1. Any:

(a) Person who develops or maintains an artificial or artificially created body of water, other than a body of water maintained for agricultural or recreational purposes, containing chemicals or substances in quantities which, with the normal use of the body of water, causes or will cause the death of any wildlife; or

(b) Operator of a mining operation which develops or maintains an artificial body of water containing chemicals directly associated with the processing of ore,

must first obtain a permit from the Department authorizing the development or maintenance of the body of water.

2. Within 30 working days after receiving an application for a permit, the Department shall issue the permit or deny the application and list the reasons for denial. An applicant may appeal the denial of a permit to the Commission. A permit may be valid for up to 5 years. The applicant must pay a fee for a permit of not more than $125 per year, except that the fee for a permit issued for a period of less than 6 months is $68.

3. Upon the transfer of ownership of any artificial or artificially created body of water as to which a permit issued pursuant to this section is in force at the time of the transfer, the permit remains in effect for 30 days after the transfer of ownership.

4. A person holding a permit issued pursuant to this section shall, in addition to the fee for the permit, pay to the Department an assessment. The amount of the assessment must be determined pursuant to regulations adopted by the Commission. The assessment must be no more than $10,000 per year for each permit.

5. Any person who fails to obtain a permit or pay an assessment as required by this section and the regulations adopted pursuant thereto or who fails to comply with the provisions of a permit is guilty of a misdemeanor for the first offense and a gross misdemeanor for any subsequent offense.

6. As used in this section:

(a) “Mining operation” means any activity conducted in this State by a person on or beneath the surface of land for the purpose of, or in connection with, the development or extraction of any mineral.

(b) “Operator” means any person who owns, controls or manages a mining operation.

(Added to NRS by 1989, 1269; A 1991, 2286; 1993, 1326, 1670; 1995, 579; 2003, 1545, 2550)