are some of the real issues to be

concerned with due to the impact downstream on Pyramid Lake and in the Truckee River. When they are

looking at low flows, during August, they need to be concerned about fish passage and any potential impact

on aquatic organisms due to the temperature differential. They completed the sampling and didn’t find any

specific issues they didn’t previously know about, it was priority pollutants of about 126 pollutants. The

third area, they were supposed to apply for an MPDES permit due to concerns related to potential water

quality impacts and aging species they wanted it to go through a rigorous review process. They requested

they apply for an individual and PDS permit, a specific permit for potential effluent limitations for

discharge. They did submit the application and it’s in the process of being reviewed. The fourth area is to

conduct an emergency engineering plan to prevent the uncontrolled discharge since the mine pit is filling

with water they want to know to what extent will it continue to fill and at what point it would overflow.

CEMEX had a two-phase approach. The first phase was to install three-foot berm around the pit for

freeboard to prevent any unauthorized discharge from overflowing or overtopping the pit. Phase two was

to see if the water level continues to rise and to see what happens on how to increase the free board to

prevent the additional discharge. Lastly, they are in the process of reviewing the emergency engineering

plan before it can be approved and the application for the MPDES permit is on-going.

Councilmember Brady asked I the water was safe to swim in.

Mr. Tinger said he did not think it was a good idea, it’s an active industrial site and the berms are not stable.

Ms. Miller said that in the reclamation plan they will talk about what steps to take including if they plan on

making the pit a recreational lake which will take a lot of different things to happen. Once concern now

would be the unconsolidated material being used for the berm. She will talk to CEMEX about the long-term

plan for the well.

Councilmember Brady said it seems like common sense to fence it off and educate people in the

surrounding area to not use it.

Mr. Tinger said that issue was identified in the phase two. If they were constructing additional berms, what

slope would they be and at what compaction ratio to make them safe. He believes the other berms aren’t

constructed as safely and some of them are quite steep. He thinks CEMEX should be highly concerned if

kids are getting on their site for reliability reasons.

Chairwoman Davis said they can make an announcement from the Tribe to let the membership know.

Councilmember Harry asked how will they enforce them. Can CEMEX close it off or can USEPA direct them

to construct fence combs or orange tape because the kids are getting in somewhere.

Councilmember Ely asked to confirm that they have been dewatering for five years now.

Mr. Tinger said they have been dewatering for over 15 years. The min plan that was approved by Tribal

Council allowed them to go about 60 feet until about 3-4 years ago. Then they went down to 100 feet.

Currently at 60 feet, that is 13 million gallons per day for the last 3-4 years.

Councilmember Harry asked about the 12 priority pollutants.

Mr. Tinger said there are 129 priority pollutants. It’s a full scan, an USEPA Standard protocol which

includes most pollutants that would be considered toxic which includes herbicides, pesticides, metals,

organic compounds, dioxins, and PCBs. They had CEMEX sample both the old pit lake as wells as the new

pit lake that just filled up.

Councilmember Ely asked Ms. Noel if they had knowledge CEMEX was dewatering for 15 years and for 5

years at a high volume. Did they have permission or did the Tribe stumble upon it.

Ms. Noel responded they knew about it for 3 years and brought it to the Council’s attention. That is also

when the municipal wells started going down. They consulted with the Indian Health Services (IHS) and

Kameron Morgan also wrote a white paper on it. They asked CEMEX for data and to measure the discharge

coming out of the pit. They finally did put meters on but they didn’t put any data loggers and so no data was

collected. It wasn’t until June, when the municipal wells were so low, they put a new variable speed pump

on

And to reduce the speed down as low as they could. When it continued to go down, the went to Council

again and involved the water team. They asked Council to shut them down because they were mining the

water out of the groundwater. CEMEX did have a permit previously for it.

Mr. Tinger said when Ms. Noel brought it to their attention, they did an official request for information

under their regulatory authority, they were able to get information and data. It helped their understanding

of the situation. Their previous permit was under a separate mechanism which may have not addressed all

the issues, that is why they are trying to put them on a new individual permit so they can evaluate any

potential impacts. They will continue to work with Ms. Noel and Kameron Morgan, they will need their

expertise when evaluating potential impacts on the endangered species. Then when they issue a permit, it

will be under the water quality standards of the Tribe. The Tribe has to approve what they write in the

permit. Unsure of the timeline since this is an extraordinarily complex permit because of the salts and

dissolved solids issues with the endangered species which will require consultation with the US Fish and

Wildlife Service (USFWS). Working on a target date of 6 months.

Councilmember Mix asked if fish can survive in the water.

Mr. Tinger said that’s something he’ll need to speak with Ms. Noel, Kameron Morgan and USFWS about but

during the winter runoffs, it’s probably not going to have that much of an effect. But during the summer

when temperature becomes an issue which lowers the dissolved oxygen.

NEW BUSINESS

1. Approval Resolution to join the Native American Fish & Wildlife Society. Dan Mosley, Pyramid Lake

Fisheries

Mr. Mosley explained they received a letter from the Native American Fish & Wildlife Society to become a

member tribe. There are various tribes across the US that are members. The cost for membership is $250 a

year and it requires submission of an application with resolution. The Fisheries will be paying the

membership fee. This could benefit the Tribe with knowledge through their website regarding regulations,

current issues going through Congress, the House and Senate for anything related to fisheries or wildlife

programs for funding and basically information sharing. Joining this organization would also be good for

the Tribe in showcasing the fish and the lake in Indian Country.

Councilmember Harry made a motion to approve the Resolution to Joint the Native American Fish & Wildlife

Society.

Mr. Mosley confirmed the Fisheries will cover the cost of the membership.

Councilmember Dunn seconded the motion. Votes were nine (9) for and zero (0) opposed with zero (0)

abstentions. Motion carried. RESOLUTION NO.: PL

NATURAL RESOURCES

1. Approval Request to bea Cooperating Agency for the Ormat Juniper Geothermal Development

Project.

Ms. Noel said they received notice from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) there is going to be

another geothermal plant on the border of the reservation. It's located by Black Warrior Point. She spoke to

Betty Aleck (THPO) about it and she agreed they should be at the table from the beginning, making sure the

Tribe gets the information needed and to get the Tribe’s concerns in early and hopefully not end up like the

San Emidio Project.

Councilmember Ely made a motion to approve the request to become a cooperating agency for the Ormat

Juniper Geothermal Development Project at Black Warrior Peak. Councilmember Brady seconded the motion.

Votes were eight (8) for and zero (0) opposed with one (1) abstention (Mix). Motion carried.

Councilmember Harry asked if Ms. Noel served ona cooperating agency before and what were some of the

projects and benefits.

Ms. Noel said she has, one of the projects was the Canal EIS. The benefit is the Tribe can see the engineering

reports, know what is going on from the beginning of the project and can have input in every meeting.

2. Approval to allow CEMEX to build a ramp to access Pit A through Tribal Lands.

Ms. Noel said this request is to allow CEMEX to build a ramp to access Pit A through tribal lands. EPA dida

structural analysis of the berms and they sent the request to build the ramp to access the western and

northern walls, but the inspection report came back and it wasn’t stable. She requested the report but

hasn’t receive it yet. She informed them she couldn’t give them authorization. She did speak to Richard

James and Betty Aleck (THPO) about it and sent the reports for their input. Ms. Aleck was very concerned

and she would like to have a cultural observer present the whole time, where they get the dirt for the berm

and when building the ramp. Richard James would like to see the field across the street from CEMEX

leveled and to use that excess dirt used for the berm.

The Water Team is meeting with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and CEMEX on Friday to see

how they plan to do it. They are talking about dewatering the whole thing again but don’t know where they

will put the water because EPA is the only one that can let them discharge. It may take up to a year but

that’s not acceptable. It’s a temporary ramp which they said would be removed when they get the berms

stabilized.

Richard James, who lives near the CEMEX facility said they should put the slope on there because that is

where it’s coming back into the river. Then when the river gets high, the river goes back into the pit. It has

been doing that for a long time and eh doesn’t know why they didn’t finish it right below his house. They

could use dirt on his property to level it. They will also be using the road next to his home which will be

making a lot of noise. When they are digging it’s like an earthquake, it shakes his home. It is a dangerous

place and the ground is soft and it should be fenced. When asked if he wants to have them continue, he said

he would like for them to repair the road because it is sinking.

Councilmember Brady asked if there is a potential for it to develop into a sink hole, even after it’s fixed.

Mr. Richards said he is waiting to see the engineering report, as Ms. Noel mentioned CEMEX has the issue of

slope stability and a report has been recently prepared but they are waiting to see it. He feels they should

be given access or limited access to repair the west pit wall which was cut deep. On his first field visit they

parked on James Ranch Road where the river bend migrates towards the pit, the west pit wall. This was

while they were still dewatering, the pit was empty of water because they were continuously pumping. He

climbed up the berm and it was nearly vertical. He would be concerned about giving them access to the

northwest corner because that would require them to go through Mr. James property. Giving them access

to the southwest would help them implement some type of a repair to the west pit wall which is not fenced.

Would think that since you're required to stop at their office for a series of safety tests they don’t have

fencing around the pit. It’s very concerning to hear kids are swimming in the pit lake and it’s not fenced. It’s

such a big liability for them not to fence it off. Need to also address the settlement that been occurring over

the years, it’s unfortunate they cut it soclose to the river and it’s sucha steep slope. They will be meeting

with them on Friday to discuss this and hopefully will have the engineering report by then. An option they

have been discussing is to ask the Tribe to allow dewatering of the entire mining pit and the south holding

pond and letting them dry for 18 months so they can repair the pit walls. He would like to hear more about

it and including the option of grouting.

Councilmember Mix said he did mention to not shut the water off because they needed to get that wall on

the westside repaired before they shut the water but it didn’t happen.

Mr. Richards said it was a difficult decision, they were facing the town of Wadsworth losing its water

supply, the Tribe’s water was critically low.

Councilmember Ely suggest with irrigation season coming is there a possibility they could put the water in

the irrigation ditch. He knows Councilmember Gonzales and John Guerrero are concerned about their wells

when they dewater. But right now, they can’t dewater into the river according to the USEPA.

Ms. Noels said that was a good point, she will discuss it at their meeting on Friday. Maybe they can put the

water into the Guerreros field instead of discharging into the river.

Councilmember Harry reminded them it would be full of toxin and would have to be tested.

Councilmember Brady asked about compensation regarding the wells and for Richard James getting cracks

in his house. It may require a class action suit.

Ms. Noel said once the water issues are resolved or released, it will go to Pilar Thomas, legal counsel, to

look at the contract. That would be the time to look into damages.

Councilmember Harry said the John’s were having the same issue as Richard James. Along with the Road,

constant trucks going back and forth.

Ms. Noel said she recommended approval but with Stetson Engineering oversight, it’s needs to be done

properly with an inspection afterwards. The pit wall stability will be the topic for the meeting on Friday.

Councilmember Brady made a motion to table until they receive more information and to put on the agenda

for Friday. Councilmember Dunn seconded the motion. Votes were eight (8) for and zero (0) opposed with

one (1) abstention (Mix). Motion carried.

WATER TEAM

KEMP JONES. Chris Mixson

1. Endangered Species Action Section 7 Consultation. This is where the USFWS is consulting with the

Bureau of Reclamations (BOR) about the ongoing effects of diverting Truckee River water into Derby Dam,

the ongoing effects being on the fish. The Tribe is not formally a cooperating agency but has been invited to

participate so they go to most of the meetings between the USFWS and BOR. The end result of the Section 7

Consultation is the biological opinion which governs the agency’s action. Their hope was when they started

the process the result would be a biological opinion with good conservation measure for the Newlands

project. The issue they have come across is that BOR has said to the USWS, you can make them force TCID

to do any actions that the BOR lacks the discretion to force them to do. The Tribe has asked what they can

do to enforce conservation measures, but their response was weak. Currently the USFWS is ready to push

back against BOR based on a meeting held on March 5‘, The USFWS said since they won't tell them what

their limits of discretion are, USFWS will write a biological opinion based on assumed limits. They will be

having a meeting on this. There is a deadline in mid-April for the USFWS but thinks they will ask for an

extension. He’s had a preliminary discussion with the Chairwoman about making a wish list from the

Pyramid lake Paiute Tribe to the new Secretary of Interior, but need to be careful. Instead of making the

request directly from the Tribe, can word it so it’s on behalf of all Tribes.

2. Recoupment. In 2019-2020 there was a fight that got elevated to the federal district court over the

categories of water that TCID should be entitled to claim recoupment repayment, credit for the Canal

breach in 2008. Water during that time they weren't allowed to take and flowed to Pyramid Lake, they

argued that should count toward their obligation to repay Pyramid Lake 344,000-acre feet of water. Along

with the United States, the Tribe took the position that no, they are not entitled to take that water. It’s not

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water they can use to repay. The Tribe won that judgement in 2020. TCID only gets recoupment credit for

planned and voluntary reductions of diversions. There are currently letters going back and forth between

TCID and the court.

3. CEMEX. Mr. Mixson said he thinks everything has already been said about this topic but he is in full

agreement with Mr. Richards and Ms. Noel that the Tribe should allow CEMEX some kind of access to the

western pit slop walls so they can shore them up and repair them. Whether they can that with water in the

ponds or whether they are going to have to move the water, he is hoping for more information on this.

4. ORMAT. There are two things going on with the San Emidio project. The first one is the local

governmental permitting the land use permit. That is where the Tribe filed an appeal to the Nevada

Supreme Court of the Washoe County Board of County Commissioners decision to grant a special use

permit to Ormat. The real argument in the petition is Washoe County granted a special use permit

erroneously because they were required to make these affirmative findings that the project wouldn’t harm

the Tribes resources and wouldn’t harm the environment. Washoe County said the BLM has a draft EA that

say there is going to be no harm to the Tribe which was good enough for them. The issue is it being a “draft”

EA, if it was a final document and the Tribe had no issues with it maybe the Tribe wouldn’t have fought so

hard but it was a draft document. He thinks the Tribe has a good case with the State Supreme Court. The

Tribe went directly to the State Supreme Court instead of the County District Court first. The primary

defendant is Washoe County but named Ormat as a real part of interest. The other part of the San Emidio

project is the federal permitting which is the BLM EA. He doesn’t necessarily agree with the BLM that they

can’t require Ormat to monitor geothermal resources within the reservation boundary but if you can get a

memo with Ormat to agree to monitoring the geothermal resources on the reservation then BLM can write

that into the final EA. That's what he thinks the Tribe needs to focus on.

5. Ormat Juniper Geothermal Project. Mr. Mixson said he agrees with the decision of the Tribe to accept

the invitation to be a cooperating agency and is looking forward to receiving more information that

otherwise is not provided to the public.

Councilmember Harry asked if the Tribe can comment on the permitting process for CEMEX and the Clean

Water Act.

Mr. Mixson said yes part of the EPA process, particularly because the Tribe has its own water quality

standards for the Truckee River and Pyramid lake. EPA process is to consult directly with the Tribe and

allow the Tribe to comment. It’s built into the process. Ina prior meeting, EPA brought up Supplemental

Environmental Projects (SCP). An SCP is when USEPA determines that someone has violated the Clean

Water Act, usually if they have either violated their MPDES permit by discharging more than the limits

allowed in the permit or discharging without a permit which isn’t the case with CEMEX. There can be a

settlement with the harmed party. It’s a way for the USEPA to force a violator to come up with money to do

an environmentally beneficial project. The money stays local and doesn’t go into the United States Treasury

general fund. It’s something the Tribe is going to be exploring. The USEPA can’t instigate the SCP, it’s on the

Tribe to request it from USEPA and CEMEX.

STETSON ENGINEERS. Allan Richards

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In regard to CEMEX he wanted to note that the meeting on Friday was called by USEPA and CEMEX and

they request urgency for a meeting with the Tribe’s Water Team. They will be talking about options for

repairing the pit walls and the levees around the pit plus there will probably be discussions about the

option to completely dewater the pits again. If that is to occur, CEMEX will have to get the permit from

USEPA. There may have to be some sort of compromise where the pond doesn’t have to be completely

dewatered but maybe the water level can be lowered 1015 feet or to better help accommodate the repairs

to the walls and in the levees. In regard to Ormat, it seemed strange that BLM is preparing and issuing EA

and preparing a monitoring plan for Ormat to comply. They don’t understand what the Tribe’s concerns are

and admitted they haven’t even seen the proposed monitoring plan that BLM is creating. It’s strange there

is a disconnect between the project proponent and BLM who is writing the EA and drawing conclusions

about potential impacts or no potential impacts. They will prepare comments and get them back to BLM

before the April 15% deadline.

Chairwoman Davis asked if it was okay for the Tribe to speak directly with Ormat to see if they can work

out an agreement.

Mr. Mixson said the writ petition to the Supreme Court hasn’t put anything on hold, because they didn’t

seek a stay. It’s okay for everyone except him to talk to Ormat. The rules about talking to people that you

are in litigation with apply to lawyers only. For their presentation earlier, he could attend because itis a

public meeting and he didn’t say anything. But if the Tribe wishes to initiate an MOA with Ormat, legal from

both sides can attend.

Mr. Richards said it’s important that they continue to comment on the monitoring plan.

Ms. Noels said under their Wildlife grant they added spring monitoring at Sweetwater and the San Emidio

spring and are going to put monitoring data loggers on both of those springs. Her hope is that Ormat will

reimburse them so they can use the funds to monitor other springs in the area. They will be installed in the

next couple of months.

Mr. Richards concluded his report by answering a couple questions that were raised in previous meetings.

One question as who signed the 1990 settlement agreement? He looked it up and it was President George

WH Bush and Vice President Quale who signed the 1990 settlement agreement. Another question was

asked by Councilmember Mix when he was describing the work they were doing with trying to modify the

US Army Corps Flood Control rules for Prosser Reservoir and Stampede Reservoir, they have to be drawn

down to a certain level for flood control during the winter and spring runoff season. The question was how

much do they have to drawdown. Stampede Reservoir has a total capacity of 226,500-acre feet and the

rules require that it be drawn down to 204,500-acre feet by November 1+t of each year to create some flood

control storage space. Prosser Creek Reservoir is much smaller at 29,800-acre feet total capacity and flood

control rules require the reservoir be evacuated to provide for 20,000-acre feet of storage space for flood

control also by November 1st,

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Councilmember Mix asked when they do the drawdown, does that give somebody the opportunity to put

their water in there, can the Tribe put back water to its capacity again and should the Tribe try to keep the

water in there if possible.

Mr. Richards said that’s what they try to do. They operate that reservoir to optimize it for the use of fish

storage.

Chairwoman Davis asked if they want to entertain sending a letter to the governor or someone regarding

the Innovation Zone.

Mr. Mixson said the real impact for the Tribe is don’t impact the Tribe’s water rights or the Tribe’s water

resources. A letter to the governor couldn’t hurt asking to sit down and discuss it with the Tribe. He’s

waiting for the actual legislation to be introduced. They haven't even introduced a bill.

ADJOURNMENT

With no further business before the Tribal Council, Councilmember Ely made a motion to adjourn the

meeting. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Brady. Votes taken were all in favor, motion carried.

The meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m.

Submitted by,

Pounded.

Brenda A. Henry

Tribal Council Secretary

CERTIFICATION

The foregoing minutes were adopted by the Pyramid Lake Tribal Council, governing body of the Pyramid

Lake Paiute Tribe, at a meeting duly held on the 18% day of August, 2021, having nine (9) members present,

constituting a quorum, by the vote of eight (8) FOR and zero (0) OPPOSED, with zero (0) ABSTENTIONS.

Minutes attested and concurred by:

, Tribal Chairwoman

Janet Davi:

Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribal Council

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