§ 41-3-915 — Control areas; hearing to determine adequacy of water for all appropriators; corrective controls generally; agreements in lieu of controls

(a) After designation of an area as a control area by the
board, the state engineer may temporarily adopt any of the
corrective controls provided for by this section, where it
appears that immediate regulation is required. After the well
adjudication procedure has been completed, the state engineer
may, on his own motion, and shall on the petition of twenty (20)
appropriators or of one-tenth of the appropriators of water from
a control area, cause a hearing to be held before the state
engineer and the control area advisory board to determine
whether the underground water in the area is adequate for the
needs of all appropriators of underground water in such area.
Public notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be
published once in a newspaper circulated in the area not more
than thirty (30) days before the time set for the meeting. If
the state engineer finds after the hearing, and after receiving
the advice of the control area advisory board, that the
underground water in the control area is insufficient for all of
the appropriators, he may by order adopt one (1) or more of the
following corrective controls:
(i) He may close the controlled area to any further
appropriation of underground water, in which event he shall
thereafter refuse to grant any applications for a permit to
appropriate underground water in that area, provided, that such
area may be reopened to appropriations at any time the state
engineer shall find on the basis of additional evidence that
there is unappropriated water in the area, in which event the
state engineer shall reconsider all applications for permits
refused on the grounds of the order closing the area;
(ii) He may determine the permissible total
withdrawal of underground water in the control area for each
day, month or year, and, insofar as may be reasonably done, he
shall apportion such permissible total withdrawal among the
appropriators holding valid rights to the underground water in
the control area in accordance with the relative dates of
priority of such rights;
(iii) If he finds that withdrawals by junior
appropriators have a material and adverse effect upon the supply
available for and needed by senior appropriators, he may order
such junior appropriators to cease or reduce withdrawals
forthwith;
(iv) If he finds that cessation or reduction of
withdrawals by junior appropriators will not result in
proportionate benefits to senior appropriators, he may require
and specify a system of rotation of use of underground water in
the controlled area;
(v) He may institute well spacing requirements if
permits are granted to develop new wells.
(b) The state engineer shall cause a copy of any such
order to be served upon each person affected thereby in the
manner provided for service of process in civil actions.
(c) Appropriators of underground water from a control area
may agree to any method or scheme of control of withdrawals,
well spacing, apportionment, rotation or proration of the common
supply of underground water. The state engineer shall encourage
and promote such agreements and supply the parties with
information and advice. When the state engineer, with the advice
of the control area advisory board, shall find that any such
agreement, executed in writing and filed in his office, is
consistent with the intent, purposes and requirements of this
act, and would not be detrimental to the public interest or to
the rights of other persons not parties to the agreement, he
shall approve the agreement, and thereafter such agreement shall
control, until terminated as hereinafter provided, in lieu of
any order issued pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
(d) Any agreement approved by the state engineer may be
terminated by the terms of the agreement, by the consent of the
parties, or by order of the state engineer if he finds, after
investigation and a public hearing before the control area
advisory board, held at least two (2) weeks after one (1)
published notice in a newspaper of general circulation in each
county in which a part of the control area lies, that the
agreement is not being substantially complied with by the
parties, or that changed conditions have made the agreement
inequitable, or that the continuance of the agreement is no
longer consistent with the intent, purpose and requirements of
this act, or is a detriment to the public interest or to the
rights of other persons not parties to the agreement.