CHAPTER........
AN ACT relating to the division of minerals of the department of business and industry;
requiring the commission on mineral resources to adopt regulations establishing the
amount of certain fees imposed for the support of the division and for certain
programs of the division; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. NRS 513.094 is hereby amended to read as follows:
established pursuant to subsection 4,
is imposed upon all filings to whichNRS 517.185 applies. Each county recorder shall collect and pay over the
additional fee, and the additional fee must be deposited in the same manner
as provided in that section.
2. The administrator shall, within the limits of the money provided by
this fee, establish a program to discover dangerous conditions that result
from mining practices which took place at a mine that is no longer
operating, identify if feasible the owner or other person responsible for the
condition, and rank the conditions found in descending order of danger.
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more often if the danger discovered warrants, inform each board of county
commissioners concerning the dangerous conditions found in the respective
counties, including their degree of danger relative to one another and to
such conditions found in the state as a whole.
addition, the administrator shall
work to educate the public to recognizeand avoid those hazards resulting from mining practices which took place
at a mine that is no longer operating.
3. To carry out this program and these duties, the administrator shall
employ a qualified assistant, who must be in the unclassified service of the
state and whose position is in addition to the unclassified positions
otherwise authorized in the division by statute.
4. The commission shall
(a)
The fee required pursuant to subsection 1, in an amount not toexceed $4 per claim.
(b)
Standards for determining which conditions created by theabandonment of a former mine or its associated works constitute a danger
to persons or animals and for determining the relative degree of danger. A
condition whose existence violates a federal or state statute or regulation
intended to protect public health or safety is a danger by virtue of that
including, but not limited to, standards for excluding persons and animals
from dangerous open excavations.
Sec. 2. NRS 517.185 is hereby amended to read as follows:
1. In addition to any recording fee, each filing pursuant toSec. 3.
NRS 519A.250 is hereby amended to read as follows:519A.250 1. An operator who is required by federal law to file a plan
of operation or an amended plan of operation with the United States Bureau
of Land Management or the United States Forest Service for operations
relating to mining or exploration on public land administered by a federal
agency, shall, not later than 30 days after approval of the plan or amended
plan, provide the division of minerals of the department of business and
industry with a copy of the filing and pay to the division of minerals a fee
[
or part of an acre of land to be disturbed by mining included in the plan or
incremental acres to be disturbed pursuant to an amended plan.
2. The division of minerals shall adopt by regulation a method of
refunding a portion of the fee required by this section if a plan of operation
is amended to reduce the number of acres or part of an acre to be disturbed
pursuant to the amended plan. The refund must be based on the reduced
number of acres or part of an acre to be disturbed.
3. All money received by the division of minerals pursuant to
subsection 1 must be accounted for separately and used by the division of
minerals to create and administer programs for:
(a) The abatement of hazardous conditions existing at abandoned mine
sites which have been identified and ranked pursuant to the degree of
hazard established by regulations adopted by the division of minerals; and
(b) The education of the public concerning the dangers of the hazardous
conditions described in paragraph (a).
All interest and income earned on the money in the account, after deducting
applicable charges, must be deposited in the account for the division of
4. On or before February 1 of each odd-numbered year, the division of
minerals shall file a report with the governor and the legislature describing
its activities, total revenues and expenditures pursuant to this section.
5. The commission on mineral resources shall, by regulation,
establish the fee required pursuant to subsection 1 in an amount not to
exceed $30 per acre.
Sec. 4.
NRS 522.050 is hereby amended to read as follows:522.050 1. A person desiring to drill a well in search of oil or gas
shall notify the division of that intent on a form prescribed by the division
and shall pay a fee [of $50] in an amount established pursuant to
subsection 2 for a permit for each well. Upon receipt of notification and
fee, the division shall promptly issue such a person a permit to drill, unless
the drilling of the well is contrary to law or a regulation or order of the
division. The drilling of a well is prohibited until a permit to drill is
obtained in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
2. The commission on mineral resources shall, by regulation,
establish the fee required pursuant to subsection 1 in an amount not to
exceed $200 per permit.
Sec. 5.
NRS 522.150 is hereby amended to read as follows:2. To pay the expenses of the division, every producer of oil or natural
gas in this state shall on or before the last day of each month report to the
division and to the state treasurer his production in this state of oil in
barrels and of natural gas in thousands of cubic feet during the preceding
month, and at the same time shall pay to the division an administrative fee
in an amount established pursuant to subsection 3 on each barrel of oil
and on every 50,000 cubic feet of natural gas produced and marketed by
him during the preceding month. The division shall deposit with the state
treasurer, for credit to the account for the division of minerals, all money
received pursuant to this subsection. Every person purchasing such oil or
natural gas is liable for the payment of the administrative fee per barrel of
oil or per 50,000 cubic feet of natural gas, unless it has been paid by the
producer. [The administrative fee is 50 mills]
Sec. 6. Notwithstanding the amendatory provisions of sections 1 to 5,
inclusive, of this act, until the effective date of the regulations adopted by
the commission on mineral resources pursuant to those sections, the amount
of:
1. The fee required pursuant to NRS 513.094 is $1 per claim.
2. The filing fee required pursuant to NRS 517.185 is $1.50 per claim.
3. The fee required pursuant to NRS 519A.250 is $20 per acre
4. The fee required pursuant to NRS 522.050 is $50 per permit.
5. The administrative fee required pursuant to NRS 522.150 is 50 mills
per barrel of oil or per 50,000 cubic feet of natural gas.