No position from the commission on water rights transfer
In the driest state in the nation, water is, without contest, the most precious resource of all. But when it comes to restricting water rights holders from selling their water to developers to support the construction of massive solar farms, Nye County’s hands are apparently tied.
It was a fact made clear by the Nye County Water District last year, when that body voted unanimously to support a series of applications requesting water rights transfers that would allow water being trucked out to solar projects to be pumped from a location much closer to those projects. The applications, numbered 93783 and 93837 through 93844, were filed by RFC Holdings LLC, Wulfco LLC, Harris Ltd., Mid-Valley Enterprises LLC and Time to Celebrate LLC.
This action, as emphasized by the water board, would take strain off of both Pahrump’s already deteriorating roadway and an area in the local aquifer that is seeing the greatest decline in water levels, by alleviating traffic from trucks hauling water to solar sites and by shifting the pumping further south in the basin.
However, the Nye County Water District is not a directly participating party in the application process, with that responsibility in the hands of the Nye County Commission. When asked by the water board to formalize an opinion of its own in December, though, the commissioners were not of the same mind. Commissioner Frank Carbone, who is now retired from the board, initially made a motion to oppose the water rights transfer, which was voted down. Commissioner Debra Strickland then attempted the opposite motion, to support the applications but that motion was also voted down.
As a result, the item died for lack of action and the county’s opinion on the matter will not be included as the applications move forward.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com
