§ 41-3-932 — Public notice of application or petition; hearing before state engineer and control area advisory board; cost

(a) Upon the filing of a petition to amend an existing
water right or an application to appropriate underground water
for any use other than domestic, stockwatering or miscellaneous
purposes where the quantity of water to be appropriated is
twenty-five (25) gallons of water per minute or less, from an
area designated as a control area by the state board of control,
the state engineer shall cause to be published, at applicant's
expense, in a newspaper of general circulation in the county
wherein the proposed well or requested change will be located,
for at least once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks, a
notice of the filing of the application or requested changes and
that objections to the granting thereof may be filed within ten
(10) days after the last publication of the notice, on the
grounds that there is no unappropriated water in the proposed
source of supply or that the granting of the application would
be detrimental to the public interest. If objections are filed
within the time specified in the notice, the state engineer
shall set a date for a hearing on the application or requested
changes and the objections thereto and shall notify the
applicant or petitioner and the objectors thereof. If the
applicant or petitioner questions the standing of the objector,
the state engineer shall make written findings of fact on the
issue and may overrule the objection on that basis. The hearing
shall be before the control area advisory board and the state
engineer, and shall be held in an appropriate place within the
county in which the proposed well or requested change is to be
located. The state engineer, for good cause, may impose costs of
the hearing proportionally upon the applicant or petitioner and
the objectors. The hearing under this subsection shall be a
contested case hearing conducted in conformance with and subject
to the provisions of the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act. A
decision by the state engineer granting or denying an
application or petition under this subsection may be appealed to
the board of control within thirty (30) days of the date of
receipt of notice of the decision. Upon appeal and based on the
contested case record and upon additional evidence, if any,
taken at the direction of the board, the board may affirm,
modify or reverse the findings of the state engineer. An appeal
from an order of the board of control may be taken to the
district court pursuant to the Wyoming Administrative Procedure
Act.
(b) If no objections are filed against the application or
petition under subsection (a) of this section but the state
engineer is of the opinion that the application or petition may
be detrimental to the public interest, or desires to obtain the
recommendations of the control area advisory board, he shall set
a date for a public hearing on the application or petition and
shall notify the applicant or petitioner of the time and place
thereof. Not less than fifteen (15) days prior to the hearing
the state engineer shall cause notice of the hearing to be
published, at the expense of the applicant or petitioner, in at
least one (1) newspaper having general circulation in the county
in which the proposed well or requested change is to be located.
The state engineer shall notify the applicant or petitioner of
the time and place of the hearing. The public hearing shall be
held before the control area advisory board and the state
engineer in an appropriate place in the county in which the
proposed well or requested change is to be located. In making
any determination required by this section, the state engineer
may rely upon records and information on file in his office or
in the office of the board of control. In the event a hearing is
held he shall make known the records and information upon which
he relies at least fifteen (15) days before the hearing. A
decision by the state engineer under this subsection may be
appealed by the applicant or petitioner to the board of control
within thirty (30) days of the date of receipt of notice of the
decision. Upon appeal the board of control shall conduct a
contested case hearing in accordance with its rules and
regulations and the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act. An
appeal from an order of the board of control may be taken to the
district court pursuant to the Wyoming Administrative Procedure
Act.
(c) The application or petition shall be granted and the
permit issued only if the state engineer finds, after receiving
the advice of the control area advisory board, that there are
unappropriated waters in the proposed source, that the proposed
means of diversion or construction is adequate, that the
location of the proposed well or other work does not conflict
with any well spacing or well distribution regulation and that
the proposed use would not be detrimental to the public
interest. In any contested case hearing conducted under this
section, the applicant or petitioner shall bear the burden of
proof. If the state engineer finds that the application or
petition is incomplete or otherwise defective, he shall return
the application or petition for correction. If the correction is
not made within ninety (90) days, the application or petition
shall be rejected.
(d) Repealed By Laws 2014, Ch. 90, § 2.
(e) A petition to amend an existing water right which
originated with the board of control may be subject to
additional action by the board of control. Any petition to amend
an existing water right granted by the state engineer pursuant
to this section, if that decision is not appealed, shall be
returned to the board of control for any additional action that
may be required by law.