(a) The Commissioner of State Lands is empowered and authorized to execute deeds to lands described in § 22-5-404 to riparian owners upon application and the filing of proof of record ownership of adjacent lands and proof of proper survey of the lands, conveying all the right, title, and interest of the State of Arkansas to lands as have emerged or may emerge to the mean high-water mark of any such stream or lake.

(b) All applicants for deeds under this section shall, upon filing an application therefor, deposit with the Commissioner of State Lands the estimated cost of survey of the lands to be fixed by the Commissioner of State Lands. He or she shall thereupon direct the county surveyor of the county in which the lands are located, or some other competent surveyor to be selected by the Commissioner of State Lands, to accurately survey the lands and compile the field notes and plat the lands in reference to the survey of adjacent lands, by the extension of township, range, and section lines, and to file the field notes and plats in the office of the Commissioner of State Lands.

(c) Upon the filing of the field notes and plats, the Commissioner of State Lands shall pay for the cost of the survey of lands applied for out of the money deposited as provided in subsection (b) of this section.

(d) The applicant shall, after the filing of the field notes and survey, file affidavits of at least three (3) competent persons having full personal knowledge of the facts, stating that the lands applied for have actually emerged to high-water mark and are capable of cultivation, whereupon the Commissioner of State Lands may issue the deed upon the payment of a deed fee of five dollars ($5.00).