ASSEMBLY ACTION Initial and Date |SENATE ACTION Initial and Date
Adopted Lost | Adopted Lost
Concurred In Not |Concurred In Not
Receded Not | Receded Not
Amend the bill as a whole by renumbering section 1 as sec. 5 and adding new sections designated sections 1 through 4, following the enacting clause, to read as follows:
“Section 1. NRS 533.360 is hereby amended to read as follows:
533.360 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, NRS 533.345 and subsection [3] 4 of NRS 533.370, when an application is filed in compliance with this chapter , the State Engineer shall, within 30 days, publish or cause to be published once a week for 4 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation and printed and published in the county where the water is sought to be appropriated, a notice of the application [,] which sets forth:
(a) That the application has been filed.
(b) The date of the filing.
(c) The name and address of the applicant.
(d) The name of the source from which the appropriation is to be made.
(e) The location of the place of diversion, described by legal subdivision or metes and bounds and by a physical description of that place of diversion.
(f) The purpose for which the water is to be appropriated.
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The publisher shall add thereto the date of the first
publication and the date of the last publication.
2. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, proof of publication must be filed within 30 days after the final day of publication. The State Engineer shall pay for the publication from the application fee. If the application is cancelled for any reason before publication, the State Engineer shall return to the applicant that portion of the application fee collected for publication.
3. If the application is for a proposed well:
(a) For municipal, quasi-municipal or industrial use; and
(b) Whose reasonably expected rate of diversion is one-half cubic foot per second or more,
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the applicant shall mail a copy of the notice of application
to each owner of real property containing a domestic well that is within 2,500
feet of the proposed well, to his address as shown in the latest records of the
county assessor. If there are not more than six such wells, notices must be
sent to each owner by certified mail, return receipt requested. If there are
more than six such wells, at least six notices must be sent to owners by
certified mail, return receipt requested. The return receipts from these
notices must be filed with the State Engineer before he may consider the
application.
4. The provisions of this section do not apply to an environmental permit.
Sec. 2. NRS 533.370 is hereby amended to read as follows:
533.370 1. Except as otherwise provided in this section and NRS 533.345, 533.371, 533.372 and 533.503, the State Engineer shall approve an application submitted in proper form which contemplates the application of water to beneficial use if:
(a) The application is accompanied by the prescribed fees;
(b) The proposed use or change, if within an irrigation district, does not adversely affect the cost of water for other holders of water rights in the district or lessen the efficiency of the district in its delivery or use of water; and
(c) The applicant provides proof satisfactory to the State Engineer of:
(1) His intention in good faith to construct any work necessary to apply the water to the intended beneficial use with reasonable diligence; and
(2) His financial ability and reasonable expectation actually to construct the work and apply the water to the intended beneficial use with reasonable diligence.
2. Except as otherwise provided in subsection [6,] 7, the State Engineer shall approve or reject each application within 1 year after the final date for filing a protest. However:
(a) Action may be postponed by the State Engineer upon written authorization to do so by the applicant or, if an application is protested, by the protestant and the applicant; [and]
(b) Action may be postponed by the State Engineer if the purpose for which the application was made is municipal use; and
(c) In areas where studies of water supplies have been determined to be necessary by the State Engineer pursuant to NRS 533.368 or where court actions are pending, the State Engineer may withhold action until it is determined there is unappropriated water or the court action becomes final.
3. If the State Engineer does not act upon an application within 1 year after the final date for filing a protest, the application remains active until acted upon by the State Engineer.
4. Except as otherwise provided in subsection [6,] 7, where there is no unappropriated water in the proposed source of supply, or where its proposed use or change conflicts with existing rights, or with protectible interests in existing domestic wells as set forth in NRS 533.024, or threatens to prove detrimental to the public interest, the State Engineer shall reject the application and refuse to issue the requested permit. If a previous application for a similar use of water within the same basin has been rejected on those grounds, the new application may be denied without publication.
[4.] 5. In determining whether an application for an interbasin transfer of ground water must be rejected pursuant to this section, the State Engineer shall consider:
(a) Whether the applicant has justified the need to import the water from another basin;
(b) If the State Engineer determines that a plan for conservation of water is advisable for the basin into which the water is to be imported, whether the applicant has demonstrated that such a plan has been adopted and is being effectively carried out;
(c) Whether the proposed action is environmentally sound as it relates to the basin from which the water is exported;
(d) Whether the proposed action is an appropriate long-term use which will not unduly limit the future growth and development in the basin from which the water is exported; and
(e) Any other factor the State Engineer determines to be relevant.
[5.] 6. If a hearing is held regarding an application, the decision of the State Engineer must be in writing and include findings of fact, conclusions of law and a statement of the underlying facts supporting the findings of fact. The written decision may take the form of a transcription of an oral ruling. The rejection or approval of an application must be endorsed on a copy of the original application, and a record must be made of the endorsement in the records of the State Engineer. The copy of the application so endorsed must be returned to the applicant. Except as otherwise provided in subsection [7,] 8, if the application is approved, the applicant may, on receipt thereof, proceed with the construction of the necessary works and take all steps required to apply the water to beneficial use and to perfect the proposed appropriation. If the application is rejected, the applicant may take no steps toward the prosecution of the proposed work or the diversion and use of the public water while the rejection continues in force.
[6.] 7. The provisions of subsections 1 to [4,] 5, inclusive, do not apply to an application for an environmental permit.
[7.] 8. The provisions of subsection [5] 6 do not authorize the recipient of an approved application to use any state land administered by the Division of State Lands of the State Department of Conservation and Natural Resources without the appropriate authorization for that use from the State Land Registrar.
[8.] 9. As used in this section, “interbasin transfer of ground water” means a transfer of ground water for which the proposed point of diversion is in a different basin than the proposed place of beneficial use.
Sec. 3. NRS 533.386 is hereby amended to read as follows:
533.386 1. The State Engineer shall confirm that the report of conveyance required by paragraph (a) of subsection 1 of NRS 533.384 includes all material required by that subsection and that:
(a) The report is accompanied by the prescribed fee;
(b) No conflict exists in the chain of title that can be determined by the State Engineer from the conveyance documents or from other information on file in the office of the State Engineer; and
(c) The State Engineer is able to determine the rate of diversion and the amount of water conveyed in acre-feet or million gallons from the conveyance documents or from other information on file in the office of the State Engineer.
2. If the State Engineer confirms a report of conveyance pursuant to subsection 1, he shall in a timely manner provide a notice of the confirmation to the person who submitted the report of conveyance. The notice must include, without limitation, a statement indicating that neither the confirmation of the report of conveyance nor the report of conveyance, if the report sets forth the amount of water conveyed, guarantees that:
(a) The water right is in good standing with the office of the State Engineer; or
(b) The amount of water referenced in the notice or in the report of conveyance is the actual amount of water that a person is entitled to use upon conveyance of the application or permit to appropriate any of the public waters, the certificate of appropriation, the adjudicated or unadjudicated water right, or the application or permit to change the place of diversion, manner of use or place of use of water.
3. If the State Engineer determines that the report of conveyance is deficient, he shall reject the report of conveyance and return it to the person who submitted it with:
(a) An explanation of the deficiency; and
(b) A notice stating that the State Engineer will not confirm a report of conveyance that has been rejected unless the report is resubmitted with the material required to cure the deficiency. The notice must also include a statement of the provisions of subsection [3.] 4.
[3.] 4. The State Engineer shall not consider or treat the person to whom:
(a) An application or permit to appropriate any of the public waters;
(b) A certificate of appropriation;
(c) An adjudicated or unadjudicated water right; or
(d) An application or permit to change the place of diversion, manner of use or place of use of water,
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is conveyed as the owner or holder of the application, right,
certificate or permit for the purposes of this chapter, including, without
limitation, all advisements and other notices required of the State Engineer
and the granting of permits to change the place of diversion, manner of use or
place of use of water, until a report of the conveyance is confirmed pursuant
to subsection 1.
Sec. 4. NRS 538.171 is hereby amended to read as follows:
538.171 1. The Commission shall receive, protect and safeguard and hold in trust for the State of Nevada all water and water rights, and all other rights, interests or benefits in and to the waters described in NRS 538.041 to 538.251, inclusive, and to the power generated thereon, held by or which may accrue to the State of Nevada under and by virtue of any Act of the Congress of the United States or any agreements, compacts or treaties to which the State of Nevada may become a party, or otherwise.
2. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, applications for the original appropriation of such waters, or to change the place of diversion, manner of use or place of use of water covered by the original appropriation, must be made to the Commission in accordance with the regulations of the Commission. In considering such an application, the Commission shall use the criteria set forth in subsection [3] 4 of NRS 533.370. The Commission’s action on the application constitutes the recommendation of the State of Nevada to the United States for the purposes of any federal action on the matter required by law. The provisions of this subsection do not apply to supplemental water.
3. The Commission shall furnish to the State Engineer a copy of all agreements entered into by the Commission concerning the original appropriation and use of such waters. It shall also furnish to the State Engineer any other information it possesses relating to the use of water from the Colorado River which the State Engineer deems necessary to allow him to act on applications for permits for the subsequent appropriation of these waters after they fall within the State Engineer’s jurisdiction.
4. Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 533 of NRS, any original appropriation and use of the waters described in subsection 1 by the Commission or by any entity to whom or with whom the Commission has contracted the water is not subject to regulation by the State Engineer.”.
Amend the bill as a whole by renumbering section 2 as section 7 and adding a new section designated sec. 6, following section 1, to read as follows:
“Sec. 6. The amendatory provisions of section 2 of this act apply to:
1. Each application described in NRS 533.370 that is made on or after July 1, 2003; and
2. Each such application that is pending with the office of the State Engineer on July 1, 2003.”.
Amend sec. 2, page 2, by deleting lines 12 and 13 and inserting:
“Sec. 7. 1. This act becomes effective on July 1, 2003.
2. Section 5 of this act expires by limitation on June 30, 2005.”.
Amend the title of the bill to read as follows:
“AN ACT relating to water; authorizing the State Engineer to postpone action on certain applications for water rights; providing that certain applications for water rights remain active until acted upon by the State Engineer; requiring the State Engineer to provide certain notices to persons who submitted reports of conveyance if he confirms those reports; requiring the State Engineer to quantify in acre-feet certain water rights, to give certain persons notice concerning those water rights and to file a notice concerning those water rights with the office of the county recorder of the county in which the water is appropriated; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.”.
Amend the summary of the bill to read as follows:
“SUMMARY—Makes various changes relating to water rights. (BDR 48‑848)”.