On July 27, 2006, the Southern Nevada District Board of Health (BOH) unanimously approved the adoption of the Adjunct Section Governing Self-Contained Recreational Vehicle Dry Camping Facilities to the Regulations Governing the Sanitation and Safety of Public Accommodation Facilities. PDF 56KB

The regulations have also been approved by the State Board of Health.

The updated regulations allow existing health-permitted facilities that provide lodging to the public to continue to provide dry camping accommodations to SCRVs legally, without having to meet the requirements of the State of Nevada RV/Campground regulations.

These requirements apply only to facilities currently regulated by the health district under the Regulations Governing the Sanitation and Safety of Public Accommodation Facilities. A public accommodation facility is defined as a:

“… hotel/casino, resort, hotel, motel, hostel, bed and breakfast facility, or other facility offering rooms or areas to the public for monetary compensation or other financial consideration on an hourly, daily, or weekly basis.”

Prior to this addition to the health district public accommodation facility regulations, the only existing regulations pertaining to recreational vehicles were written to meet the needs of older model recreational vehicles and facilities designed for long-term stays. These old regulations were not suited to allow for dry camping, overnight stays, or short-term stays by more modern self-contained recreational vehicles without imposing unnecessary regulatory requirements on facilities not otherwise designated for long-term RV stays or camping.

Services provided under the new regulations include:

• Back-up toilets and lavatories, water supply stations, sewage disposal facilities and solid waste disposal containers.Back-up bathroom facilities can include facilities inside the hotel property. Additionally, some properties may choose not to provide sewage disposal facilities or water stations on-site, but will have a written agreement with another health-permitted public accommodation facility or full-service campground/RV park to provide those services to guests, as needed.
• A check-in process for registering guests who plan on staying longer than overnight or for a rest stop or visit. This process is instituted for the safety of the guests. It will be the responsibility of the property to implement a process for registering guests and can be accomplished in a manner that limits the impact on guests accessing the dry camping areas of a licensed public accommodation facility.
• Information regarding the nature and scope of services offered by the facility. Information may be provided by properly posting signage, through brochures and pamphlets made available to guests, or by any other means determined to be effective by the facility and health authority. Information should include directions to appropriate parking areas and the location of potable water supplies, sewage disposal stations (on or off property) and solid waste containers.

Compliance with the requirements of these regulations is the responsibility of any public accommodation facility which chooses to offer dry camping services to its guests.

These requirements are designed to improve the services offered to dry campers, rather than place additional responsibilities on the guests. Overnight and short-term stays are specifically allowed under the new regulations.

Additionally, these regulations do not apply to other businesses or facilities that fall outside of the purview of the public accommodation regulations.

Background Information

On January 6, 2006, a cease and desist order was issued to hotel/casino properties in Laughlin requiring that they no longer operate unpermitted recreational vehicle (RV) parks and campgrounds. The facilities complied with that order.

Meetings were held with property representatives and agencies of jurisdiction where public health concerns, statutes, regulations and ordinances pertaining to RV parks, dry camping and campgrounds were discussed. A 120-day moratorium on the dry camping cease and desist order in Laughlin was presented to the BOH and approved on March 23, 2006. The moratorium was to allow health district staff time to draft new regulations to specifically address dry camping for self-contained recreational vehicles and to proceed with peer and industry review process.

During the moratorium, the affected facilities agreed to:

• Monitor their properties for leaks and spills of sewage and improper disposal of solid waste from SCRVs.
• Report health related issues to the health district’s environmental health division.
• Assure that guests have access to necessary services such as potable water, dump stations and solid waste collection facilities.

The adoption of this adjunct section to regulations governing public accommodation facilities will allow the BOH to ensure environmental, health, and safety control of dry camping facilities consistent with protecting public health and the residents and visitors of Clark County and its municipalities.

Prior to the BOH approval on July 27, 2006, there were several workshops for the public to present its views on the Section Governing Self-Contained Recreational Vehicle Dry Camping Facilities.