41-4-324 shall apply to excess water under this act.

41-4-324 shall apply to excess water under this act.

ARTICLE 4 - PROCEEDINGS UPON APPEAL

41-4-401. Rights of appeal to district court.

Any party or number of parties acting jointly, who may feel themselves aggrieved by the determination of the board of control, may have an appeal from the board of control to the district court of the county in which the stream or streams, involved in such determination, may be situated, provided that in case the said stream or streams shall be situate in, and run through more than one (1) judicial district, or more than one (1) county, then, and in such case, it shall be the duty of the board of control, in making its determination, to designate the district court of the county, to which such appeal may be taken. All persons joining in the appeal shall be joined as appellants and all persons having interests adverse to the parties appealing, or either of them, shall be joined as appellees.

41-4-402. Repealed by Laws 1985, ch. 191, § 2.

41-4-403. Repealed by Laws 1985, ch. 191, § 2.

41-4-404. Repealed by Laws 1985, ch. 191, § 2.

41-4-405. Repealed by Laws 1985, ch. 191, § 2.  41-4-406. Pleadings and practice.

All proceedings on appeal shall be conducted according to the provisions of the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act and the Wyoming Rules of Appellate Procedure.

41-4-407. Procedure after judgment.

It shall be the duty of the clerk of the district court immediately upon the entry of any judgment, order or decree by the district court, or by the judge thereof, in an appeal from the decision of the board of control, to transmit a certified copy of said judgment, order or decree to the secretary of the state board of control. It shall be the duty of the secretary to immediately enter the same upon the records of such office, and the state engineer shall forthwith issue to the superintendent or superintendents of water divisions, instructions in compliance with the said judgment, order or decree, and in execution thereof.

41-4-408. Costs; division of water pending appeal.

All costs made and accruing by reason of such appeal shall be adjudged to be paid by the party or parties against whom such appeal shall be finally determined. During the time an appeal from the order of the board of control is pending in the district court, and until a certified copy of the judgment, order or decree of the district court is transmitted to the state engineer, the division of water from the stream involved in such appeal shall be made in accordance with the order of the board of control.

ARTICLE 5 - APPLICATION FOR PERMIT FOR APPROPRIATION; PROCEDURE

41-4-501. Permit required prior to construction of ditches, canals or other distributing works; contents of application; unlawful diversion or use of water prohibited; rulemaking authority.

(a) Any person, association or corporation hereafter intending to acquire the right to the beneficial use of the public water of the state of Wyoming shall, before commencing the construction, enlargement or extension of any ditch, canal or other distributing works, or performing any work in connection with said construction, or proposed appropriation, make an application to the state engineer for a permit to make such appropriation. Such application shall set forth the name, email address, if any, and post-office address of the applicant, the source of the water supply, the nature of the proposed use, the location and description of the proposed ditch, canal or other work, the time within which it is proposed to begin construction, the time required for completion of construction and the time required for the complete application of the water to the proposed use. The application shall also state whether the applicant will opt for any notices issued under this article to be delivered only by electronic means. Each applicant shall maintain a current post-office address with the state engineer and shall maintain an email address with the state engineer if opting for notice only by electronic means under this subsection. Any person who shall willfully divert or use water to the detriment of others without compliance with law shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor punishable pursuant to W.S. 41-3- 616.

(b) The state engineer may allow the application to be submitted electronically as provided by the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, W.S. 40-21-101 through 40-21-119.

(c) The state engineer may adopt reasonable rules and regulations in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act as necessary to implement this section.

(d) Any rules and regulations implementing this section or any predecessor to this section which were duly adopted according to the procedure for adoption at the time of adoption, which were effective as of July 1, 2008 and which have not been repealed or replaced as of July 1, 2008, are deemed to have been lawfully adopted in accordance with law and within the scope of the state engineer's rulemaking authority.

41-4-502. Application for permit to acquire right to beneficial use of public water; duty of state engineer upon receipt; use for irrigation purposes; defective applications; corrections; cancellation; extensions.

On receipt of an application for a permit to acquire the right to the beneficial use of the public water of the state of Wyoming, which application shall be on a form prescribed or designated by the state engineer, it is the state engineer's duty to date the application and to make a record of receipt of the application in his office. It is the state engineer's duty to examine all applications to ascertain that they contain all the necessary information to show the location, nature and amount of the proposed beneficial use. If the proposed beneficial use is for irrigation purposes, the application shall give the total acreage to be irrigated and the acreage in each legal subdivision of land proposed to be irrigated. If, upon such examination, an application submitted in hard copy is found defective, it is the duty of the state engineer to return the application for correction, with reasons therefor, and the time allowed within which to make such corrections, which shall not be less than ninety (90) days, shall be endorsed on the application, or by correspondence accompanying the return of the application, and a record made thereof. A like record shall be kept of the date of the return of corrected applications, and of the date of the refusal and return of applications rejected. If the application is submitted in hard copy, the defective application shall be returned by United States postal service or by other generally accepted mail delivery method to the post- office address given by the applicant. If the application is submitted electronically, the defective application shall be returned electronically. If, at the expiration of the time allowed within which to make such corrections, the application has not been returned to the office of the state engineer with the corrections properly made, it is the duty of the state engineer to cancel the filing covered by the application. The state engineer, if in his opinion an extension is justified, or, upon request by the applicant for good cause shown, shall grant extensions of time for making corrections. However, extensions will not be granted if the request for the extension is received after the expiration of the time period the applicant seeks to extend.

41-4-503. Recordation; approval or rejection generally.

All applications which shall comply with the provisions of this chapter, and with the regulations of the engineer's office, shall be recorded in a suitable book kept for that purpose; and it shall be the duty of the state engineer to approve all applications made in proper form, which contemplate the application of the water to a beneficial use and where the proposed use does not tend to impair the value of existing rights, or be otherwise detrimental to the public welfare. But where there is no unappropriated water in the proposed source of supply, or where the proposed use conflicts with existing rights, or threatens to prove detrimental to the public interest, it shall be the duty of the state engineer to reject such application and refuse to issue the permit asked for.  41-4-504. Endorsement by state engineer; return to applicant; effect of approval or rejection.

The refusal or approval of an application shall be endorsed thereon and a record made of such endorsement in the state engineer's office. The application so endorsed shall be returned to the applicant. If approved, the applicant shall be authorized, on receipt thereof, to proceed with the construction of the necessary works, and to take all steps required to apply the water to a beneficial use, and to perfect the proposed appropriation. If the application is refused, the applicant shall take no steps toward the prosecution of the proposed work, or the diversion and use of the public water so long as such refusal shall continue in force. Any violation of this section, unless exempt under W.S. 41-3-301, shall be punishable pursuant to W.S. 41-3-616(a).

41-4-505. Additional information before approval or rejection.

(a) Before either approving or rejecting an application, the state engineer may require such additional information as will enable him to properly guard the public interests, and may, in the case of applications proposing to divert more than twenty-five (25) cubic feet of water per second of time, or to reclaim over one thousand (1,000) acres of land, require a statement of the following facts:

(i) In case of incorporated companies, he may require the submission of the articles of incorporation, the names and places of residence of its directors and officers, and the amount of its authorized and of its paid up capital;

(ii) If the applicant is not an incorporated company, he may require a showing as to the name or names of the party or parties proposing to construct the work, and a showing of facts necessary to enable him to determine whether or not they have the financial ability to carry out the proposed work, and whether or not the said application has been made in good faith.

41-4-506. Time limits for completing construction work; extensions; forfeiture of rights; cancellation of permit; notice of date of expiration to appropriator.

Whenever the state engineer places his endorsement of approval on any application for a water permit, he shall require that actual construction work be completed within the time set by him in the permit. The time set for completion shall not exceed a period of five (5) years after the date of approval of application. In the case of an application for a ditch permit, he shall further require that the application of the water to beneficial use must be completed before the date which he shall specify, and which shall not be earlier than the date specified for the completion of construction; and that final proof of appropriation must be submitted within five (5) years after the date specified for the completion of the application of the water to beneficial use. He may limit the application to a less period of time for the completion of construction and application of water to beneficial use than is asked for in the application. For good cause shown, the state engineer may at any time, or from time to time, before the date of expiration, extend any or all of these periods. An extension of time for compliance with any of the specified requirements shall be construed to automatically extend for a like period the time for compliance with any of the specific requirements in relation to which the time expires thereafter. Default by the holder of the permit in any of the specified requirements shall work a forfeiture of the water right involved. The state engineer may upon such default cancel the permit. The state engineer shall, at least three (3) months before default in any of these requirements shall be operative, notify the permit holder when the time allowed will expire. Notification may be delivered by United States postal service, by other generally accepted mail delivery method to the post-office address given by the permit holder or by email or other electronic means that provides actual notice to the permit holder. If the permit holder cannot be reached by mail or by email, the state engineer shall notify the permit holder by certified mail to the permit holder's last known address and shall publish notice of the default on the state engineer's official website and for three (3) weeks in a newspaper of general circulation published in the county, or in case there is no newspaper of general circulation published in the county, then in a newspaper published in the state of Wyoming and in general circulation in the county, the last publication to be at least two (2) months before cancellation of the permit.

41-4-507. Maps and plats; when required with application; contents; format requirements; copies; duties of state engineer generally.

(a) Each application for a permit to appropriate waters for beneficial uses under a project embracing the major irrigable portion of an entire drainage basin within the limits of this state which has been approved by either state or federal agencies for development and construction in subdivisions as the result of preliminary investigations must be accompanied by a map or plat made by or under the responsible charge of a professional engineer or professional land surveyor and be signed by and bear the seal of the professional engineer or professional land surveyor. The map or plat shall be on a scale to conform to the regulations of the state engineer, showing the approximate location of all streams, proposed reservoirs, main canals and the other data required under the terms of W.S.