MARK WAITE / PVT Attorney Peter Fahmy speaks to delegates about order No. 1197. Advertisement

FURNACE CREEK, Calif. -- Water Rights Attorney Peter Fahmy's name usually appears on the protests of water rights applications filed in Amargosa Valley that are protested by the National Park Service.

Fahmy, who works for the National Park Service, vehemently defended the protests, designed to protect the Devil's Hole pupfish and springs, at Death Valley National Park, during a speech at the annual Devil's Hole workshop at the Furnace Creek Visitors Center last week.

"I've had people say NPS stands for National Protest Service, and granted that's sometimes how it appears to some people: 'The Park Service is just filing protest after protest,'" Fahmy told the gathering of numerous scientists.

"But I can tell you, I come from Colorado, which has some of the most complicated, involved water administration systems in the United States, and having worked as a water adjudicator, that's all water rights owners do is file protests, because that's what's necessary if you have water rights. That's a valuable asset. You have a fiduciary duty to protect that asset and if that means filing five, 10, 15, 20 protests a month, you do it."

Fahmy called Devil's Hole, a 400-foot-deep cavern where pupfish inhabit a shelf just below the surface, "one of the most valuable assets in the National Park Service."

He called state engineer's order No. 1197 a wonderful model other states should adopt. It outlines how states can work together with federal agencies to protect federal water rights.

Deputy State Engineer Bob Coache told the delegates, "Any applications in Amargosa Valley -- mountain top to mountain top -- are going to be denied outright."

Coache added the exclusion of applications for two acre feet of water per year or less -- roughly the amount of water four families of five would use in a year -- means a businessman who wants to open up a pizza joint or a bar in Amargosa Valley can do so as there would be no additional impact to the basin and it allows some economic development.

Coache said he's received a lot of questions about how they designated the 25-mile radius around Devil's Hole cited in the state engineer's order.

"It was nothing more than a line. All we wanted to do was get past the irrigation areas of Amargosa and we wanted something very simple in the order that somebody could pick the order up, draw on a map and see if they were in the area or not," Coache said.

A federal court ruling determined the water level in Devil's Hole must be 2.7 feet below a copper washer, Coache said.

"Until recently the water level declined in Devil's Hole," Coache continued. "There's been an upward tick, but who knows why, and it's definitely in the best interest of all stakeholders -- all water right holders in Amargosa, the state, the national park, all these entities -- to keep the water level within the allocation of the depth of water above the washer."

Fahmy said the state engineer acted within his statutory authority when he issued order No. 1197. The water resources of the state of Nevada belong to the people of Nevada, he said.

"This has been confirmed numerous times in decisions in the state of Nevada. The state engineer has wide latitude to decide what's in the public interest," Fahmy said.

The U.S. government is debating whether to participate in supporting the state engineer of his ruling in order No. 1197, Fahmy said. Under federal law, he said the state engineer doesn't have jurisdiction over federal water rights.

The interesting thing, Fahmy said, is the order doesn't address the California side.

During his parting comments at the conference, outgoing Death Valley National Park Superintendent J.T. Reynolds told the crowd, "I just hope we fought the good fight because water is definitely the battleground and everybody wants some of it.

"I think what's important for us is to make sure the usage we have to work with is sustainable, and knowing that there will be development in the desert, we're not going to stop that, but I hope that we're sane about our use and eliminate the abuse that we had in the past. I hope we're all partners in ensuring the use of water in the desert in a sustainable way."