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73-5-13
0
Diligence Claims Water Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Scott H. Chew
Senate Sponsor: David P. Hinkins
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill addresses use of water related to diligence claims.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
clarifies provisions related to submitting a claim;
defines terms;
provides for the creation of a rebuttable presumption of the right to use certain water
related to a homestead parcel;
establishes the process for rebutting the presumption; and
makes technical and conforming amendments.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
73-5-13
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapter 59
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
73-5-13
is amended to read:
73-5-13
. Claim to surface or underground water not otherwise represented --
Information required -- Corrections -- Filing -- Investigation -- Publication -- Judicial
action to determine validity -- Rules -- Homestead parcels.
(1)
(a)
A claimant to the right to the use of water, including both surface and
underground water, whose right is not represented by a certificate of appropriation
issued by the state engineer, by an application filed with the state engineer, by a court
decree, or by a notice of claim filed
pursuant
according
to law, shall submit the
claim to the state engineer in accordance with this section.
(b)
Subsections
(2)
through
(7)
only apply to
claims or corrected claims
a claim or
corrected claim
submitted to the state engineer in accordance with this section on or
after May 14, 2013.
(c)
Subsection
(8)
applies to a claim or corrected claim submitted to the state engineer in
accordance with this section on or after May 6, 2026.
(2)
(a)
The claimant or the claimant's appointed representative shall verify under oath a
claim submitted under this section and submit the claim on
forms
a form
provided
by the state engineer setting forth
any
the
information the state engineer requires,
including:
(i)
the name and mailing address of the person making the claim;
(ii)
the quantity of water claimed in acre-feet or rate of flow in second-feet, or both,
where
when
appropriate;
(iii)
the source of supply;
(iv)
the
claimed
priority date of the right;
(v)
the location of the point of diversion with reference to a United States land survey
corner;
(vi)
the place of use;
(vii)
the nature and extent of use;
(viii)
the time during which the water has been used each year; and
(ix)
the date when the water was first used.
(b)
The
A
claim
described in Subsection
(1)
shall also include the following
information, prepared by a Utah licensed engineer or a Utah licensed land surveyor:
(i)
measurements of the amount of water diverted;
(ii)
a statement that the quantity of water claimed either in acre-feet or cubic feet per
second is consistent with the beneficial use claimed and the supply that the source
is capable of producing; and
(iii)
a map showing the original diversion and conveyance works and where the water
was placed to beneficial use, including irrigated lands, if irrigation is
the
a
claimed beneficial use.
(c)
The state engineer may require additional information as necessary to evaluate
any
a
claim
described in Subsection
(1)
including:
(i)
affidavits
an affidavit
setting forth facts of which the affiant has personal
knowledge;
(ii)
an
authenticated or historic
photographs, plat or survey maps, or surveyors' notes
photograph, plat or survey map, or surveyor's note
;
(iii)
an
authenticated
copies of original diaries, personal histories, or other historical
documents that document
copy of an original diary, personal history, or other
historical document that documents
the claimed use of water;
and
(iv)
evidence of a homestead parcel as defined in Subsection
(8)
; or
(iv)
(v)
other relevant records
another relevant record
on file with a county
recorder's, surveyor's, or assessor's office.
(3)
(a)
A claimant, or a claimant's successor in interest, as shown in the records of the
state engineer
,
may file a corrected claim that:
(i)
is designated as a corrected claim;
(ii)
includes the information described in Subsection
(2)
; and
(iii)
bears the same number as the original claim.
(b)
If a corrected claim that meets the requirements described in Subsection
(3)(a)
is
filed before the state engineer publishes the original claim in accordance with
Subsection
(4)(a)(iv)
, the state engineer may not charge an additional fee for filing
the corrected claim.
(c)
The state engineer shall treat a corrected claim that is filed in accordance with
Subsection
(3)(a)
as if the corrected claim were the original claim.
(4)
(a)
When a claimant submits a claim that is acceptably complete under Subsection
(2)
and deposits money with the state engineer sufficient to pay the expenses of
conducting a field investigation and publishing a notice of the claim, the state
engineer shall:
(i)
file the claim;
(ii)
endorse the date of the claim's receipt;
(iii)
assign the claim a water right number;
(iv)
publish a notice of the claim following the same procedures as provided in
Section
73-3-6
; and
(v)
if the claimant is the federal government or a federal agency, provide a copy of
the claim to the members of the Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment
Interim Committee.
(b)
A claim not acceptably complete under Subsection
(2)
shall be returned to the
claimant.
The state engineer shall return a claim to the claimant that the state
engineer determines is not acceptably complete.
(c)
The acceptance of a claim filed under this section by the state engineer may not be
considered to be
The state engineer's acceptance of a claim filed under this section is
not considered
an adjudication by the state engineer of the validity of the claimed
water right.
(5)
(a)
The state engineer shall:
(i)
conduct a field investigation of
each
a
claim filed
under this section
; and
(ii)
prepare a report of the investigation.
(b)
In preparing the report of the investigation described in Subsection
(5)(a)
, the state
engineer shall:
(i)
apply Section
73-1-3
; and
(ii)
include an evaluation of the asserted beneficial uses as the asserted beneficial
uses existed at the time of the claimed priority date, specifically identifying any
portion of the claim that was not placed to beneficial use in accordance with law.
(c)
The report of the investigation shall:
(i)
become part of the file on the claim; and
(ii)
be admissible in
any
an
administrative or judicial proceeding regarding the
validity of the claim.
(6)
(a)
A person who may be damaged by a diversion and use of water as described in a
claim submitted
pursuant
according
to this section may file an action in
district
court
a court with jurisdiction
to determine the validity of the claim, regardless of
whether the state engineer has filed the claim in accordance with Subsection
(4)(a)
.
(b)
Venue for an action brought under Subsection
(6)(a)
shall be
is
in the county where
the point of diversion listed in the claim is located, or in a county where the place of
use, or some part of
it
the place of use
, is located.
(c)
The
A person bringing an
action
under this Subsection
(6)
shall
be brought
bring
the action
against the claimant to the use of water or the claimant's successor in
interest.
(d)
In an action brought to determine the validity of a claim to the use of water under
this section, the claimant has the initial burden of proof as to the validity of the
claimed right.
(e)
(i)
A person filing an action challenging the validity of a claim to the use of water
under this section shall notify the state engineer of the pendency of the action in
accordance with state engineer rules.
(ii)
Upon receipt of the notice, the state engineer may take no action on a change or
exchange application founded on the claim that is the subject of the pending
litigation until the court adjudicates the matter.
(f)
Upon the entering of a final order or decree in a judicial action to determine the
validity of a claim under this section, the prevailing party shall file a certified copy of
the order or decree with the state engineer, who shall incorporate the order into the
state engineer's file on the claim.
(7)
(a)
In a general adjudication of water rights under
Title 73, Chapter 4, Determination
of Water Rights
, after completion of final summons in accordance with Section
73-4-22
, a claimant is prohibited from filing a claim under this section in the general
adjudication area, division, or subdivision.
(b)
The state engineer shall return a claim filed under this section to a claimant without
further action if:
(i)
the state engineer receives a claim for an area where the claimant is prohibited
from filing the claim under Subsection
(7)(a)
or Section
73-4-9.5
; or
(ii)
the claim is untimely as provided in Section
73-4-9
.
(8)
(a)
As used in this Subsection
(8)
:
(i)
"Homestead parcel" means the land area of 640 acres or less conveyed by patent
from the federal government.
(ii)
"Livestock" means a domestic animal raised or kept for profit or personal use.
(iii)
"Livestock watering pond" means a pond that:
(A)
is formed by precipitation and not the diversion of a water source;
(B)
has an annual use that meets the condition of Subsection
(8)(b)(i)
; and
(C)
is used to directly water livestock or for associated uses related to the raising
and care of livestock.
(iv)
"Water right" means the same as that term is defined in Section
73-3c-102
.
(b)
There is a rebuttable presumption that a claimant has the right to the use of a
livestock watering pond even though the right is not represented by a certificate of
appropriation issued by the state engineer, by an application filed with the state
engineer, by a court decree, or by a notice of claim filed according to law if:
(i)
the aggregate of annual use of all livestock watering ponds that support the
homestead parcel is less than 20 acre-feet of water;
(ii)
the claimant files an acceptably complete claim in accordance with this section;
(iii)
the claimant deposits money with the state engineer sufficient to pay the
expenses of conducting a field investigation and publishing a notice of the claim;
(iv)
the livestock watering pond is in support of a homestead parcel; and
(v)
the livestock watering pond:
(A)
existed before the conveyance of the patent for the homestead parcel; and
(B)
was used as surface water before 1903.
(c)
The priority date of a claim described in Subsection
(8)(b)
is the date on which the
homestead parcel is first used in support of livestock notwithstanding that the date is
before the patent conveying title to the homestead parcel.
(d)
The rebuttable presumption described in Subsection
(8)(b)
may be rebutted by a
person protesting a claim based on the impairment of a water right held by the person
protesting the claim. A person may rebut the rebuttable presumption described in
Subsection
(8)(b)
by a preponderance of the evidence.
(e)
If a claimant and a protestant come to a written agreement regarding how the issue of
impairment may be mitigated:
(i)
the state engineer may incorporate the agreement as part of the file on the claim;
and
(ii)
the agreement is admissible in an administrative or judicial proceeding regarding
the validity of the claim.
Section 2.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
3-2-26 9:05 AM