CHAPTER........
AN ACT relating to counties; authorizing each board of county commissioners by ordinance
to establish, use and operate a wetlands mitigation bank; 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. Chapter 244 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a
new section to read as follows:
1. The board of county commissioners of a county may by ordinance
establish, use and operate a wetlands mitigation bank in accordance with
the guidelines set forth in Federal Guidance for the Establishment, Use
and Operation of Mitigation Banks, as issued by the United States Army
Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, National
Resources Conservation Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and National
Marine Fisheries Service in 60 Federal Register 58,605 on November 28,
1995.
2. A board of county commissioners that establishes a mitigation
bank pursuant to subsection 1 may enter into a cooperative agreement
with a public agency or nonprofit organization for the operation of the
mitigation bank.
3. As used in this section:
(a) "Hydric soil" means soil that, in its undrained condition, is
saturated, flooded or ponded long enough during a growing season to
develop an anaerobic condition that supports the growth and
regeneration of hydrophytic vegetation.
(b) "Hydrophytic vegetation" means a plant growing in:
(1) Water; or
(2) A substrate that is at least periodically deficient in oxygen
during a growing season as a result of excessive water content.
(c) "Mitigation bank" means a system in which the creation,
enhancement, restoration or preservation of wetlands is recognized by a
regulatory agency as generating compensatory credits allowing the
future development of other wetland sites.
(d) "Public agency" has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 277.100.
(e) "Wetland" means land that:
(1) Has a predominance of hydric soil;
(2) Is inundated or saturated by surface water or ground water at a
frequency and duration sufficient to support a prevalence of hydrophytic
vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions; and
(3) Under normal circumstances does support a prevalence of
hydrophytic vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil
conditions.
This act becomes effective upon passage and approval.~