NRS331.160. Creation; purposes; supervision and administration; employees; request for issuance of bonds to finance improvement and modernization; legislative declaration.

      1.  The Marlette Lake Water System, composed of the water rights, easements, pipelines, flumes and other fixtures and appurtenances used in connection with the collection, transmission and storage of water in Carson City and Washoe and Storey Counties, Nevada, acquired by the State of Nevada pursuant to law, is hereby created.

      2.  The purposes of the Marlette Lake Water System are:

      (a) To provide adequate supplies of water to the areas served.

      (b) To maintain distribution lines, flumes, dams, culverts, bridges and all other appurtenances of the system in a condition calculated to assure dependable supplies of water.

      (c) To sell water under equitable and fiscally sound contractual arrangements. Any such contractual arrangements must not include the value of the land comprising the watershed as an element in determining the cost of water sold.

      3.  The Department of Administration is designated as the state agency to supervise and administer the functions of the Marlette Lake Water System.

      4.  The Director of the Department of Administration may assign the supervision and administration of the functions of the Marlette Lake Water System to one of the divisions of the Department, a city or a county, or may establish a separate division to carry out the purposes of this section and NRS 331.170 and 331.180. Subject to the limit of money provided by legislative appropriation or revenues whose expenditure is authorized by law, the administrator of that division, or the city or county, as applicable, shall employ necessary staff to carry out the provisions of this section and NRS 331.170 and 331.180.

      5.  The Director of the Department of Administration shall:

      (a) Establish the value of water to be distributed from the Marlette Lake Water System.

      (b) Include in the water rate structure provisions for recovery, over a reasonable period, of the major capital costs of improving and modernizing the System.

      (c) Assure that the rate structure is equitable for all present and potential customers.

      6.  The Director of the Department of Administration may request the State Board of Finance to issue general obligation bonds of the State or revenue bonds in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $25,000,000 to finance the capital costs of improving and modernizing the Marlette Lake Water System. Before any revenue bonds are issued pursuant to this subsection, the State Board of Finance must determine that sufficient revenue will be available in the Marlette Lake Water System Fund to pay the interest and installments of principal as they become due. The provisions of NRS 349.150 to 349.364, inclusive, apply to the issuance of state securities pursuant to this subsection.

      7.  The Legislature finds and declares that the issuance of state securities and the incurrence of indebtedness pursuant to subsection 6 is necessary for the protection and preservation of the natural resources of this State and for the purpose of obtaining the benefits thereof, and constitutes an exercise of the authority conferred by the second paragraph of Section 3 of Article 9 of the Constitution of the State of Nevada.

      (Added to NRS by 1963, 1312; A 1967, 1494; 1969, 331, 871; 1971, 1430; 1973, 1379, 1463; 1979, 12; 1993, 1562; 2005, 107; 2011, 2958)