Revises provisions relating to water. (BDR 48-383)
AB 104 is a broad water policy bill that creates a new statutory Nevada Conservation and Recreation Program and places within it a Nevada Voluntary Water Rights Retirement Program. The bill establishes an Account for Retiring Water Rights, authorizes the state to use money in that account to buy decreed or certificated groundwater rights from willing sellers or accept donations of those rights, and requires the State Engineer to retire those rights permanently so they cannot be reappropriated. The retirement program is limited to groundwater rights approved by the Director on or before June 30, 2035, and the related account provisions expire on June 30, 2035.
The bill also revises several existing water and environmental programs. It changes references from temporary permits to revocable permits for groundwater in designated depleted basins, expands circumstances under which domestic wells may be prohibited or required to connect to public water, and updates notice and enforcement provisions tied to those permits. It broadens the state water-conservation grant program to allow funding for water-efficient landscaping and permanent retirement of groundwater rights, and it changes the required local cost-share calculation from average household income to median household income. In addition, it modifies a septic-to-sewer assistance program, updates legislative policy to encourage water reuse, authorizes the State Environmental Commission to establish water quality standard variances consistent with federal law, and makes smaller changes to Southern Nevada Water Authority programs and advisory committee procedures.
The bill’s impact on state law is significant because it adds a new mechanism for permanently removing groundwater rights from use, which can affect water-right holders, basin management, domestic well users, and public water providers. It also gives the state more tools to manage depleted groundwater basins, support conservation projects, and fund infrastructure or connection costs related to water supply and wastewater systems. By codifying the conservation and recreation program and the retirement program, the bill moves existing regulatory practice into statute and creates a dedicated funding structure for water-right retirement and related conservation efforts.
The general sentiment reflected in the voting history appears strongly favorable and noncontroversial: the bill passed the Assembly 42-0 and the Senate 21-0. No committee transcript excerpts were provided, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate to indicate organized opposition. The unanimous votes suggest broad bipartisan support for the bill’s overall water-conservation and groundwater-management goals.
The main points of potential contention, based on the bill text itself, are the permanent retirement of groundwater rights, the expansion of state authority over domestic wells in areas served by public water systems, and the shift in local grant cost-share calculations to median household income. Those provisions could affect property owners, agricultural or other groundwater users, and local water purveyors differently depending on basin conditions and funding availability. The bill also includes a long sunset and delayed effective date for some provisions, which suggests lawmakers were balancing immediate conservation goals with a limited-duration retirement program and future review.
AB 104 amends multiple chapters of Nevada water, conservation, and environmental law. It creates a statutory conservation program and a dedicated account for purchasing and retiring groundwater rights, prohibits future appropriation of retired rights, revises groundwater permit terminology and domestic-well restrictions in depleted basins, expands eligible uses under water-conservation grant programs, updates sewer-connection assistance rules, and authorizes water-quality variances under federal law. It also makes conforming changes to Southern Nevada Water Authority provisions and sets sunset dates for the retirement program and account.
The bill appears to have had very strong support. It passed both chambers unanimously, 42-0 in the Assembly and 21-0 in the Senate. With no committee transcript excerpts provided, there is no evidence in the record supplied here of significant public or legislative opposition, and the vote totals indicate broad agreement with the bill’s water-management and conservation objectives.
The most likely areas of contention are policy rather than procedural: permanently retiring groundwater rights, using public funds to buy out water rights, and expanding state intervention in areas where domestic wells may be limited or required to connect to public water systems. Water-right holders, agricultural interests, domestic well owners, and local water providers could be affected differently by these changes. Another possible point of debate is the bill’s use of median household income for grant cost-share calculations and the new authority for water-quality standard variances, though no specific opposition is documented in the materials provided.