§ 73-4-5 — Requirements for statement of claim in general adjudication of water rights.

(1) Except as provided in Subsection (2), each person claiming a right to use water of a river system or water source shall, within 90 days after the day on which notice of the time to file statements of claim as described in Section 73-4-3 is served, file with the state engineer or the district court a written or electronic statement of claim, signed, and verified under oath, by the claimant, or by unsworn declaration as described in Title 78B, Chapter 18a, Uniform Unsworn Declarations Act, that includes:

(1)(a) the name and address of the claimant;
(1)(b) the nature and measure of beneficial use on which the claim is based;
(1)(c) the maximum flow of water used in cubic feet per second, the maximum volume of water used in acre-feet, or the quantity of water stored in acre-feet, as applicable;
(1)(d) the period of time during which the water is used each year;
(1)(e) the period of time during which the water is stored each year, if applicable;
(1)(f) the name of the stream or other source from which the water is diverted, the point on the stream or source where the water is diverted, and a description of the nature of the diverting works;
(1)(g) the water right number associated with the claimed right or, if not of record in the state engineer's office, evidence sufficient to enable the state engineer to evaluate the basis of the claimed right, including the information listed in Subsections 73-5-13(2)(a) and (c);
(1)(h) the claimed priority date;
(1)(i) the place and manner of current use; and
(1)(j) other facts that clearly define the extent, limits, and nature of the claim, or that are required by the written or electronic form provided by the state engineer with the notice of the time to file statements of claim.
(2) (2)(a) The state engineer may serve on a claimant, by mail, a request for additional information supporting the elements of the claimant's claim.
(2)(b) A claimant shall serve the state engineer with a written response within 30 days after the day on which the state engineer serves the request for additional information, unless the state engineer and the claimant agree in writing to extend the time to respond.
(2)(c) A request for additional information described in Subsection (2)(a) shall contain a notice advising the claimant that:
(2)(c)(i) the claimant has 30 days to respond to the request for additional information; and
(2)(c)(ii) failure to timely provide the information requested by the state engineer may result in the state engineer making a recommendation to the court, based on the state engineer's knowledge of the claim at the time the state engineer makes the recommendation, which may be a recommendation that the court disallow the claimant's claim.
(2)(d) If a claimant does not timely respond to a notice of request for additional information, the state engineer may make, in the proposed determination, a recommendation on the claimant's claim that is based on the information available to the state engineer at the time of the proposed determination, which may be a recommendation that the court disallow the claimant's claim.
(3) A person claiming a right to the use of water, as described in Subsection (1):

(3)(a) may request an extension of time as described in Section 73-4-10; and
(3)(b) shall file the statement described in Subsection (1) on or before the granted extension date, if an extension is granted pursuant to Section 73-4-10.

Legislative History

Amended by Chapter 71, 2022 General Session