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 sec. 2, page 3, by deleting lines 7 through 19 and inserting:
“2. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection and 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] The State Engineer may:
(a) Postpone action upon written authorization to do so by the applicant or, if an application is protested, by the protestant and the applicant . [; and]
(b) Postpone action if the purpose for which the application was made is municipal use.
(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.”.
Amend the bill as a whole by adding a new section designated sec. 3.5, following sec. 3, to read as follows:
“Sec. 3.5. NRS 534.270 is hereby amended to read as follows:
534.270 1. Upon receipt of an application for a permit to operate a project, the State Engineer shall endorse on the application the date it was received and keep a record of the application. He shall conduct an initial review of the application within 45 days after receipt of the application. If the State Engineer determines in the initial review that the application is incomplete, he shall notify the applicant. The application is incomplete until the applicant files all the information requested in the application. The State Engineer shall determine whether the application is correct within 180 days after receipt of a complete application. The State Engineer may request additional information from the applicant. The State Engineer may conduct such independent investigations as are necessary to determine whether the application should be approved or rejected.
2. If the application is determined to be complete and correct, the State Engineer, within 30 days after such a determination or a longer period if requested by the applicant, shall cause notice of the application to be given once each week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or counties in which persons reside who could reasonably be expected to be affected by the project. The notice must state:
(a) The legal description of the location of the proposed project;
(b) A brief description of the proposed project including its capacity;
(c) That any person who may be adversely affected by the project may file a written protest with the State Engineer within 30 days after the last publication of the notice;
(d) The date of the last publication;
(e) That the grounds for protesting the project are limited to whether the project would be in compliance with subsection 2 of NRS 534.250;
(f) The name of the applicant; and
(g) That a protest must:
(1) State the name and mailing address of the protester;
(2) Clearly set forth the reason why the permit should not be issued; and
(3) Be signed by the protester or the protester’s agent or attorney.
3. A protest to a proposed project:
(a) May be made by any person who may be adversely affected by the project;
(b) Must be in writing;
(c) Must be filed with the State Engineer within 30 days after the last publication of the notice;
(d) Must be upon a ground listed in subsection 2 of NRS 534.250;
(e) Must state the name and mailing address of the protester;
(f) Must clearly set forth the reason why the permit should not be issued; and
(g) Must be signed by the protester or the protester’s agent or attorney.
4. Upon receipt of a protest, the State Engineer shall advise the applicant by certified mail that a protest has been filed.
5. Upon receipt of a protest, or upon his own motion, the State Engineer may hold a hearing. Not less than 30 days before the hearing, the State Engineer shall send by certified mail notice of the hearing to the applicant and any person who filed a protest.
6. The State Engineer shall either approve or deny each application within 1 year after the final date for filing a protest, unless he has received a written request from the applicant to postpone his decision or, in the case of a protested application, from both the protester and the applicant. The State Engineer may delay action on the application pursuant to paragraph [(b)] (c) of subsection 2 of NRS 533.370.
7. Any person aggrieved by any decision of the State Engineer made pursuant to subsection 6, may appeal that decision to the district court pursuant to NRS 533.450.”.