§ 42-204 — EXAMINATION — PERMIT — COMMENCEMENT OF WORK — EXTENSIONS — APPEAL

(1) On receipt of the application, which shall be of a form prescribed by the department of water resources, it shall be the duty of that department to make an endorsement thereon of the date of its receipt and to examine said application and ascertain if it sets forth all the facts necessary to show the location, nature and amount of the proposed use. If upon such examination the application is found defective, it shall be the duty of the department of water resources to return the same for correction or to correspond with the applicant to obtain the needed information or amendments. If the application is returned to the applicant or the department shall request additional information and the applicant fails to return the corrected application or to supply the needed information within thirty (30) days, the department may void the record of said application and notify the applicant of such action. If the corrected application is returned or the information is supplied after thirty (30) days, such corrected application shall be treated in all respects as a new application, and the priority of the right initiated shall be determined by the date of receipt in the office of the department of the corrected application or additional information; provided, that upon request, and good cause appearing therefor, the director of the department of water resources may grant an extension of time within which to return the corrected application or supply needed information. All applications that comply with the provisions of this chapter and with the regulations of the department of water resources shall be numbered in such manner as will aid in their identification, and it shall be the duty of the department to approve all applications made in proper form that contemplate the application of water to a beneficial use: provided, that the department may deny any such application, or may partially approve and grant a permit for a lesser quantity of water than applied for, or may grant a permit upon conditions as provided in this chapter.
(2) The department of water resources shall issue a permit for any approved application, make a record of the approval and provide a copy of the permit to the applicant, who shall be authorized, on receipt thereof, to proceed with the construction of the necessary works for the diversion of such water and to take all steps required to apply the water to a beneficial use and perfect the proposed appropriation.
(3) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to permits held by municipal providers for reasonably anticipated future needs. For all other permits, the department shall require that actual construction work and application of the water to full beneficial use shall be complete within a period of five (5) years from the date of such approval, but may limit permit development to a shorter period than requested in the application, and the permit shall set forth the date when beneficial application of the water to be diverted by such works shall be made. Sixty (60) days before the date set for the completion of the appropriation of water under any permit, the department shall forward a notice to the permit holder by certified mail at the permit holder’s address of record of the date for such completion, which said notice shall advise the permit holder of the necessity of submitting a statement of completion showing proof of beneficial use or a request for an extension of time on or before said date. The department may approve a timely request for an extension of time in the following circumstances:
(a) In cases where the permit holder is prevented from proceeding with construction, work, or application of water to full beneficial use by the permit holder’s failure to obtain necessary consent or final approval or rejection from the federal government because of the pendency of an application for right-of-way or other matter within the jurisdiction of the United States, by state, county, city or other local government permitting or administrative action or process related to the permit holder’s land or water development, or by litigation related to the permit holder’s land or water development, the department of water resources, upon proper showing of the existence of any such condition, and being convinced that said permit holder is proceeding diligently and in good faith, shall extend the time so that the amount of time lost by such delays shall be added to the time given in the original permit, or in any subsequent grant of extension pursuant to paragraph (b), (c), (d), or (f) of this subsection, for each and every action required.
(b) The time for completion of works and application of the water to full beneficial use under any permit involving the diversion of more than twenty-five thousand (25,000) acre-feet in one (1) irrigation season for a project of no less than five thousand (5,000) acres may, upon application to the director of the department of water resources supported by a showing that additional time is needed on account of the time required for organizing, financing and constructing works of such large size, be extended by the director of the department of water resources for up to twelve (12) years beyond the initial development deadline contained in the permit, or beyond a grant of extension pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection: Provided, that no such extension shall be granted unless the permit holder for such extension shall show that there has been actually expended toward the construction of said diversion, including expenditures for the purchase of rights-of-way and property in connection therewith, at least one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000).
(c) The time for completion of works and application of the water to full beneficial use under any permit involving the construction of a reservoir of more than ten thousand (10,000) acre-feet capacity or for the appropriation of water to be impounded in such reservoir of more than ten thousand (10,000) acre-feet capacity may be extended by the director of the department of water resources upon application to the director if the permit holder establishes that the permit holder has exercised reasonable diligence and that good cause exists for the requested extension.
(d) The time for completion of works and application of the water to full beneficial use: (i) under any permit authorizing the diversion of two (2) or more cubic feet per second of water or the development or cultivation of one hundred (100) or more acres of land or (ii) under any permit that, when combined with another permit, authorizes the diversion of two (2) or more cubic feet per second of water or the development or cultivation of one hundred (100) or more acres of land, provided the permits have a common or combined diversion and distribution system, are owned by the same permit holder, and are approved within five (5) years of each other may be extended by the director of the department of water resources upon application by the permit holder for an additional period up to ten (10) years beyond the initial development deadline contained in the permit, or beyond a grant of extension pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection, provided the permit holder establishes that the permit holder has exercised reasonable diligence and that good cause exists for the requested extension.
(e) In connection with permits held by the United States, or the Idaho water resource board, whether acquired as the original applicant by assignment or otherwise, the director of the department of water resources may extend the time for completion of the works and application of the water to full beneficial use for such additional period or periods of time as the director may deem necessary upon an extension request supported by a showing that such additional time is required by reason of the status of plans, authorization, construction fund appropriations, construction, or any arrangements that are found to be requisite to completion of the construction of such works.
(f) In all other situations not governed by these provisions, the department may grant one (1) extension of time, not exceeding five (5) years beyond the date originally set for completion of works and application of the water to full beneficial use, or beyond any grant of extension pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection, upon request for extension received on or before the date set for completion, provided good cause appears therefor.
(4) For permits held by municipal providers for reasonably anticipated future needs, the permit development period shall correspond to the planning horizon authorized by the permit, which may not be extended. During the permit development period, the municipal provider shall periodically submit to the department incremental statements of completion showing proof of beneficial use consistent with the provisions of section 42-217, Idaho Code. Each such incremental statement shall document the extent of application of water to beneficial use during the most recent reporting interval. Each incremental statement shall be prepared by a certified water rights examiner, unless the permit holder is not asserting any additional increment of beneficial use during that reporting interval. The department shall set and may later adjust the duration of any reporting interval for any permit, which shall be made a condition of the permit, to any duration not shorter than five (5) years. Sixty (60) days before the end of each reporting interval, the department shall forward a notice to the municipal provider by certified mail to its address of record specifying the date the incremental statement is due. Unless an extension of the deadline for the incremental statement is requested by the municipal provider prior to the deadline, and the extension is approved by the director upon a showing of good cause, failure to timely submit an incremental statement shall result in a lapse of that portion of the permit that has not previously been licensed or for which an incremental statement of completion showing proof of beneficial use has not been submitted. Such lapsed permit portion may be reinstated only in accordance with the provisions of section 42-218a, Idaho Code. For reasonably anticipated future needs permits existing on July 1, 2020, the department shall have one (1) year from July 1, 2020, either to issue a license, where proof already has been submitted, or to modify the permit to conform to the provisions of this section by establishing future reporting intervals for periodic proof statements, by establishing the date for the final proof statement corresponding with the end of the planning horizon authorized by the existing permit, and by updating approval conditions to clarify whether information that must be submitted with proof of beneficial use is due at each reporting interval or only with the final proof statement.
(5) Any permit holder aggrieved by the decision of the department of water resources regarding its request for extension may request a hearing before the director in accordance with section 42-1701A (3), Idaho Code, for the purpose of contesting the decision and may seek judicial review pursuant to section 42-1701A (4), Idaho Code, of any final decision of the director following the hearing.
(6) Subject to the provisions for reinstatement as provided in section 42-218a, Idaho Code, a permit holder who fails to comply with the provisions of this section within the time or times specified shall be deemed to have relinquished all rights under its permit or, in the case of a permit held by a municipal provider for reasonably anticipated future needs, the permit holder shall be deemed to have relinquished all rights under any portion of the permit that has not previously been licensed or for which an incremental statement of completion showing proof of beneficial use has not been submitted.
(7) The provisions of this section as it becomes effective on July 1, 2021, shall apply to all existing permits pending before the department of water resources on July 1, 2021. Permits pending before the department on July 1, 2021, are entitled to the maximum qualifying extension available pursuant to the provisions of this section regardless of whether the permittee received a prior extension under subsection (3)(f) of this section.

Legislative History

[42-204, added 1903, sec. 2, p. 223; am. 1905, sec. 2, p. 357; reen. R.C., sec. 3254; am. 1911, ch. 64, sec. 1, p. 184; am. 1915, ch. 133, sec. 1, p. 289; reen. C.L., sec. 3254; C.S., sec. 5570; am. 1923, ch. 135, sec. 1, p. 196; I.C.A., sec. 41-204; am. 1935, ch. 145, sec. 3, p. 353; am. 1941, ch. 161, sec. 1, p. 320; am. 1949, ch. 127, sec. 1, p. 222; am. 1963, ch. 214, sec. 1, p. 618; am. 1967, ch. 374, sec. 3, p. 1079; am. 1980, ch. 238, sec. 3, p. 529; am. 1982, ch. 62, sec. 1, p. 122; am. 1986, ch. 313, sec. 3, p. 765; am. 1989, ch. 96, sec. 1, p. 223; am. 2013, ch. 82, sec. 1, p. 201; am. 2020, ch. 164, sec. 1, p. 477; am. 2021, ch. 162, sec. 1, p. 459.]