41-3-932. Public notice of application or petition; hearing before state engineer and control area advisory board; cost.

(a) Upon the filing of a petition to amend an existing water right or an application to appropriate underground water for any use other than domestic, stockwatering or miscellaneous purposes where the quantity of water to be appropriated is twenty-five (25) gallons of water per minute or less, from an area designated as a control area by the state board of control, the state engineer shall cause to be published, at applicant's expense, in a newspaper of general circulation in the county wherein the proposed well or requested change will be located, for at least once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks, a notice of the filing of the application or requested changes and that objections to the granting thereof may be filed within ten (10) days after the last publication of the notice, on the grounds that there is no unappropriated water in the proposed source of supply or that the granting of the application would be detrimental to the public interest. If objections are filed within the time specified in the notice, the state engineer shall set a date for a hearing on the application or requested changes and the objections thereto and shall notify the applicant or petitioner and the objectors thereof. If the applicant or petitioner questions the standing of the objector, the state engineer shall make written findings of fact on the issue and may overrule the objection on that basis. The hearing shall be before the control area advisory board and the state engineer, and shall be held in an appropriate place within the county in which the proposed well or requested change is to be located. The state engineer, for good cause, may impose costs of the hearing proportionally upon the applicant or petitioner and the objectors. The hearing under this subsection shall be a contested case hearing conducted in conformance with and subject to the provisions of the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act. A decision by the state engineer granting or denying an application or petition under this subsection may be appealed to the board of control within thirty (30) days of the date of receipt of notice of the decision. Upon appeal and based on the contested case record and upon additional evidence, if any, taken at the direction of the board, the board may affirm, modify or reverse the findings of the state engineer. An appeal from an order of the board of control may be taken to the district court pursuant to the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.

(b) If no objections are filed against the application or petition under subsection (a) of this section but the state engineer is of the opinion that the application or petition may be detrimental to the public interest, or desires to obtain the recommendations of the control area advisory board, he shall set a date for a public hearing on the application or petition and shall notify the applicant or petitioner of the time and place thereof. Not less than fifteen (15) days prior to the hearing the state engineer shall cause notice of the hearing to be published, at the expense of the applicant or petitioner, in at least one (1) newspaper having general circulation in the county in which the proposed well or requested change is to be located. The state engineer shall notify the applicant or petitioner of the time and place of the hearing. The public hearing shall be held before the control area advisory board and the state engineer in an appropriate place in the county in which the proposed well or requested change is to be located. In making any determination required by this section, the state engineer may rely upon records and information on file in his office or in the office of the board of control. In the event a hearing is held he shall make known the records and information upon which he relies at least fifteen (15) days before the hearing. A decision by the state engineer under this subsection may be appealed by the applicant or petitioner to the board of control within thirty (30) days of the date of receipt of notice of the decision. Upon appeal the board of control shall conduct a contested case hearing in accordance with its rules and regulations and the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act. An appeal from an order of the board of control may be taken to the district court pursuant to the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.

(c) The application or petition shall be granted and the permit issued only if the state engineer finds, after receiving the advice of the control area advisory board, that there are unappropriated waters in the proposed source, that the proposed means of diversion or construction is adequate, that the location of the proposed well or other work does not conflict with any well spacing or well distribution regulation, and that the proposed use would not be detrimental to the public interest. If the state engineer finds that the application or petition is incomplete or otherwise defective, he shall return the application or petition for correction. If the correction is not made within ninety (90) days, the application or petition shall be rejected.

(d) Repealed By Laws 2014, Ch. 90, § 2.

(e) A petition to amend an existing water right which originated with the board of control may be subject to additional action by the board of control. Any petition to amend an existing water right granted by the state engineer pursuant to this section, if that decision is not appealed, shall be returned to the board of control for any additional action that may be required by law.