§ 41-3-114 — Petition to change point of diversion or means of conveyance

Wyoming § 41-3-114

• Jurisdiction: Wyoming
• Title 41: Water
• Ch. 3: WATER RIGHTS; ADMINISTRATION AND CONTROL
• Art. 1: GENERALLY

Text

(a) Any person entitled to the beneficial use of water,
whether under a permit issued by the state engineer or a
certificate of appropriation issued by the board of control
pursuant to W.S. 41-4-511, who desires to change the point of
diversion or means of conveyance, or both, shall file a
petition with:
(i) The board of control if the use of the water has
been adjudicated under a certificate of appropriation;
(ii) The state engineer in all other cases. The state
engineer may consider a petition even if water has not been
applied to beneficial use however, any change in point of
diversion granted by the state engineer shall be in the vicinity
of the original diversion, and provided:
(A) The change shall not alter the original
project concept; and
(B) The water shall be diverted from the same
source of supply described in the original permit.
(b) Petitions for change in point of diversion shall be in
affidavit form and shall set forth the name and address of the
petitioner, the name of the ditch, pipeline, or other facility,
the stream from which water is appropriated, the date of
priority and the amount of the appropriation to be changed,
permit number, ownership of appropriation, and the location of
the present and the proposed new point of diversion by course
and distance from a corner of the public land survey. If for
irrigation, petitions shall describe the acreage irrigated in
each legal subdivision, the reason for the proposed change, and
state whether any other appropriator from the same source will
be injured in any way, and whether the consent of all owners of
intervening diversions has been obtained. The petition shall be
accompanied by satisfactory evidence of ownership of the
appropriation to be changed.
(c) If the petition is for a change in point of diversion
and means of conveyance for all or a part of an appropriation,
it shall include, in addition to the foregoing, the name, permit
number and date of priority of the ditch or facility to which it
is to be changed, and whether the petitioner is the sole owner
of both facilities involved or has the consent of the other
owners of both ditches or facilities.
(d) Such petitions shall be accompanied by maps in
duplicate, one (1) of which shall be on tracing linen of a size
required by the state engineer and state board of control,
prepared under certificate of a registered land surveyor, and
showing accurately the location of the stream, the location of
the ditch or ditches involved, location of any intervening
diversions, and if for irrigation, the location of the lands
changed or affected by such change.
(e) In event that written consents of owners of
appropriations which divert between the old and new points of
diversion or the owners of ditches or facilities involved in the
proposed change are not secured and attached to the petition,
the petition shall be referred to:
(i) The superintendent of the water division in which
the change is proposed, if the right is adjudicated; or
(ii) To the state engineer if the right is
unadjudicated.
(f) The state engineer or the superintendent shall set a
hearing on the petition and require the petitioner to provide
thirty (30) days notice by certified mail with return receipt
requested of the time and place of the hearing to any owners of
appropriations which divert between the old and new points of
diversion and any owners or users of ditches or facilities to be
affected by the proposed change. If the state engineer or the
state board of control determines that at least twenty (20)
owners of appropriations or owners or users of ditches or
facilities require notice of the hearing, the state engineer or
the state board of control, in lieu of requiring notice by
certified mail with return receipt requested, may allow the
petitioner to provide notice of the hearing by regular mail and
publication. Notice by publication under this subsection shall
be accomplished by publishing notice for two (2) consecutive
weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where
the new point of diversion is located. The last date of
publication shall occur not less than ten (10) days and not more
than thirty (30) days prior to the hearing. The petitioner shall
provide the superintendent with a record of the proceedings
which shall be transmitted to the state board of control with
the superintendent's report. The state board of control or the
state engineer may make such other regulations as may be found
necessary. No petition shall be granted if the right of other
appropriators will be injuriously affected. The attorney
general shall represent the state board of control or the state
engineer in any appeal.
(g) A decision by the state engineer granting or denying a
petition under paragraph (a)(ii) of this section may be appealed
to the board of control. An appeal may be taken to the district
court pursuant to W.S. 16-3-101 through 16-3-115 from an order
of the board of control:
(i) Affirming, modifying or reversing a decision of
the state engineer appealed to the board under this subsection;
or
(ii) Granting, modifying or denying a petition under
paragraph (a)(i) of this section.