46-5-49. Filing of vested right claim--Hearing--Mandatory filing--Waiver of right.
Any person claiming to be owner of a vested right to appropriate water from any surface water source for beneficial use other than domestic use as defined in subdivision §46-1-6(7), may file with the chief engineer a vested right claim in a form and manner prescribed by the Board of Water Management. The claim shall set forth the amount of water used, when the water was used, purpose of use, the location of the diversion works and, if the water has been used for irrigation purposes, the legal description of the land upon which the water has been used, and the name of the owner of the land. The claim shall be signed under oath and shall be either from the claimant's own personal knowledge or on information and belief. The hearing on the vested right claim shall be conducted pursuant to the procedures contained in chapter 46-2A. If, in the course of an investigation conducted by the chief engineer pursuant to subdivision 46-2-17(1), a person asserts the existence of a vested water right, the chief engineer may require that person to file a vested right claim within ninety days pursuant to this section. Failure to file in the absence of such a requirement by the chief engineer does not constitute a waiver of a vested water right.
Source: SL 1986, ch 363, §5.