USA Statutes : nevada
Title : Title 26 - PUBLIC LANDS
Chapter : CHAPTER 324 - LANDS UNDER CAREY ACT
As used in this chapter:
1. “Carey Act” means the provisions of 43 U.S.C. §§ 641 et seq.,
and all acts amendatory thereof or supplemental thereto.
2. “Division” means the Division of State Lands of the State
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
[Part 1:76:1911; RL § 3064; NCL § 5475] + [Part 2:76:1911; A 1915,
335; 1919 RL § 3065; NCL § 5476] + [Part 28:76:1911; RL § 3091; NCL §
5502]—(NRS A 1977, 373, 1192; 1979, 228)
The
State of Nevada accepts the terms and conditions of the Carey Act, and
all acts amendatory thereof or supplemental thereto which may be passed
by the Congress of the United States, together with all the grants of
land made to the State by the Federal Government under the provisions of
that act.
[Part 1:76:1911; RL § 3064; NCL § 5475]—(NRS A 1979, 228)
The selection, management and disposal of such land is
vested in the Division.
[Part 2:76:1911; A 1915, 335; 1919 RL § 3065; NCL § 5476] + [Part
28:76:1911; RL § 3091; NCL § 5502]—(NRS A 1957, 649; 1959, 91; 1969,
1428; 1975, 108; 1977, 373, 1192)
1. The Administrator of the Division is designated as the State
Registrar of Lands Under the Carey Act.
2. The State Registrar of Lands Under the Carey Act:
(a) Is the custodian of all papers, documents, maps and plats
relating to Carey Act lands.
(b) Shall receive and give a receipt for all fees and payments
required to be paid pursuant to the provisions of this chapter or any
regulation of the Division.
(c) Shall deposit all fees and payments received by him with the
State Treasurer to the credit of the Carey Act Account.
(d) Shall conduct all correspondence relating to Carey Act lands.
3. The State Registrar of Lands Under the Carey Act is designated
as the authorized agent of the State to dispose of lands under the Carey
Act.
4. For services performed pursuant to the provisions of this
chapter the Administrator of the Division is not entitled to receive
additional compensation.
[Part 2:76:1911; A 1915, 335; 1919 RL § 3065; NCL § 5476] + [Part
25:76:1911; A 1915, 333; 1919 RL § 3088; NCL § 5499]—(NRS A 1957, 649;
1975, 108; 1977, 1192; 1979, 228, 664; 1991, 1764)
1. Before September 1 of each even-numbered year, for the biennium
ending June 30 of such year, the State Registrar of Lands Under the Carey
Act shall prepare a detailed report of the transactions concerning Carey
Act lands and file one copy of the report with the Secretary of State.
2. All pending proceedings before the Division and the State
Engineer, except applications for permits for water rights, must not be
made public or be open to public inspection until the application for
segregation is filed in the Bureau of Land Management.
[29:76:1911; RL § 3092; NCL § 5503]—(NRS A 1969, 1456; 1975, 108;
1977, 1193; 1979, 228)
1. The Division may establish and require the observance of such
regulations as the Division may deem necessary, proper or expedient, not
in conflict with law or the regulations of the Department of the
Interior, for the administration of the provisions of this chapter.
2. Such regulations shall be published from time to time in
pamphlet form for free distribution.
[24:76:1911; RL § 3087; NCL § 5498]—(NRS A 1977, 1193)
The Division shall determine
the time, manner and conditions under which lands and water rights of any
segregation, or any part thereof, are thrown open for entry by or sale to
intending settlers.
[16:76:1911; RL § 3079; NCL § 5490]—(NRS A 1977, 1193)
1. The Division may fix the price at which the State disposes of
lands in each segregation to settlers at the time of their entry, which
must not be less than $10 per acre nor more than the fair market value,
including costs incidental to the application.
2. The proceeds must be deposited with the Treasurer for credit to
the Carey Act Account, which is hereby created in the State General Fund.
[13:76:1911; RL § 3076; NCL § 5487]—(NRS A 1977, 374, 1193; 1979,
229, 664; 1991, 1764)
A nonrefundable fee of $100 must be collected
by the Division pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and deposited
with the State Treasurer for credit to the Carey Act Account. The fee
covers one copy each of all original documents from the time of
application to the time of issuance of patent, including the application
for segregation. Other fees may be charged as are established by
regulations of the Division.
[26:76:1911; RL § 3089; NCL § 5500]—NRS A 1977, 374, 1193; 1979,
229, 664; 1991, 1764)
1. The proceeds derived by the State from fees and the sale of
Carey Act lands must be deposited in the Carey Act Account. The money is
subject to control and disposition by the Division and may be used by the
Division for the following purposes only:
(a) For the payment of all necessary expenses incurred by the State
Registrar of Lands Under the Carey Act for administering Carey Act lands.
(b) For the reclamation, under the control and direction of the
Division, of desert lands in the State, other than those included in any
segregation by any applicant except the State.
(c) For advertisement and publicity of the desert lands of the
State to advance their settlement and reclamation.
2. Until the Carey Act Account has received deposits from fees and
sales of land under the provisions of this chapter sufficient to meet the
necessary disbursements arising pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection
1, the State Controller and the State Treasurer are authorized and
directed to transfer from the State General Fund to the Carey Act Account
from time to time, sufficient money to meet those disbursements, not
exceeding $10,000, and that sum is hereby appropriated for that purpose.
As soon as deposits to the Carey Act Account, derived from fees and sales
of lands, are sufficient to provide an adequate operating balance in the
Carey Act Account, all sums so transferred must be restored to the State
General Fund.
3. All disbursements from the Carey Act Account must be on claims
of the State Registrar of Lands Under the Carey Act and approved by the
State Board of Examiners.
[30:76:1911; RL § 3093; NCL § 5504]—(NRS A 1975, 108; 1977, 374,
1193; 1979, 229, 664; 1991, 1764)
1. The State Engineer must be compensated for his services by such
fees and expense allowances as are authorized by law to be assessed
against an applicant for a water right. The expense of the inspection,
supervision and report of the State Engineer upon the proposed irrigation
works of an applicant and all other services of the State Engineer, if it
is not covered by law, must be assessed against the applicant, and is
required in advance. The State Engineer shall submit a statement to the
Division.
2. Except in special cases and for unusual services, the work of
the State Engineer in connection with the Carey Act must be done under
the fee and compensation system of his office.
[27:76:1911; RL § 3090; NCL § 5501]—(NRS A 1977, 1194; 1979, 230)
1. Any natural person, association, company or corporation
desiring to construct impounding dams, canals, ditches or other
irrigation works, pumping plants, or artesian wells to reclaim lands
under the provisions of this chapter, may file with the Division an
application for any land which is listed by the Division as being
available for reclamation through the Division.
2. Any person who is a citizen of the United States or a lawful
permanent resident of the United States and who is more than 18 years of
age, may file an application with the Division for that land in an amount
not exceeding 160 acres.
3. An application must:
(a) Be prepared and submitted in accordance with such regulations
as the Division may adopt, which must conform with applicable regulations
of the Department of the Interior.
(b) Be accompanied by proof that an active application for a permit
to appropriate water is on file in the Office of the State Engineer.
(c) Be accompanied by the fee prescribed by this chapter.
(d) State that the applicant desires the land for actually
reclaiming, cultivating and settling it in accordance with the Carey Act
and the laws and regulations of this state.
(e) State that the applicant, if granted the amount of land
requested in the application, will not have received a total amount of
land through the provisions of this chapter exceeding 160 acres.
[3:76:1911; RL § 3066; NCL § 5477] + [4:76:1911; RL § 3067; NCL §
5478]—(NRS A 1977, 375, 1194; 1979, 230)
1. All applications for Carey Act lands which are prepared and
submitted in accordance with the regulations of the Division and of the
Department of the Interior must be referred to the State Engineer. The
State Engineer shall submit a written report which includes information
regarding the water supply, the status of the water right, and other data
necessary to enable the State Registrar of Lands Under the Carey Act to
make the proper application and certification required by the Bureau of
Land Management in such cases.
2. No application on which the State Engineer has reported
adversely may be approved by the Division. If the State Engineer reports
favorably on an application, the Division shall, at its earliest
convenience, consider the application. If the Division approves the
application, or if the applicant accepts and the Division approves a
modified application, the State Registrar of Lands Under the Carey Act
shall file in the proper office of the Bureau of Land Management a
request for the segregation of the lands described.
[5:76:1911; RL § 3068; NCL § 5479]—(NRS A 1975, 109; 1977, 1195;
1979, 231)
1. Immediately after an application has been approved by the
Division, and before the filing of the request for the segregation of
land with the Bureau of Land Management, the applicant shall deposit with
the Division a sum which, according to the estimate of the Division, will
cover the entire cost of the surveys, determinations, maps and plats
required by the Secretary of the Interior before it approves a
segregation and allotment of those lands to the State.
2. The deposit is a guarantee that the surveys, determinations,
maps and plats are made properly and in good faith by the applicant, and
will be completed and filed with the Division for its examination within
90 days after the Division receives the deposit. As work on the surveys,
determinations, maps and plats progresses, the Division shall, upon
request, reimburse the applicant from the deposit amounts which equal the
aggregate cost of the work done. An applicant desiring to relinquish and
abandon the project before completion of the surveys and determinations
may serve written notice to that effect upon the Division, accompanied
with a relinquishment to the State of his application for a water right,
and the Division shall refund him the unexpended balance of his deposit.
[6:76:1911; RL § 3069; NCL § 5480]—(NRS A 1977, 1195; 1979, 231)
1. Upon approval by the Secretary of the Interior of the
application for a segregation, the Division must enter into a contract
with the applicant for the segregation. The contract must contain:
(a) Such complete specifications with respect to the system of
irrigation works proposed to reclaim the lands of the segregation as the
Division prescribes by regulation.
(b) The price, conditions and terms per acre at which the
irrigation works and perpetual water rights will be sold to settlers.
(c) The price, terms and conditions on which the State is to
dispose of the lands to settlers.
(d) Such additional requirements and stipulations as are necessary
to protect the good reputation of the State and the rights of all parties
in interest from the date of the contract to the complete consummation of
the enterprise.
2. The contract must not be entered into until the contractor has
filed a satisfactory bond in a penal sum equal to 5 percent of the
estimated cost of the works which is conditioned upon the faithful
performance of the contract with this state.
3. If, within 3 months after notice by the Division to the
applicant, by registered or certified letter addressed to his last known
address, that the segregation has been approved by the Secretary of the
Interior, the applicant or his agent fails to appear and execute a
contract with the State and supply the bond as required, the applicant
defaults his interest in the land to the State, unless the Division
grants an extension of time which may not exceed 30 days. The Division
may advertise the interest of the applicant for sale and sell it to the
highest bidder under such regulations as the Division prescribes, and
sell the interest and enter into a contract covering the segregation with
the purchaser. In such a case the State Engineer shall transfer the
application for the water right to the purchaser. The proceeds of the
sale must be used to reimburse the Division for the costs of the
advertisement and sale. The surplus, if any, must be deposited in the
Carey Act Account.
[8:76:1911; RL § 3071; NCL § 5482]—(NRS A 1969, 95; 1977, 1196;
1979, 232, 665; 1991, 1765)
1. All contracts shall state:
(a) That the works covered by the contract shall begin within 6
months from the date of the contract;
(b) That the construction shall be prosecuted diligently and
continuously to completion; and
(c) That the cessation of work under the contract for a period of 6
months shall forfeit to the State all rights under the contract and the
penal sum named in the bond.
2. No property or right which was vested in the applicant or
contractor at the date of the contract shall be forfeited.
3. In cases of contractors who, at the date of the application,
own or have vested rights in water, and in a reservoir site, canals or
other irrigation works, the forfeitures shall extend only to such
portions of the system unconstructed at the time of default and to the
penalty of the bond given by such contractor.
[9:76:1911; A 1919, 232; 1919 RL § 3072; NCL § 5483]
Any contract entered into
pursuant to the provisions of this chapter may subsequently be modified
if in the opinion of the Division the modification conserves and protects
the public welfare and the rights of settlers. If the modification
relates to changes in the irrigation works or to an extension of time for
its completion, the consent of the State Engineer is a condition
precedent to any modification by the Division.
[10:76:1911; RL § 3073; NCL § 5484]—(NRS A 1977, 1197; 1979, 232)
1. A person, association, company or corporation contracting with
the State under the provisions of this chapter, or their assigns, shall
not require any advance payment of any settler or prospective settler
prior to the time when water for the irrigation of his entry or allotment
is actually available, unless a satisfactory bond in such sum as the
Division requires is deposited with the Division, conditioned on the
return to the settler, with interest at 6 percent per annum, of all
payments so made, if water for the irrigation of his entry or allotment
is not available at the time stipulated in the agreement with the settler.
2. In lieu of a bond as provided in subsection 1, the Division may
authorize advance sales to be made by or through the agency of a bank or
trust company furnishing satisfactory assurances and guarantees that if
the project is not consummated to deliver water for the irrigation of
such settler’s entry or allotment within the time specified, such
payments with interest shall be returned to the settler.
[14:76:1911; RL § 3077; NCL § 5488]—(NRS A 1977, 1198)
1. Upon the failure of any party having a contract with the State
for the construction of irrigation works to begin the works within the
time specified by the contract, or to complete the works within the time
or in accordance with the specifications of the contract to the
satisfaction of the State Engineer, the Division shall give the party
written notice of the failure. If after a period of 60 days after the
sending of the notice, the party fails to proceed with the work or to
conform to the specifications of the contract, the bond and contract of
the party and all works constructed under it are forfeited to the State.
The Division shall at once so declare and give notice once a week for a
period of 4 weeks in some newspaper of general circulation in the county
or counties in which the work is situated, and in one newspaper at the
State Capital in like manner and for a like period, of:
(a) The forfeiture of the contract; and
(b) That upon a fixed day proposals will be received at the office
of the Division for the purchase of the uncompleted works and for the
completion of the contract.
2. The Division shall give notice in its advertisement for
proposals for the purchase of the uncompleted works that the successful
bidder is required, before the transfer of ownership, to furnish a
satisfactory bond in a prescribed sum conditioned for the faithful
fulfillment of the uncompleted provisions of the contract.
3. The time of receiving bids must be at least 60 days after the
issuing of the last notice of forfeiture.
4. The money received by the Division from the sale of partially
completed works under the provisions of this section must first be
applied to the expenses incurred by the State in their forfeiture and
disposal and to satisfy the bond. The surplus, if any exists, must be
deposited in the Carey Act Account.
[15:76:1911; RL § 3078; NCL § 5489]—(NRS A 1975, 110; 1977, 1198;
1979, 233; 1991, 1765)
1. Before entering upon any land pursuant to the provisions of
this chapter, the applicant shall file with the Division:
(a) A certified copy of a water permit or a contract for a
perpetual water right into which the applicant has entered with whomever
is authorized by the Division to furnish water for the reclamation of the
land.
(b) Any payments required by regulation.
(c) A written statement from the board of county commissioners of
each county in which the land for which application is made is located
which certifies the land is zoned for the intended use of the applicant
or will be so zoned by the time the applicant intends to put it to such
use.
2. The Division shall file all papers submitted by the applicant
and, if allowed, shall issue a certificate of location to the applicant.
All certificates, when issued, must be recorded in a book kept for that
purpose.
3. The balance unpaid on the price fixed by the Division for the
land allowed an applicant is payable in such installments and at such
times as the Division prescribes, but before a patent is issued the full
price of the land must be paid by the settler.
[17:76:1911; RL § 3080; NCL § 5491]—(NRS A 1971, 217; 1977, 376,
1199; 1979, 233)
1. Within 1 year after a water right is available for the
irrigation of the land described in a certificate of location, the
settler shall cultivate and reclaim not less than one-sixteenth part of
the land filed on, and within 2 years thereafter, shall have actually
irrigated and cultivated not less than one-eighth. Within 3 years
thereafter, the settler shall appear before the State Registrar of Lands
Under the Carey Act to make a final proof of reclamation, settlement and
occupation, in such form and according to such requirements as may be
prescribed by the Division or the Department of the Interior.
2. The State Registrar of Lands Under the Carey Act or his
designee may administer oaths required under this chapter.
3. All proofs so received must be accompanied with the final
payment for the land, and upon approval by the Division the settler is
entitled to a patent.
[18:76:1911; RL § 3081; NCL § 5492]—(NRS A 1975, 111; 1977, 376,
1199; 1979, 234)
1. Upon the issuance of a patent to any lands by the United
States, notice shall be forwarded to the settler upon such land. All
patents issued by the State to the settler shall be:
(a) Signed by the Governor.
(b) Attested by the State Registrar of Lands Under the Carey Act.
(c) Under such seal as the Division may adopt for such purpose.
(d) Recorded in the Office of the State Registrar of Lands Under
the Carey Act in a book kept for that purpose.
2. A patent shall not issue on an assignment of a certificate of
location, or by reason of a process of foreclosure, unless the assignee
or purchaser under foreclosure possesses all the qualifications of an
original applicant.
[19:76:1911; RL § 3082; NCL § 5493]—(NRS A 1975, 111; 1977, 1200)
1. The water rights to all lands acquired under the provisions of
this chapter shall attach to and become appurtenant to the land as soon
as the title passes from the United States to the State. Any person or
persons, association, company or corporation furnishing water for any
tract of land shall have a first and prior lien on the water right and
land upon which the water is used, for all deferred payments for the
water right. The lien shall be in all respects prior to any other and all
other liens created or attempted to be created by the owner and possessor
of the land, and the lien shall remain in full force and effect until the
last deferred payment for the water right is fully paid and satisfied
according to the terms of the contract under which the water right is
acquired.
2. The contract for the water right upon which the lien is founded
shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county
where the land is situated.
[20:76:1911; RL § 3083; NCL § 5494]
This
chapter does not authorize the Division to obligate the State to pay for
any work constructed under any contract or to hold the State in any way
responsible to settlers for the failure of contractors to complete the
work according to the terms of their contracts with the State.
[11:76:1911; RL § 3074; NCL § 5485]—(NRS A 1977, 1200)
