A. Except as otherwise provided by Section 105.13 of this title for limited quantity stream water permits, upon the acceptance of an application which complies with the provisions of Chapter 1 of this title, and the rules promulgated by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board pursuant thereto, the Board shall instruct the applicant to publish, within the time required by the Board, a notice thereof, at the applicant's expense, in a form prescribed by the Board in a newspaper of general circulation in the county of the point of diversion, and in a newspaper of general circulation published within the adjacent downstream county and any other counties designated by the Board once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks. Such notice shall give all the essential facts as to the proposed appropriation, among them being the places of appropriation and of use, amount of water, the purpose for which it is to be used, name and address of applicant, the hearing date, time and place if a hearing is scheduled by the Board before instructions to publish notice are given, and a thirty-day protest period as well as the manner in which a protest to the application may be made. At the time the Board provides the notice of application to the applicant, the Board shall publish on its website the applications and instructions for public notice, including the draft public notice prepared by the Board. The website publishing is in addition to, and not in lieu of, the requirement for applicants to publish notice in the newspaper. The time to protest shall run from the date of the first newspaper publication.

B. In case of failure to give such notice in accordance with the rules and regulations applicable thereto within the time required, or if such notice is defective, the priority of application shall be lost; however, if proper notice is given within thirty (30) days after the Board has notified the applicant of his or her failure to give effective and proper notice, the application shall thereafter carry the original date of filing, and shall supersede any subsequent application to the same source of water supply. Any interested party shall have the right to protest said application and present evidence and testimony in support of such protest.

C. If the Board does not schedule a hearing on the application before instructing the applicant to publish notice, a hearing shall be scheduled by the Board upon receipt of a protest which meets the requirements of the Board's rules, the Board shall notify the applicant and protestant of such hearing.

Added by Laws 1972, c. 256, § 11. Amended by Laws 1993, c. 164, § 2, emerg. eff. May 10, 1993; Laws 1995, c. 112, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 1995; Laws 1996, c. 329, § 1, emerg. eff. June 12, 1996; Laws 2019, c. 411, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2019.