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means of obtaining underground water, the estimated depth of the proposed well, the quantity of water proposed to be withdrawn and beneficially utilized in gallons per minute and acre-feet per calendar year, the location by legal subdivision of the area or point of use shall be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