Permits for small underground water wells.

2018
STATE OF WYOMING
18LSO-0283
ENGROSSED
2.1

SENATE FILE

NO.
SF0073

Permits for small underground water wells.

Sponsored by:
Senator(s) Meier, Anselmi-Dalton, Bebout, Driskill and Moniz and Representative(s) Hunt and Northrup

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to water; providing that applications for wells that produce twenty-five (25) gallons per minute or less shall not require a detailed description of proposed use; providing that those wells shall not require metering as specified; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1
.

W.S. 41
‑
3
‑
930(a)
,
41
‑
3
‑
933
and 41
‑
3
‑
935 by creating a new subsection (e)
are amended to read:

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

of any well that is constructed to
produce
more than
twenty
‑
five (25) gallons per minute
, 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.

Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit the use of water from a well that produces twenty
‑
five (25) gallons per minute or less for domestic, stock or miscellaneous use as provided in W.S. 41
‑
3
‑
933(b) and 41
‑
3
‑
935(e) regardless of when the application was accepted.

41
‑
3
‑
933
.

Express conditions limiting rights of appropriator; additional conditions.

(a)

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.
Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, t
he state engineer may issue any permits subject to such conditions as he may find to be in the public interest.

(b)

If a well produces twenty
‑
five (25) gallons per minute or less and is used for domestic, stock or miscellaneous use
,
or use for
shelterbelt
s
,
the state engineer shall not require the well to be metered as a condition of the permit. Any permit issued prior to the effective date of this subsection shall be deemed not to require metering if the well meets the requirements of this subsection.
This subsection shall not prohibit the state engineer from metering to determine if the well produces more than twenty
‑
five (25) gallons per minute
.

Nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to apply if the application
of this subsection would violate any compact
entered into
prior to the effective date of this subsection.

41
‑
3
‑
935
.

Adjudication procedure.

(e)

If a well produces twenty
‑
five (25) gallons per minute or less and is adjudicated for domestic, stock or miscellaneous use, or use for shelterbelts, use of the well for any of those purposes shall not require any additional adjudication under this section, regardless of when the well was adjudicated.

Section 2
.

This act is effective July 1, 201
8
.

(END)

1
SF0073