§ 41-3-930 — Application; who required to file; filing; contents; use of water from existing well; statement of claim

(a) Any person who intends to acquire the right to
beneficial use of any underground water in the state of Wyoming,
shall, before commencing construction of any well or other means
of obtaining underground water or performing any work in
connection with construction or proposed appropriation of
underground water or any manner utilizing the water for
beneficial purposes, file with the state engineer an application
for a permit to make the appropriation and shall not proceed
with any construction or work until a permit is granted by the
state engineer, provided, that whenever a bore hole constructed
for mineral exploration, oil and gas exploration, stratigraphic
information or any other purpose not related to groundwater
development shall be found to be suitable for the withdrawal of
underground water, application shall be filed with and approved
by the state engineer before water from the bore hole is
beneficially utilized. The state engineer may authorize the
construction and use of multiple wells for industrial purposes
for in situ mining, dewatering or use for pollution control or
remediation with a single permit if the groundwater to be
developed by the proposed appropriation is to be used for a
specific purpose within the department of environmental quality
permitted boundary and served from a single source of supply.
The application shall contain the name and post-office address
of applicant or applicants, a detailed description of the
proposed use, the location by legal subdivision of the proposed
well or other means of obtaining underground water, the
estimated depth of the proposed well, the quantity of water
proposed to be withdrawn and beneficially utilized in gallons
per minute and acre-feet per calendar year, the location by
legal subdivision of the area or point of use shall be provided,
and such other information as the state engineer may require.
(b) In addition to providing the information required in
subsection (a) of this section, applications for permits to
appropriate groundwater, geothermal or otherwise, located within
fifteen (15) miles of the boundary of Yellowstone National Park
shall be accompanied by a written report prepared by a qualified
professional and containing such geologic, hydrologic and other
information necessary to show that the proposed development will
not impair or produce an injurious effect on the hydrothermal
system or hydrothermal features located within the boundaries of
Yellowstone National Park. The state engineer shall consider all
the information provided by the applicant and any other
information available to him or necessary to make an informed
decision before acting on the application. If upon review of the
submitted information or other records available to him, the
state engineer determines that the applicant has not shown that
the proposed development will not impair or produce an injurious
effect upon the hydrothermal features located within the
boundaries of Yellowstone National Park, the state engineer
shall deny the application for permit. Wells for domestic and
stock purposes as defined in W.S. 41-3-907 will be exempt from
the requirements of this section.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed so as to
interfere with the right of any person to use water from any
existing well constructed prior to May 24, 1969 where the water
is economically and beneficially used for stock or domestic use
as provided by W.S. 41-3-907, and the uses from the well are
hereby declared to constitute a vested right, provided, that the
owner of the water right must have registered the right prior to
December 31, 1972. If the water right was not registered prior
to December 31, 1972 an application shall be filed in accordance
with the provisions of this section to obtain a water right and
the applicant shall receive, as the water right priority date,
the date the application is received by the state engineer.