1.  Upon receipt of an application for a permit to operate a project, the State Engineer shall endorse on the application the date it was received and keep a record of the application. The State Engineer shall conduct an initial review of the application within 45 days after receipt of the application. If the State Engineer determines in the initial review that the application is incomplete, the State Engineer shall notify the applicant. The application is incomplete until the applicant files all the information requested in the application. The State Engineer shall determine whether the application is correct within 180 days after receipt of a complete application. The State Engineer may request additional information from the applicant. The State Engineer may conduct such independent investigations as are necessary to determine whether the application should be approved or rejected.

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2.  If the application is determined to be complete and correct, the State Engineer, within 30 days after such a determination or a longer period if requested by the applicant, shall cause notice of the application to be given once each week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or counties in which persons reside who could reasonably be expected to be affected by the project. The notice must state:

(a) The legal description of the location of the proposed project;

(b) A brief description of the proposed project including its capacity;

(c) That any person who may be adversely affected by the project may file a written protest with the State Engineer within 30 days after the last publication of the notice;

(d) The date of the last publication;

(e) That the grounds for protesting the project are limited to whether the project would be in compliance with subsection 2 of NRS 534.250;

(f) The name of the applicant; and

(g) That a protest must:

(1) State the name and mailing address of the protester;

(2) Clearly set forth the reason why the permit should not be issued; and

(3) Be signed by the protester or the protester’s agent or attorney or, if the protester is a government, governmental agency or political subdivision of a government, be approved and signed in the manner specified in paragraph (g) of subsection 3.

3.  A protest to a proposed project:

(a) May be made by any person who may be adversely affected by the project;

(b) Must be in writing;

(c) Must be filed with the State Engineer within 30 days after the last publication of the notice;

(d) Must be upon a ground listed in subsection 2 of NRS 534.250;

(e) Must state the name and mailing address of the protester;

(f) Must clearly set forth the reason why the permit should not be issued; and

(g) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, must be signed by the protester or the protester’s agent or attorney. If the protester is a government, governmental agency or political subdivision of a government, the protest must be:

(1) Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (2), approved and signed by the director, administrator, chief, head or other person in charge of the government, governmental agency or political subdivision; or

(2) If the governmental agency or political subdivision is a division or other part of a department, approved and signed by the director or other person in charge of that department in this State, including, without limitation:

(I) The Regional Forester for the Intermountain Region, if the protest is filed by the United States Forest Service;

(II) The State Director of the Nevada State Office of the Bureau of Land Management, if the protest is filed by the Bureau of Land Management;

(III) The Regional Director of the Pacific Southwest Region, if the protest is filed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service;

(IV) The Regional Director of the Pacific West Region, if the protest is filed by the National Park Service;

(V) The Director of the State Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, if the protest is filed by any division of that Department; or

(VI) The chair of the board of county commissioners, if the protest is filed by a county.

4.  Upon receipt of a protest, the State Engineer shall advise the applicant by certified mail that a protest has been filed.

5.  Upon receipt of a protest, or upon the motion of the State Engineer, the State Engineer may hold a hearing. Not less than 30 days before the hearing, the State Engineer shall send by certified mail notice of the hearing to the applicant and any person who filed a protest.

6.  The State Engineer shall either approve or deny each application within 1 year after the final date for filing a protest, unless the State Engineer has received a written request from the applicant to postpone making a decision or, in the case of a protested application, from both the protester and the applicant. The State Engineer may delay action on the application pursuant to paragraph (d) of subsection 4 of NRS 533.370.

7.  Any person aggrieved by any decision of the State Engineer made pursuant to subsection 6 may appeal that decision to the district court pursuant to NRS 533.450.