SECTION 785:30-11-3. Actions after prior rights are determined

(a)   Creation of file. Claimants granted a prior right based on beneficial use with no application on file will have a file created by the Board which will contain all pertinent data presented at the public hearing and that portion of the final order which determined their prior right. Prior rights files created by the Board based on beneficial use will be given a number at the end of the year for the earliest priority date.

(b)   Priority of prior rights. All prior rights based on the criteria in 785:30-11-2 shall have priority over any rights acquired subsequent to July 1, 1973, the effective date of the Ground Water Act. They shall have priorities among themselves according to the date of taking for those based on actual taking and according to the date of filing of the application where based on an application.

(c)   Exercise of prior rights.

(1)   The prior rights determined by the procedures in this subchapter shall be exercised only through wells located within that segment of land relied upon for perfection of the right and which was leased or owned by the right holder on the date of the priority of the right.

(2)   Application for an additional or replacement well(s) to exercise an established prior right, must be made in the same manner and procedure as in 785:30-7-4.

(3)   Application for adding or changing uses to exercise an established prior right, must be made in the same manner and procedure as in 785:30-7-1.

(d)   Protection of prior rights. The prior rights determined by this subchapter of these rules shall not include any right to be protected by requiring junior right holders or groundwater rights acquired subsequent to July 1, 1973, to curtail production of groundwater unless the prior right holder asking for that relief proves that such relief is necessary to prevent material impairment of his prior right and that such relief will, in fact, benefit his exercise of his prior right materially.

(e)   Division of right. Where an application or permit is split which has established a prior right, the prior right is proportionately divided based on acres divided.

(f)   Maximum amount to be withdrawn under temporary permit by persons having prior right to use of groundwater. If a person has a recognized prior right to use groundwater and applies for a temporary permit dedicating a tract of land which includes land relied upon to establish the prior right, an amount of land and water therefrom at two-acre feet per surface acre to equal the prior right amount will be excluded from the total amount of land used to calculate the water allocated by the temporary permit.

[Source: Amended at 12 Ok Reg 2689, eff 7-1-95]