1. The board of county commissioners of a county may by ordinance establish, use and operate a wetlands mitigation bank in accordance with the guidelines set forth in Federal Guidance for the Establishment, Use and Operation of Mitigation Banks, as issued by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, National Resources Conservation Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service in 60 Federal Register 58,605 on November 28, 1995.

2. A board of county commissioners that establishes a mitigation bank pursuant to subsection 1 may enter into a cooperative agreement with a public agency or nonprofit organization for the operation of the mitigation bank.

3. As used in this section:

(a) “Hydric soil” means soil that, in its undrained condition, is saturated, flooded or ponded long enough during a growing season to develop an anaerobic condition that supports the growth and regeneration of hydrophytic vegetation.

(b) “Hydrophytic vegetation” means a plant growing in:

(1) Water; or

(2) A substrate that is at least periodically deficient in oxygen during a growing season as a result of excessive water content.

(c) “Mitigation bank” means a system in which the creation, enhancement, restoration or preservation of wetlands is recognized by a regulatory agency as generating compensatory credits allowing the future development of other wetland sites.

(d) “Public agency” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 277.100.

(e) “Wetland” means land that:

(1) Has a predominance of hydric soil;

(2) Is inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support a prevalence of hydrophytic vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions; and

(3) Under normal circumstances does support a prevalence of hydrophytic vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions.

(Added to NRS by 1999, 159)