TITLE 42

IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE — WATER RIGHTS AND RECLAMATION

CHAPTER 14

ADJUDICATION OF WATER RIGHTS

42-1408.  Service of notice of order commencing a general adjudication. (1) Upon entry of a district court’s order commencing a general adjudication, the director shall prepare a notice of order, using plain and concise language, that contains the following information or enclosures:

(a)  an order commencing a general adjudication has been entered, the date of entry of the order, and the district court that entered the order;

(b)  an illustration of the boundaries of the water system to be adjudicated and administered;

(c)  that section 42-1409, Idaho Code, requires in a general adjudication all claimants, except as specifically excluded by law, to file for each water right, a notice of claim on a form furnished by the director; failure to file a required notice of claim will result in a court determination that no water right exists for the use of water for which the required notice of claim was not filed;

(d)  a notice of claim is required for any water right license and for any water right permit on file for which the director requires a permit holder to file a notice of claim in accordance with section 42-1409, Idaho Code; a notice of claim may be filed for any other water right permit;

(e)  a notice of claim is not required for a water right evidenced by an application on file with the department;

(f)  a notice of claim, if the court order excludes any uses from an adjudication, may be filed for the excluded use prior to the filing of the director’s report with the district court and the right will be determined, even though a notice of claim is not required;

(g)  a notice of claim is not required for any person who receives water solely by virtue of ownership of shares of stock in, or by being located within the boundaries of, a water delivery organization, if the water delivery organization holds legal title to the water right and if the water delivery organization files a notice of claim;

(h)  the date set by the director for filing a timely notice of claim, which shall not be less than ninety (90) days after service;

(i)  that section 42-1409A, Idaho Code, imposes substantial restrictions on the filing of amended or late notices of claim;

(j)  the locations at which the notice of claim forms will be available;

(k)  section 42-1414, Idaho Code, requires each claimant, other than those exempted by federal law, to pay a variable fee to the director with a notice of claim; failure to pay the fee will result in rejection of the notice of claim; failure to file a timely notice of claim will result in the assessment of a late fee in the amount of fifty dollars ($50.00) or fifteen per cent (15%) of the original filing fee, whichever is greater;

(l)  section 42-1409, Idaho Code, requires that all purchasers of a water right inquire of the director whether a notice of claim has been filed, and if not, to file a notice of claim, except as specifically excluded by law, and that all claimants and purchasers provide the director written notice of any change in ownership, along with some evidence of ownership or of any change in mailing address; and

(m)  the files of the district court will contain affidavits of service or other documents stating the persons served with a copy of the notice of order.

(2)  The director shall serve copies of the notice of order as follows:

(a)  the director shall serve the notice of order on the state of Idaho and the United States;

(b)  the director shall serve the notice of order on claimants other than the persons in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of this section, initially by publication once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation published in each county in which any part of the water system, which is the subject of the general adjudication, is located. If there is no newspaper published within a county, then the copies shall be published in a newspaper having general circulation in that county;

(c)  the director shall post the notice of order in each county courthouse, county recorder’s office, and county assessor’s office in which any part of the water system is located. The director shall complete the posting on or before the date of the last publication within each county;

(d)  the director shall serve the notice of order by ordinary mail on each person listed as owning real property on the real property assessment roll within the boundaries of the water system to be adjudicated at the address listed on the real property assessment roll; and

(e)  the director shall file a copy of the notice of order commencing a general adjudication in the office of the county recorder in each county in which any part of the water system is located; notwithstanding the provisions of section 5-505, Idaho Code, the notice, from the time it is filed with the recorder for record, is constructive notice of the contents thereof within the county in which the notice is recorded, to subsequent purchasers and mortgagees.

(3)  The director shall send the notice of order by ordinary mail to all persons who submit a written request to the director to be notified of the commencement of an adjudication. The director may circulate copies in any additional manner the director deems appropriate.

(4)  Upon expiration of the period for filing notices of claims, the director shall conduct a second round of service in conformance with this subsection. The director shall compare the notices of claims with department records and other information reasonably available to determine whether there are any rights to water from the water system for which no notice of claim was filed. In the event the director determines that not all claimants have filed claims, the director shall make a reasonably diligent effort in accordance with the court order to determine the land to which the possible claim is appurtenant, the last known owner of that land, and the last known address of that owner. The director shall prepare a second round notice of order. The director shall serve this notice on the last known owner in accordance with the court order. The notice shall contain the information specified in subsection (1) of this section, except that the notice shall state a final date for filing notices of claims. The final date shall be an additional period of time, in no case less than ninety (90) days from the date the notice is served, in which the notice of claim must be received by the director.

(5)  The director shall file with the district court such proof of service as may be required to demonstrate compliance with the above requirements.

History:

[(42-1408) 1986, ch. 220, sec. 10, p. 568; 1986, ch. 230, sec. 2, p. 624; am. 1991, ch. 84, sec. 1, p. 188; am. and redesig. 1994, ch. 454, sec. 14, p. 1455.]