(a) Any person with a right to beneficially use water under a valid water right that diverts water from within Wyoming's portion of the Colorado River basin may apply to the state engineer for approval of a conservation project. Conservation project applications submitted under this section shall be in writing and filed in the office of the state engineer on a form provided by the state engineer. Conservation project applications may include multiple water rights and multiple appropriators, and shall be accompanied by any information that the state engineer may require. If the applicant is not the owner of the applicable water right, the applicant shall provide written consent from the water right owner. (b) For the purpose of providing notice of the program and of conservation project applications to water right owners and other interested persons, the state engineer shall provide the opportunity for water right owners and other interested persons to request notice of conservation project applications by regular mail or by electronic means. Any person requesting notice of conservation project applications under this subsection shall identify the water district or districts for which their request applies and shall provide a valid mailing or email address. (c) The state engineer shall publish notice of each conservation project application filed under subsection (a) of this section on the state engineer's website and shall provide the regular mail or electronic notice required under this section not less than thirty (30) days before the state engineer issues a decision on the application. The state engineer shall provide notice of each conservation project application to all persons who have requested notice of applications within that water district and have provided a valid mailing or email address. Additionally, not less than thirty (30) days before the state engineer issues a decision on any conservation project application that proposes to forgo the diversion and use of water for irrigation, the applicant shall certify to the state engineer that the applicant made a good faith effort to provide notice of the conservation project by personal contact or regular mail to all owners of land adjacent to conservation project lands and any contiguous lands owned by the applicant. The certification shall include a list that identifies all adjacent landowners that were notified by the applicant. The owners of valid water rights whose water rights may be injured by the proposed conservation project, and any person who may be aggrieved or adversely affected in fact by a conservation project, may provide written comments to the state engineer not more than thirty (30) days following the notice required by this subsection. (d) The state engineer shall review each application submitted under this section and any written comments that are received under this section and shall approve only those conservation project applications that are in compliance with the requirements of this section and the state engineer's regulations. The refusal or approval of an application for a conservation project in accordance with this section shall be endorsed thereon, and a record made of such endorsement in the state engineer's office. The application so endorsed shall be returned to the applicant by regular mail. Approved applications shall also be posted to the state engineer's website. (e) The state engineer shall not approve a conservation project application if the proposed conservation project will injuriously affect the water rights of other appropriators and will not: (i) Result in the reduction of historic consumptive use; or (ii) Help satisfy Wyoming's interstate compact obligations through interstate agreements or under a valid court order entered by a court of competent jurisdiction. (f) The state engineer may refuse any conservation project application that appears to be detrimental to the public interest or that appears to provide for or aid in the interstate marketing of water. The state engineer may approve a conservation project subject to any conditions or limitations that the state engineer determines are necessary, including any conditions or limitations to mitigate any local water impacts that a conservation project may cause. (g) Approved conservation projects shall not cause the regulation of any other Wyoming water right by the state of Wyoming. However, if an approved conservation project is located on a source of supply that is being regulated by a water commissioner under W.S. 41-3-606, the water commissioner may prevent headgates of all downstream diversions that are subject to the regulation from that source of supply from diverting and using any water conserved by the conservation project during the period of time the source of supply is being regulated. (h) The state engineer shall not approve a conservation project application unless the applicant demonstrates a recent history of consumptive use made under the applicant's water right or the conservation project helps satisfy Wyoming's interstate compact obligations through interstate agreement or otherwise. A recent history of consumptive use means consumptive use made under the applicant's water right in not less than three (3) of the five (5) years preceding the application. To determine the historic consumptive use made under a water right, the state engineer may utilize the methods adopted by the Upper Colorado River Commission. For any conservation project where the state engineer determines that alternative methods may be better suited to determine the historic consumptive use, including methods to estimate consumptive use incident to the diversion, impounding and conveyance of water, the state engineer shall have the discretion to use those alternative methods. The methods and procedures for determining historic consumptive use under this subsection shall not have application to any other statute of the state of Wyoming. (j) The state engineer shall not approve any conservation project application, without the written consent of the district, that includes water rights that are appurtenant to lands within: (i) An irrigation district; (ii) A conservancy district; or (iii) A watershed improvement district. (k) For any conservation project that proposes to temporarily forego the diversion and use of the direct natural flow of water for irrigation purposes, the total period of the conservation project approved under this section shall not exceed five (5) consecutive years. After the expiration of a conservation project approved under this section that participated in the program for not less than two (2) and not to exceed five (5) consecutive years, the water right shall be used for its adjudicated or permitted purpose for a period of not less than two (2) years before becoming eligible for any further participation in the program. This subsection shall not apply to approved conservation projects that forego the diversion and use of the direct natural flow of water for irrigation purposes that also achieve long-term reductions of consumptive use through irrigation system improvements. (m) No loss, abandonment or impairment of any water rights involved in an approved conservation project shall occur or attach as a result of the conservation project. Upon termination of the conservation project, the water right holder's rights, privileges, uses and purposes held under the original appropriation shall be automatically reinvested. (n) Any appeal of the state engineer's endorsement upon a conservation project application shall be made in the following manner: (i) Any applicant who is aggrieved by the endorsement made by the state engineer upon his application may appeal the action of the state engineer to the board of control within thirty (30) days after service by regular mail of the notice of rejection of the application; (ii) Any owner of a valid water right whose water right will be injuriously affected by the state engineer's approval of a conservation project may appeal the action of the state engineer to the board of control not later than thirty (30) days after the notice of approval of the conservation project is posted on the state engineer's website pursuant to subsection (d) of this section; (iii) Pursuant to an appeal under paragraph (i) or (ii) of this subsection, the board of control shall appoint a hearing officer and conduct a contested case hearing in accordance with its rules and regulations and the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act. The decision of the board of control shall be subject to judicial review under W.S. 16-3-114; (iv) Any person not entitled to an appeal under paragraph (i) or (ii) of this subsection and who is aggrieved or adversely affected in fact by the state engineer's approval of a conservation project may seek judicial review of the state engineer's action pursuant to W.S. 16-3-114. Judicial review shall be sought within thirty (30) days after the notice of approval of the conservation project is posted on the state engineer's website pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. (o) Conservation project applications or approved conservation projects under this section shall not be considered or construed as applications for use of water outside of the state of Wyoming, or transfers of use of water outside the state of Wyoming, for purposes of W.S. 41-3-115. (p) The state engineer shall assess a fee not to exceed fifty dollars ($50.00) for the review of conservation project applications under this section. This fee shall accompany a conservation project application and shall be retained and deposited whether the application is approved, refused or withdrawn. (q) Information provided by an applicant or included as part of a conservation project under this act shall not be subject to W.S. 16-4-203(d)(xiv). (r) No new conservation project shall be authorized under this section on or after July 1, 2032.
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