1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, failure for 5 successive years after April 15, 1967, on the part of the holder of any right, whether it is an adjudicated right, an unadjudicated right or a right for which a certificate has been issued pursuant to NRS 533.425, and further whether the right is initiated after or before March 25, 1939, to use beneficially all or any part of the underground water for the purpose for which the right is acquired or claimed, works a forfeiture of both undetermined rights and determined rights to the use of that water to the extent of the nonuse.
2. If the records of the State Engineer or any other documents obtained by or provided to the State Engineer indicate 4 or more consecutive years of nonuse of all or any part of a water right which is governed by this chapter:
(a) The State Engineer shall notify the owner of the water right, as determined in the records of the Office of the State Engineer, by registered or certified mail of the nonuse and that the owner has 1 year after the date of the notice of nonuse in which to use the water right beneficially and to provide proof of such use to the State Engineer or apply for relief pursuant to subsection 3 to avoid forfeiting the water right.
(b) If, after 1 year after the date of the notice of nonuse pursuant to paragraph (a), proof of resumption of beneficial use is not filed in the Office of the State Engineer, the State Engineer shall, unless the State Engineer has granted a request to extend the time necessary to work a forfeiture of the water right, send a final notice to the owner of the water right, as determined in the records of the Office of the State Engineer, by registered or certified mail, that the water right is held for forfeiture. If the owner of the water right, within 30 days after the date of such final notice, fails to file the required proof of resumption of beneficial use or an application for an extension of time to prevent forfeiture, the State Engineer shall declare the right, or the portion of the right not returned to beneficial use, forfeited. The State Engineer shall send notice of the declaration of forfeiture, by registered or certified mail, to the owner of record, as determined in the records of the Office of the State Engineer, of the water right that has been declared forfeited.
(c) If, after receipt of a notice of the declaration of forfeiture pursuant to paragraph (b), the owner of record of the water right fails to appeal the ruling in the manner provided for in NRS 533.450, and within the time provided for therein, the forfeiture becomes final. Upon the forfeiture of the water right, the water reverts to the public and is available for further appropriation, subject to existing rights.
3. The State Engineer may, upon the request of the holder of any right described in subsection 1, extend the time necessary to work a forfeiture under subsection 2 if the request is made before the expiration of the time necessary to work a forfeiture. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, the State Engineer may grant, upon request and for good cause shown, any number of extensions, but a single extension must not exceed 1 year. In determining whether to grant or deny a request, the State Engineer shall, among other reasons, consider:
(a) Whether the holder has submitted proof and evidence that the holder is proceeding in good faith and with reasonable diligence to resume use of the water beneficially for the purpose for which the holder’s right is acquired or claimed;
(b) The number of years during which the water has not been put to the beneficial use for which the right is acquired or claimed;
(c) Any economic conditions or natural disasters which made the holder unable to put the water to that use;
(d) Whether the water right is located in a basin within a county under a declaration of drought by the Governor, United States Secretary of Agriculture or the President of the United States;
(e) Whether the holder has demonstrated efforts to conserve water which have resulted in a reduction in water consumption;
(f) Whether the water right is located in a basin that has been designated as a critical management area by the State Engineer pursuant to subsection 7 of NRS 534.110;
(g) The date of priority of the water right as it relates to the potential curtailment of water use in the basin;
(h) The availability of water in the basin, including, without limitation, whether withdrawals of water consistently exceed the perennial yield of the basin; and
(i) Any orders restricting use or appropriation of water in the basin.
The State Engineer shall notify, by registered or certified mail, the owner of the water right, as determined in the records of the Office of the State Engineer, of whether the State Engineer has granted or denied the holder’s request for an extension pursuant to this subsection. If the State Engineer grants an extension pursuant to this subsection and, before the expiration of that extension, proof of resumption of beneficial use or another request for an extension is not filed in the Office of the State Engineer, the State Engineer shall send a final notice to the owner of the water right, by registered or certified mail, that the water right will be declared forfeited if the owner of the water right fails to file the required proof of resumption of beneficial use or an application for an extension of time to prevent forfeiture within 30 days after the date of the final notice. If the owner of the water right fails to file the required proof of resumption of beneficial use or an application for an extension of time to prevent forfeiture within 30 days after the date of such final notice, the State Engineer shall declare the water right, or the portion of the right not returned to beneficial use, forfeited.
4. If the State Engineer grants an extension pursuant to subsection 1 in a basin:
(a) Where withdrawals of groundwater consistently exceed the perennial yield of the basin; or
(b) That has been designated as a critical management area by the State Engineer pursuant to subsection 7 of NRS 534.110,
a single extension must not exceed 3 years, but any number of extensions may be granted to the holder of such a right.
5. The failure to receive a notice pursuant to subsection 2 or 3 does not nullify the forfeiture or extend the time necessary to work the forfeiture of a water right.
6. A right to use underground water whether it is vested or otherwise may be lost by abandonment. If the State Engineer, in investigating a groundwater source, upon which there has been a prior right, for the purpose of acting upon an application to appropriate water from the same source, is of the belief from his or her examination that an abandonment has taken place, the State Engineer shall so state in the ruling approving the application. If, upon notice by registered or certified mail to the owner of record who had the prior right, the owner of record of the prior right fails to appeal the ruling in the manner provided for in NRS 533.450, and within the time provided for therein, the alleged abandonment declaration as set forth by the State Engineer becomes final.
[9a:178:1939; added 1947, 52; 1943 NCL § 7993.18a] — (NRS A 1967, 193, 1053; 1981, 1842; 1983, 1650; 1995, 1016; 2003, 651; 2007, 844; 2011, 504, 1384; 2017, 656, 3505)