Revises provisions relating to dams. (BDR 48-261)
AB 26 revises Nevada law governing dams, diversion works, and related water-control structures. The bill shifts the State Engineer’s dam oversight framework from a permit-based system to an approval-based system for construction, reconstruction, and alteration of dams, while preserving requirements for notice, plan review, inspection, and criminal penalties for unauthorized work. It also extends the State Engineer’s authority to cover reconstruction and alteration explicitly, and requires plans and applications for certain dam actions to be made available to the Department of Wildlife.
The bill also makes several operational and enforcement changes. It clarifies that federal works under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are exempt from certain state dam requirements, expands the State Engineer’s access to adjacent land needed to reach a dam or obstruction, and modifies procedures for removing unlawful dams, diversion works, obstructions, and beaver-related obstructions. In addition, it grants the State Engineer and assistants immunity from liability for damages caused by certain dam or reservoir failures arising from inspections, emergency responses, or enforcement actions.
AB 26 amends multiple provisions in Chapter 535 of NRS and related enforcement statutes. It replaces references to permits with approvals in the dam construction and alteration process, updates administrative fine and injunction provisions to apply to approvals, and changes notice procedures for removal orders and beaver-removal actions from formal service to written notice. The bill also broadens state access authority for dam inspections and enforcement, while maintaining the State Engineer’s authority to inspect, order removal, and recover costs for unlawful structures. Affected parties include dam owners, water users, landowners adjacent to dams, the Department of Wildlife, and federal reclamation/engineering projects.
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial in the Legislature. It passed the Assembly 42-0 and the Senate 21-0, indicating unanimous approval in both houses. The lack of recorded committee transcript discussion suggests the measure was treated as a technical or administrative update to water-law enforcement rather than a highly debated policy change.
The main points of potential contention are procedural and liability-related rather than ideological. The bill expands the State Engineer’s authority by allowing entry onto adjacent parcels, changing notice requirements, and granting immunity for certain damages tied to inspections or emergency actions, which could concern dam owners and nearby landowners. The shift from a permit requirement to an approval requirement, and the extension of state enforcement tools to approvals, may also be viewed as strengthening regulatory oversight. On the other hand, the bill preserves existing safety and enforcement powers and clarifies exemptions for federal projects, suggesting the changes were intended to streamline administration rather than materially weaken protections.