037-6 Wyo. Code R. § 6-3

Current through April 27, 2019
Section 6-3 - Notice and Service

a. Notice and service on all contested cases shall be given in accordance with W.S. 16-3-107. A contested case may be initiated by objection being made to a proof of appropriation or construction, by the filing of an abandonment action, or by objections raised to a proposed change of use or change in point of diversion, etc. In cases where the Board is required to hold a hearing in determining the extent of an appropriator's water rights without any adverse party being present, contested case procedures as to notice and service shall be observed by the Board and by all persons who appear as parties.

b. In a contested case, any person whom the Board knows to have an interest in the matter shall be given notice of the proceedings and of all motions or pleadings by acknowledged personal service or by certified mail, return receipt requested. All unknown persons shall be notified through publication. After all persons wishing to appear as parties have made themselves known, usually at the commencement of a hearing, further notice and service may be made personally at the hearing or by first class mail to the addresses given by the parties. However, the record of the proceedings must be documented in some fashion, such as by transcript notation or by letter copy.

c. Proofs of certified mailings, whether made by the Board or by any party shall be made part of the record. Affidavits of publication shall likewise be made a part of the record.

d. The moving party, whether contestant or contestee, shall be responsible for paying publication charges and may be assessed for the Board's mailing costs connected with a contested case proceedings.

e. The hearing officer may give personal notice to any party at a hearing in any manner so long as the fact of service is documented in the record of the proceedings.

f. In an action for involuntary abandonment of water rights, the petitioner (contestant) shall search all readily available public records to identify all persons who may have any interest in the appropriation or appropriations for which the declaration of abandonment is sought. A list of such persons with their mailing addresses and respective land ownership interests shall be filed in the Board's Cheyenne office with the petition for declaration for abandonment. Within three working days, the Board's staff shall determine if the petition and accompanying list of affected persons appears to be complete. If so determined, the Board's staff shall by the end of the third day send a copy of the petition by certified mail to all persons believed by the petitioner or Board's staff to have any interest in the matter. The action on the petition for declaration of abandonment shall be deemed as having commenced at the close of business on the day the petition was filed. If the Board's staff determines that the petition and supporting documents are inadequate to give notice to all persons believed to have an interest in the matter, or in any other particular, the original papers filed in the Board's Cheyenne office shall be returned to the petitioner by the end of the third by certified mail with a letter explaining any noted deficiency. A copy of the petition and supporting documents shall be kept for record purposes, but no action shall be deemed to have commenced as a result of the filing of a deficient petition for declaration of abandonment. However, there shall be no restriction of the correction and refiling of a deficient petition.

g. Each party in any contested case is required to keep the hearing officer and all other parties informed of his current mailing address and telephone number or that of his authorized attorney.

037-6 Wyo. Code R. § 6-3