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By Chez Oxendine
Energy | Environment
August 18, 2026
The Walker River Paiute Tribe has completed negotiations with NV Energy over a trespass dispute involving an expired power line easement and new rights of way for the utility’s Greenlink West transmission project, according to the tribe’s chairwoman
The power line, which crosses the reservation north of Walker Lake, received a Bureau of Indian Affairs easement in the 1970s that expired in 2024. Negotiations focused on compensation for damages related to the trespass and five new right-of-way agreements for NV Energy’s Greenlink West transmission line and related parcels, according to a news release issued earlier this month by the tribe
“The Walker River Paiute Tribe has completed negotiations with NV Energy,” Chairwoman Melanie McFalls said in an email to Tribal Business News
The Greenlink West line will run adjacent to the existing route through lands on the north and east sides of Walker Lake and across tribally owned fee land at Stanley Ranch near the reservation’s northwest corner. The land at Stanley Ranch is in the process of being converted to trust land through the BIA, according to the tribe. The tribal council approved the settlement and new rights of way in early August
A September 2024 federal decision approving rights of way for the Greenlink West project noted that NV Energy had obtained the tribe’s consent for only part of the route across the reservation. The decision said a separate BIA authorization would be needed after the tribe consented to the remaining right of way
NV Energy has told tribal leaders that the discussions have not included any plans or proposals for data centers in Mason Valley, addressing community concerns about potential industrial use of transmitted power
All new power line construction will be required to comply with federal and tribal laws, including the tribe’s sales and use tax, possessory interest tax and Tribal Employment Rights Ordinance, or TERO, according to the release
Brian Edwards contributed reporting
About The Author
Author:Chez Oxendine
Staff Writer
Chez Oxendine (Lumbee-Cheraw) is a staff writer for Tribal Business News. Based in Oklahoma, he focuses on broadband, Indigenous entrepreneurs, and federal policy. His journalism has been featured in Native News Online, Fort Gibson Times, Muskogee Phoenix, Baconian Magazine, and Oklahoma Magazine, among others.
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