Nevada Noxious Weed Control Duty

NRS 555.150 states the duty directly: every railroad, canal, ditch or water company, and every person owning, controlling or occupying lands in Nevada, plus every county, incorporated city, or district responsible for streets, alleys, lanes, or rights-of-way, must control all weeds the State Quarantine Officer has declared noxious under NRS 555.130, in whatever manner and whenever the Officer requires. "Noxious weed" is defined in NRS 555.005 as any plant species that is or is likely to become a public nuisance and is difficult to control; the State Quarantine Officer sets the specific list by regulation, and any temporary designation expires 18 months after it is made.

The State Quarantine Officer investigates infestations under NRS 555.160 and may serve written notice on the owner or occupant, personally, by certified mail, or by electronic mail, specifying the time and manner for control; one notice is deemed sufficient for the entire season of weed growth that year. If the owner fails, neglects, or refuses to comply, NRS 555.170 lets the Officer notify the board of county commissioners, which must then control the weeds itself, paying out of county funds, and prepare an itemized cost statement in triplicate within 10 days of finishing the work.

Under NRS 555.180, the county treasurer mails that statement to the owner, who has 30 days to object and get a hearing before the county commissioners. Unpaid costs are entered on the tax roll and become a lien on the land, collected the same way as other liens. Incorporated cities must reimburse the county out of their general fund for weed control performed on city-owned streets and alleys under NRS 555.190, and weeds found on federal land trigger a reimbursement claim against the Federal Government under NRS 555.200.

Penalties are set out in NRS 555.201: anyone who violates NRS 555.130 to 555.200, or who ignores conditions the State Quarantine Officer prescribes, faces a civil penalty of up to $250 for a first violation, $500 for a second, and $1,000 for each violation after that. Weed-control money, including penalties collected, flows through the Account for the Control of Weeds established in NRS 555.035.

A first violation of NRS 555.130 to 555.200, or of any condition the State Quarantine Officer sets, draws a civil penalty up to $250, a second violation up to $500, and each further violation up to $1,000 under NRS 555.201. Separately, if an owner ignores a control notice, the county may perform the work itself and bill the owner; unpaid costs are entered on the tax roll and become a lien on the land, collected like any other property-tax lien under NRS 555.180.