1. 1. The appropriation procedures of chapters 533 and 534 of NRS do not apply to the reasonable loss of water of not more than 5 acre-feet during the testing and sampling of water pumped within a dissolved mineral resource exploration project.
2. 2. Any water pumped in excess of 5 acre-feet within a dissolved mineral resource exploration project is subject to the appropriation procedures of chapters 533 and 534 of NRS. An operator of a dissolved mineral resource exploration project must ensure that the project is in compliance with the appropriation requirements of chapters 533 and 534 of NRS before the project exceeds the threshold of 5-acre-feet.

3. 3. As used in this section, “dissolved mineral resource exploration project” means a project, which may consist of one or more dissolved mineral resource exploration wells or boreholes or both, that is conducted on:

   1. (a) Private land owned or controlled by a natural person or an exploration or mining company; or
   2. (b) A mining claim on public land that is identified in an approved notice or plan required pursuant to 43 C.F.R §§ 3809.300 to 3809.336, inclusive, or 3809.400 to 3809.434, inclusive.

(Added to NRS by 2017, 3413)