Under existing law, the State Engineer: (1) may designate certain basins as critical management areas; and (2) is required to designate a basin as a critical management area upon receipt of a petition signed by a majority of the holders of certificates or permits to appropriate water in the basin. (NRS 534.110) Existing law further provides that in a basin that has been designated as a critical management area, a petition for the approval of a groundwater management plan may be submitted to the State Engineer by a majority of the holders of permits or certificates to appropriate water in the basin. (NRS 534.037) Section 1 of this bill: (1) requires the State Engineer to affirm or modify the perennial yield of a basin at the same time he or she designates a basin as a critical management area; and (2) authorizes the State Engineer to modify the perennial yield for a critical management area based on the best available science. Section 1 also requires the State Engineer to review the perennial yield before reviewing the results of a groundwater management plan and modify the perennial yield if there has been a change. Section 1.5 of this bill provides that a petition for the approval of a groundwater management plan must instead be signed by the holders of permits or certificates to appropriate water in the basin that are on file in the Office of the State Engineer who represent a majority of the total groundwater permitted or certificated for use in the basin. Section 1.5 also provides that the holder of a permit or certificate with a date of priority before the date on which permits or certificates for withdrawals of groundwater in the basin were equal to the perennial yield of the basin who does not sign the petition may not be required to comply with an approved groundwater management plan. Section 1.5 further provides that, if the State Engineer modifies the perennial yield of the basin, the holders of permits or certificates with dates of priority before or after the date on which withdrawals of groundwater in the basin were equal to the previous perennial yield of the basin must be required to comply or allowed to opt out of complying with an approved groundwater management plan, depending on whether the perennial yield is increased or decreased. Under existing law, the State Engineer is required to restrict withdrawals of groundwater to conform to priority rights under certain circumstances, including if a basin has been designated as a critical management area for at least 10 consecutive years. (NRS 534.110) Section 1.5 requires the State Engineer to review an approved groundwater management plan that has been in effect for 10 consecutive years to determine whether there has been significant progress towards stabilizing the water level of the basin and, if not, with certain exceptions, to restrict withdrawals of groundwater to conform to priority rights until the water level is stabilized. Section 2 of this bill makes a conforming change to create an exception for the restriction of withdrawals to allow a domestic well to continue to withdraw 0.5 acre-feet of water per year if the owner of the domestic well installs or has installed a water meter to record the withdrawal. Section 3 of this bill requires that, beginning on October 1, 2033, 10 years after the effective date of this bill, the State Engineer must review any groundwater management plan that was approved before October 1, 2023, to determine whether there has been significant progress towards stabilizing the water level of the basin and, if not, to restrict withdrawals in accordance with the requirements of this bill until the water level is stabilized.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 534.037, 534.110
Reprint 1: 534.037, 534.110
As Enrolled: 534.037, 534.110
BDR: 534.037, 534.110