41-4-517, and the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.

41-4-517, and the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.

41-3-919. Prohibited acts; penalty for violation.

Any person who withdraws underground water or who fails to stop or reduce the flow of underground water in violation of any order of the state engineer made pursuant to this act, or any person who does not have a permit, certificate or vested right to appropriate underground water who shall withdraw underground water from any well other than a well for stock or domestic purposes as defined in W.S. 41-3-907, is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished under W.S. 41-3-616.

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means of obtaining underground water, the estimated depth of the proposed well, the quantity of water proposed to be withdrawn and beneficially utilized in gallons per minute and acre-feet per calendar year, the location by legal subdivision of the area or point of use shall be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.

41-3-931. Application; when granted generally; denial subject to review; defects and corrections generally; cancellation.

An application for a permit for a well in any areas not designated as a critical area shall be granted as a matter of course, if the proposed use is beneficial and, if the state engineer finds that the proposed means of diversion and construction are adequate. If the state engineer finds that to grant the application as a matter of course, would not be in public's water interest, then he may deny the application subject to review at the next meeting of the state board of control. If the state engineer shall find that the proposed means of diversion or construction are inadequate, or if the application is otherwise defective, he may return the application for correction. If such correction is not made within ninety (90) days, the state engineer may cancel the application.

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.  41-3-933. Express conditions limiting rights of appropriator; additional conditions.

It is an express condition of each underground water permit that the right of the appropriator does not include the right to have the water level or artesian pressure at the appropriator's point of diversion maintained at any level or pressure higher than that required for maximum beneficial use of the water in the source of supply. The state engineer may issue any permits subject to such conditions as he may find to be in the public interest.

41-3-934. Time limits to complete construction; extensions; cancellation generally.

If the permit is granted, the applicant shall complete the construction and apply the water to beneficial use before the date specified in the conditions of approval, which shall not be more than three (3) years after the date of approval. The state engineer may extend the period or cancel the permit in accordance with the procedures set forth in W.S. 41-4-506.

41-3-935. Adjudication procedure.

(a) Any person constructing any well under a permit shall, within thirty (30) days after the completion or abandonment of such work, report to the state engineer the data required relating to such well, on forms furnished by the state engineer. A well shall be considered complete when it is possible to install a pump and pump water. In the case of an artesian well, completion is the time when the drill rig is moved off of the drilling site.

(b) Adjudication of all ground water rights except stock watering and domestic uses of ground water referenced in W.S.