§ 41-3-110 — Right to acquire temporary water rights; application; restrictions; fee

(a) Any person shall have the right to acquire by
purchase, gift or lease the right to the use of water which may
be embraced in any adjudicated or valid unadjudicated water
right, or any portion thereof, for a period of not to exceed
five (5) years, for temporary beneficial purposes. The state
engineer shall not approve a temporary transfer if it
injuriously affects the water rights of other appropriators.
Prior to the expiration of a temporary transfer, and upon the
applicant's request, the state engineer may, in his discretion,
renew temporary transfers for successive periods, with no
successive period to exceed five (5) years. The total length of
any temporary transfer including any extensions for the same
purpose and place of use as a previous temporary transfer
granted under this subsection shall not exceed ten (10) years.
After the expiration of any temporary transfer of any irrigation
water right, the water right shall be used for its adjudicated
or permitted purpose for a period of time equal to not less than
fifty percent (50%) of the period for which the temporary
transfer, including any extension, was exercised before becoming
eligible for any further temporary use transfers.
(b) Before any right to such use shall become operative,
an application must be made in writing on a form provided or
designated by the state engineer, with a copy of any conveyance
or agreement provided, and it shall be filed in the office of
the state engineer for his ratification and approval. Upon
approval by the state engineer, an order authorizing such use
and designating the method, place, and period of use may be
entered. No loss, abandonment or impairment of such water rights
shall occur or attach as a result of such change or use, except
as provided by said conveyance or agreement and order of the
state engineer, and upon termination of the temporary diversion
and use, as stated in the order, any affected right to the use
of water shall automatically be reinvested with all the rights,
privileges and uses, and purposes theretofore held and enjoyed.
(c) Only that portion of a water right so acquired which
has been consumptively used under the historical use made of the
water right, may be diverted by a temporary user. In determining
the consumptive use of water rights for the direct use of the
natural unstored flow of any stream for irrigation purposes, the
return flow from those rights shall be presumed to be fifty
percent (50%). In those situations where an assumption of fifty
percent (50%) return flow would be significantly in error, the
state engineer shall have the prerogative of making a
determination of the actual amount of return flow, and the
amount of water which can be diverted for the temporary use
provided herein shall be adjusted accordingly. The actual
historic return flow, or the assumed return flow of fifty
percent (50%) will be left in the stream for the use of
downstream appropriators. The foregoing formula and procedure
for the determination of consumptive use and return flow shall
be limited to this section and shall have no application to any
other statute of the state of Wyoming. Nothing herein contained
shall be treated or construed as changing the prior use of water
held by said owner or owners and as provided by the laws of the
state of Wyoming.
(d) The state engineer shall assess a fee not to exceed
one hundred dollars ($100.00) for his review and approval of
temporary water agreements. This fee shall accompany the
agreement application and shall be retained and credited to the
general fund whether the agreement or request is approved or
denied.