Assembly Bill No. 252–Committee on Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Mining

February 16, 1999

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Referred to Committee on Natural Resources,
Agriculture, and Mining

 

SUMMARY—Revises provisions governing liens upon lands entitled to receive water from irrigation districts. (BDR 48-972)

FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.

Effect on the State or on Industrial Insurance: No.

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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. Green numbers along left margin indicate location on the printed bill (e.g., 5-15 indicates page 5, line 15).

 

AN ACT relating to public water; revising the provisions governing liens upon lands entitled to receive water from an irrigation district; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

1-1 Section 1. NRS 539.513 is hereby amended to read as follows:

1-2 539.513 1. [For the purpose of defraying] To defray the organization

1-3 and current expense of the district, and of the care, operation, maintenance,

1-4 management, repair, and necessary current improvement or replacement of

1-5 existing works and property, including salaries and wages of officers and

1-6 employees and other proper incidental expenditures, the board may:

1-7 (a) Fix rates of tolls or charges, and provide for the collection thereof by

1-8 the district treasurer as operation and maintenance, or some like

1-9 designation; or

1-10 (b) Levy assessments therefor, or for a portion thereof, collecting the

1-11 balance as tolls or charges.

1-12 [In this relation, provision may be made by the board] The board may

1-13 provide for the fixing, levying and collection of a minimum, flat or stated

1-14 operation and maintenance assessment, toll or charge per acre, whether

1-15 water is used or not, and a further operation and maintenance toll or charge

1-16 for water used in excess of the amount delivered for the minimum charge ,

2-1 [;] or the board may adopt other reasonable methods of fixing and

2-2 collecting the operation and maintenance charges.

2-3 2. Assessments, tolls and charges may be collected in advance, and the

2-4 assessment and such tolls and charges may be based upon an estimate of

2-5 the operation and maintenance revenue required for the current or ensuing

2-6 year, to be adjusted as near as may be from year to year.

2-7 3. Water service may be refused and water delivery may be shut off

2-8 whenever there is a default in the payment of operation and maintenance,

2-9 but all other legal remedies [shall] must also be available for the

2-10 enforcement of the debt.

2-11 4. The assessments, tolls and charges [shall] must be collected by the

2-12 treasurer and deposited in the general fund or operation and maintenance

2-13 fund, and he shall account therefor and disburse the same as provided in

2-14 this chapter.

2-15 5. The assessments, tolls or charges fixed by the board of directors for

2-16 the payment of operation and maintenance expenses, as provided in this

2-17 chapter, [shall become] are a lien upon all lands entitled to receive water

2-18 from the irrigation district system of works, as of the date fixed by the

2-19 board of directors for the payment of the [same,] assessments, tolls or

2-20 charges, whether water is delivered to such lands or not.

2-21 6. If the ownership of the land upon which a lien is imposed

2-22 pursuant to subsection 5 is severed from the ownership of the right to use

2-23 the water, the lien remains in effect on the land until:

2-24 (a) The place of use of the water is changed to land upon which a lien

2-25 is imposed pursuant to subsection 5, if:

2-26 (1) The change is in accordance with applicable statutes and

2-27 regulations of Nevada; or

2-28 (2) On a stream system where a decree of court has been entered,

2-29 the change is in accordance with the decree or any rules adopted

2-30 pursuant to the decree; or

2-31 (b) The owner of the right to use the water enters into a written

2-32 agreement with the irrigation district for the payment of assessments,

2-33 tolls or charges required pursuant to this section. Except as otherwise

2-34 provided in this paragraph, the payment must be secured by the right to

2-35 use the water in a manner that is satisfactory to the irrigation district. If

2-36 the owner of the right to use the water is the Federal Government or one

2-37 of its agencies, or the State of Nevada or one of its agencies or political

2-38 subdivisions, the agreement is not required to be secured in such a

2-39 manner.

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