1. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 534.280, 534.310 and 534.330 and in addition to any other penalty provided by law, the State Engineer may, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, require a person who violates any provision of this chapter or any permit, order or decision issued or regulation adopted by the State Engineer pursuant to this chapter or NRS 532.120 to:

(a) Pay an administrative fine not to exceed $10,000 per day for each violation as determined by the State Engineer.

(b) In the case of an unlawful waste of water in violation of NRS 534.070 or any other violation of this chapter that, as determined by the State Engineer, results in an unlawful use, waste or diversion of water, replace not more than 200 percent of the water used, wasted or diverted.

2. In determining violations of this chapter relating to the unauthorized use of water yielded from a well that is used pursuant to a permit issued by the State Engineer and that has 16 or fewer connections, the State Engineer has the burden of proving which user is withdrawing water in excess of the portion of water allotted to the connection of that user. The State Engineer may require any or all users of the well to install and maintain, at their own expense, a meter that measures the amount of water withdrawn from the well by each connection.

3. If an administrative fine is imposed against a person pursuant to subsection 1 or the person is ordered to replace any water pursuant to that subsection, the State Engineer may require the person to pay the costs of the proceeding, including investigative costs and attorney’s fees.

4. An order imposing an administrative fine or requiring the replacement of water or payment of costs or fees pursuant to this section may be reviewed by a district court pursuant to NRS 533.450.

(Added to NRS by 2007, 2020)