Nye County commissioners Tuesday were just approving an assessment of $1 per parcel on properties in the Pahrump Valley groundwater basin to pay for the state engineer's supervision.

But Commissioner Gary Hollis raked Bob Coache, from the Nevada Division of Water Resources, over the coals over the assessment.

It is expected to take in $50,000 based on the number of parcels in Pahrump Valley.

It was Hollis' most vehement tirade since an initial meeting last year with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over a desert tortoise habitat conservation plan.

State Engineer Tracy Taylor wrote commissioners a letter, asking them to approve a resolution enacting the assessment under state law.

Taylor said the $50,000 will be used to pay expenses for supervising the ground water basin, including special studies, water level measurements, crop pumpage inventories, field investigations, aquifer tests, well driller inspections, a review of intentions to drill and other data collection and management.

"Why doesn't the legislature do this and go ahead and apply the tax? Why is the state legislature and Tracy Taylor coming here and asking us to do their job?" Hollis demanded of Coache, who is the deputy state engineer based in Las Vegas.

Coache didn't even have time to begin to answer before Hollis continued.

"I know the statute Bob," Hollis said. "The legislature gave you the authority, then why doesn't the legislature impose the tax and not the county commissioners?"

Hollis said it reminded him of restrictions requiring the purchase of water rights to parcel property. Coache said that is a different situation.

"We do not do this in every basin. This is only done in a limited number of basins," Coache said.

He said the state engineer's office would be willing to take a look at a bill draft in the upcoming legislative session that would change the assessment. He added the state engineer's office hasn't been charging Pahrump properties in the past for its work.

"We adjusted the tax to account for that so we can start getting equipment we use in Pahrump," Coache said.

The motion to approve the resolution passed 3-1 with Hollis voting against.