TITLE 42

IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE — WATER RIGHTS AND RECLAMATION

CHAPTER 14

ADJUDICATION OF WATER RIGHTS

42-1409.  Notice of claim. (1) The director shall prepare and furnish on request a standard notice of claim form. The notice of claim form shall include the following:

(a)  The name and address of the claimant;

(b)  The source of water;

(c)  The quantity of water claimed:

(i)   The quantity of water claimed to be used for water rights acquired under state law shall describe the rate of diversion or, for an instream flow claim, a rate of water flow in cubic feet per second or the annual volume of diversion of water for use or storage in acre-feet per year, or both;

(ii)  The quantity of water claimed for water rights established under federal law shall describe for each and every purpose the rate of present and future water diversion or, in the case of an instream flow claim, the rate of flow in cubic feet per second or annual volume of present and future diversion in acre-feet per year, or both;

(d)  The date of priority claimed:

(i)   The date of priority claimed for water rights acquired under state law shall be from any license, permit, or decree; or if the right is not based upon a license, permit, or decree, then the date when the water was first applied to beneficial use; provided, that for stockwater use on federal land, the claimant may claim the date of the first grazing permit issued on the federal grazing allotment, pursuant to federal grazing authorizations, including but not limited to the Taylor grazing act, as evidence of the date of priority, unless the claimant has evidence of earlier stockwater use on the federal land, which shall then establish the claimed date of priority;

(ii)  The date of priority claimed for water rights established under federal law shall be determined in accordance with federal law;

(e)  The number of claims, if founded upon a right on file with the department; or if the right is founded upon judicial decree not on file with the department, then the title of the court and cause, number of the action and the date of entry;

(f)  The legal description of the existing point(s) of diversion; if the claim is for an instream flow, then a legal description of the beginning and ending points of the claimed instream flow;

(g)  The purpose(s) of use and the period of use:

(i)   The purpose(s) of use for water rights acquired under state law shall describe each purpose of use and the period of the year when water is used for each purpose;

(ii)  The purpose(s) of use for a water right established under federal law shall describe the purposes for which the water included in the claim is presently being used, if at all, and the period of the year when water is necessary for the designated purposes;

(h)   A legal description of the place of use:

(i)   The legal description of the place of use for water rights acquired under state law shall describe the land where the water is beneficially used; if one (1) of the purposes of use is irrigation, then the number of irrigated acres within each forty (40) acre subdivision, except as provided in section 42-219, Idaho Code; if one (1) of the purposes of use is stockwater on federal land, then the federal grazing allotment name and managing federal agency and the legal description of the base property to which the water right is appurtenant;

(ii)  The legal description of the place of use for a water right established under federal law shall describe the federal reservation and the existing or proposed place of use for each consumptive use;

(i)  The dates of any changes or enlargements in use for water rights acquired under state law, including the dimension of the diversion works as originally constructed and as enlarged;

(j)  Conditions on the exercise of any water right included in any decree, license, approved transfer application or other document; and

(k)  Such remarks and other matters as are necessary for definition of the right, for clarification of any element of a right or for administration of the right by the director.

(2)  With respect to any water right for which a change was approved by the director pursuant to section 42-211 or 42-222, Idaho Code, after filing the notice of claim and prior to filing of the director’s report, the claimant shall amend the notice of claim consistent with the determination of the director on the change.

(3)  Each claimant, through submission of a claim, shall solemnly swear or affirm under penalty of perjury that the statements contained in the notice of claim or amended notice of claim are true and correct.

(4)  All claimants of water rights that are included in a general adjudication shall file with the director a notice of claim for all water rights, except for those types of water rights designated in paragraphs (a) through (d) of subsection (1) of section 42-1420, Idaho Code.

(5)  Any person who fails to submit a required notice of claim shall be deemed to have been constructively served with notice of a general adjudication by publication and mailing as required by section 42-1408, Idaho Code.

(6)  Each purchaser of a water right from the water system shall inquire of the director whether a notice of claim has been filed and, if not, shall file a notice of claim in accordance with this section. All claimants and purchasers shall provide the director written notice of any change in ownership or of any change in mailing address during the pendency of a general adjudication in the manner prescribed in section 42-248, Idaho Code.

(7)  At least one hundred twenty (120) days prior to filing of the director’s report with the court, the director may notify each holder of a permit or license to appropriate water from the water system, for which proof of beneficial use was filed after entry of the court’s order commencing a general adjudication, to file a notice of claim within thirty (30) days of mailing of the notice. The director shall notify the holder of the permit or license by certified mail at the most recent address shown in the records of the department.

(8)  The district court or director may extend the time for filing a notice of claim.

History:

[42-1409, added 1986, ch. 220, sec. 11, p. 570; am. 1994, ch. 454, sec. 15, p. 1457; am. 1994, ch. 455, sec. 1, p. 1479; am. 1997, ch. 374, sec. 3, p. 1196; am. 2007, ch. 187, sec. 1, p. 545; am. 2021, ch. 157, sec. 2, p. 435; am. 2021, ch. 159, sec. 1, p. 438.]