Opinion ID: 1800972
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: applications and issuance of permits to appropriate water

Text: Any person or entity, public or private, wishing to appropriate water covered by the act must file an application for a permit with the board. (Wat. Code, § 1260.) Each application must set forth the source of water supply, the nature and amount of the proposed use, the location and description of the proposed headworks, ditches, canals, and other works, the proposed place of diversion, the place where it is intended to use the water, the time within which it is proposed to begin construction, the time required for completion of construction, and the time for complete application of the water to the proposed use. (Wat. Code, § 1260.) Once the application is filed, the board must issue a Notice of Application, which is a resume of the information contained in the application. (Wat. Code, §§ 1300 and 1301.) The notice must be delivered to the district attorney and board of supervisors of the county where the diversion is proposed. (Wat. Code, § 1300.) For appropriations in excess of 3 cubic feet per second or for more than 200 acre feet per annum storage, the notice must also be published once a week for 3 successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county wherein the point of diversion lies. (Wat. Code, §§ 1310-1317.) Additionally, the board must send copies of the notice by registered mail to each person who is known to the board and who, in its judgment, is interested in the application. (Wat. Code, § 1321.) The purpose of the notice procedure is to provide all interested parties with the opportunity to protest the application. (Wat. Code, § 1330.) Depending on the amount of water involved, the board must allow a minimum of either 40 days or 60 days for the filing of protests. (Wat. Code, §§ 1302, 1303.) Protests may be filed by  any person.  (Wat. Code, § 1330.) The protest may be based on interference with a prior vested water right (Cal. Admin. Code, tit. 23, § 719, subd. (b)), or on grounds that the appropriation will not best conserve the public interest or will be contrary to law. (Cal. Admin. Code, tit. 23, § 719, subd. (e).) Once an application has been filed, interested parties notified, and protests received, the board issues a notice of hearing. (Wat. Code, § 1341.) All protestants and interested parties may participate in the hearings. (Cal. Admin. Code, tit. 23, § 733.) California law requires the board to consider specific factors relating to beneficial use and the public interest before deciding whether to grant a permit. First, the board shall allow the appropriation only under such terms and conditions as in its judgment will best develop, conserve, and utilize in the public interest the water sought to be appropriated. (Wat. Code, § 1253.) Second, the board must reject the application if, in its judgment, the appropriation would not best conserve the public interest. (Wat. Code, § 1255.) Third, the board must consider the relative benefit to be derived from all beneficial uses of the water concerned, including domestic, irrigation, municipal, and industrial use, as well as use for preservation and enhancement of fish, wildlife, and recreational uses. (Wat. Code, § 1257.) Furthermore, the benefit to be derived from the reuse or reclamation of the water sought to be appropriated, as sought by the application, must be considered. (Wat. Code, § 1257.) Finally, the board must consider any water quality plans which have been established. (Wat. Code, § 1258.) If, after considering the application and the factors discussed above, the board concludes that a right to appropriate water should be granted, it issues a permit. (Wat. Code, § 1380.) Board action on applications is reviewable by writ of mandate in the superior court. (Wat. Code, § 1360.) Water Code section 1394, subdivision (a) empowers the board to retain jurisdiction to revise or supplement the terms and conditions of a permit if the board finds that sufficient information is not available to finally determine the terms and conditions which will reasonably protect vested rights without resulting in a waste of water or which will best develop, conserve and utilize in the public interest the water sought to be appropriated, and that a period of actual operation will be necessary in order to secure the required information.