Senate Bill No. 267–Committee on Natural Resources

 

CHAPTER..........

 

AN ACT relating to the control of floods; authorizing the board of directors of a district for the control of floods to expend or provide money to protect public and private property from flooding; authorizing such a board to expend or provide money for the acquisition of certain local projects and improvements for the control of drainage; 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 543 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a

 new section to read as follows:

   1.  The district’s chief engineer or any governmental entity may

 propose an amendment to the district’s master plan to allow the

 expenditure or provision of money pursuant to subsection 6 of NRS

 543.360. The proposed amendment must be submitted to the district.

   2.  Upon receipt of an amendment proposed pursuant to subsection 1,

 the board shall determine whether it:

   (a) Is consistent with the general principles set forth in subsection 3 of

 NRS 543.590 for the master plan;

   (b) Is the most cost-effective structural or regulatory means of

 protecting structures from flood waters of the district; and

   (c) Does not adversely affect the continued implementation of the

 master plan.

   3.  If the board determines that the proposed amendment meets the

 requirements of subsection 2, the board shall hold a public hearing to

 consider the adoption of the amendment. The board may adopt a

 proposed amendment to the district’s master plan with the approval of

 two-thirds of the members voting on the proposed amendment.

   4.  The board shall file a copy of any amendment adopted by it with

 the governing body of each local government whose jurisdiction

 includes a hydrographic area affected by the adopted amendment.

   5.  Except as otherwise provided in subsection 6, upon receipt of an

 amendment, the governing body of each local government affected shall

 hold a public hearing to consider the adoption of the proposed

 amendment as a component of its comprehensive master plan pursuant

 to chapter 278 of NRS. If the governing bodies of each local government

 whose jurisdiction includes a hydrographic area affected by the

 amendment to the district’s master plan approve the proposed

 amendment, it becomes effective.

   6.  If a proposed amendment to the master plan is adopted

 unanimously by the board, and by the governing body of the local

 government in whose jurisdiction the project will be located, after a

 public hearing by each, the amendment becomes effective and no other

 hearing or approval is required by any other board or commission,

 including those responsible for decisions relating to planning or zoning.

 

 

 

 

   Sec. 2.  NRS 543.180 is hereby amended to read as follows:

   543.180  As used in NRS 543.170 to 543.830, inclusive, and section 1

 of this act, unless the context otherwise requires, the words and terms

 defined in NRS 543.181 to 543.188, inclusive, have the meanings ascribed

 to them in those sections.

   Sec. 3. NRS 543.360 is hereby amended to read as follows:

   543.360  The board may:

   1.  By the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members voting on the

 matter, acquire, construct, improve, extend, maintain and operate:

   (a) Projects and improvements for the control of flood and storm waters

 of the district and the flood and storm waters of streams which have their

 sources outside of the district but flow into the district. [Such] Except as

 otherwise provided in subsection 7, such a project or improvement must

 not be acquired unless it is included in the master plan.

   (b) Projects which mitigate the adverse effect of the acquired projects.

   (c) Projects which are required as a result of the proposed alteration or

 diversion of a natural watercourse identified in the master plan for the

 control of drainage.

A project or improvement must not be acquired unless it is first approved

 by an agreement among the board, each county in whose unincorporated

 area any part of the project or improvement is located and each city in

 which any part of the project or improvement is located. The agreement

 must contain an estimate of the cost of the project or improvement and

 show its relation to the master plan.

   2.  Conserve such waters for beneficial and useful purposes by

 spreading, storing, retaining and causing them to percolate into the soil

 within or without the district.

   3.  Save and conserve in any manner all or any of such waters and

 protect from floods or storm waters the watercourses, watersheds, public

 highways, life and property in the district.

   4.  Prevent waste of water or diminution of the water supply in, or the

 exportation of water from, the district.

   5.  Obtain, retain and reclaim drainage, storm, flood and other waters

 for beneficial use of the district.

   6.  Upon approval of an amendment to the district’s master plan

 pursuant to section 1 of this act, expend or provide money:

   (a) To make public property or private property, or both, impervious

 or resistant to damage from floods.

   (b) To relocate public or private structures, or both, which are located

 in an area that is susceptible to flooding.

   7.  Expend or provide money for the acquisition of a local project or

 improvement for the control of drainage which is not included in the

 master plan if the district’s chief engineer determines that:

   (a) The governmental entity requesting the project or improvement

 has established:

     (1) A procedure to allow persons within its jurisdiction to file

 complaints concerning the program for controlling floods within its

 jurisdiction;

     (2) A master plan for its local drainage system which identifies the

 project or improvement; and

     (3) Guidelines for implementing drainage projects and

improvements within its jurisdiction; and

   (b) The local project or improvement is a necessary appurtenance to

 collect and deliver flows to allow a project or improvement that is

 included in the district’s master plan to function in the manner

intended.

If the local project or improvement is one-quarter mile or more from a

 regional facility, the district may not contribute more than 50 percent of

 the cost of the project or improvement. The district may appropriate not

 more than 3 percent of its revenues in any fiscal year to projects

 approved pursuant to this subsection. Money that is provided pursuant

 to this subsection but not expended in a fiscal year may be expended in

 the following fiscal year.

   Sec. 4.  NRS 543.597 is hereby amended to read as follows:

   543.597  1.  The district’s chief engineer or any governmental entity

 may propose to:

   (a) Change the size, type or alignment of a facility on the district’s

 master plan; or

   (b) Amend the district’s master plan. A proposed amendment must be

 submitted to the district.

   2.  Upon receipt of a change proposed pursuant to paragraph (a) of

 subsection 1, the board shall hold a public hearing to consider the adoption

 of the change. With the approval of two-thirds of the members voting on

 the proposed change, the board may adopt any proposed change which:

   (a) Is consistent with the general principles set forth in subsection 3 of

 NRS 543.590 for the master plan;

   (b) Is hydraulically similar to a proposed facility included in the master

 plan;

   (c) Is the most cost-effective structural or regulatory means of

 controlling flood waters of the district; and

   (d) Does not adversely affect the continued implementation of the

 master plan.

   3.  Upon receipt of an amendment proposed pursuant to paragraph (b)

 of subsection 1, the board shall determine whether the proposed

 amendment is consistent with the general principles set forth in subsection

 3 of NRS 543.590 for the master plan. If the proposed amendment is

 determined to be generally consistent with those principles, the board shall

 hold a public hearing to consider the adoption of the proposed amendment.

 The board may adopt a proposed amendment to the district’s master plan

 with the approval of two-thirds of the members voting on the proposed

 amendment.

   4.  The board shall file a copy of any amendment or change adopted by

 it with the governing body of each local government whose jurisdiction

 includes a hydrographic area affected by the adopted amendment or

 change.

   5.  Except as otherwise provided in subsection 6, upon receipt of an

 amendment, the governing body of each local government affected shall

 hold a public hearing to consider the adoption of the proposed amendment

 as a component of its comprehensive master plan pursuant to chapter 278

of NRS. If the governing bodies of each local government whose

jurisdiction includes a hydrographic area affected by the amendment to the

 district’s master plan approve the proposed amendment, it becomes

 effective.

   6.  If a proposed amendment to the master plan is adopted unanimously

 by the board, and by the governing body of the local government in whose

 jurisdiction will be located the structures necessary to carry out the

 purposes of the amendment, after a public hearing by each, the amendment

 becomes effective and no other hearing or approval is required by any

 other board or commission, including those responsible for decisions

 relating to planning or zoning.

   7.  The provisions of this section do not apply to an amendment of a

 master plan pursuant to section 1 of this act.

 

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