037-5 Wyo. Code R. § 5-17
An involuntary abandonment is the forfeiture of a water right which has not been exercised for at least the five successive years past when water was available to satisfy the water right. Years during which a water supply was not available are not included. A petition for involuntary abandonment may be brought before the State Board of Control by any appropriator whose water right might be benefited by a declaration of abandonment of an existing water right or whose water right might be injured by the reactivation of an unused water right. Standing is determined by demonstrating that the petitioner holds a valid adjudicated water right or permit to appropriate water from the same source of supply which is equal to or junior in date of priority to the water right for which abandonment is sought, or a surplus water right if the water right sought to be abandoned has a priority date of March 1, 1945, or earlier. A petition for involuntary abandonment requires a fee (see Board Fee Schedule) for each appropriation for which abandonment is sought. Statutory authority for this type of petition and matters related is found in W.S. 41-3-401, and the contested case procedures set out in these regulations. The State Engineer may also initiate abandonment proceedings under certain conditions as stated in W.S. W.S. W.S. 41-3-402. A petition for declaration of abandonment must be supported by complete documentation which shows the ownership of each challenged appropriation, and the appropriation (s) upon which the petitioner relies for standing so that the Board's staff may provide notice to all persons known to have any interest in the proceedings. The petitioner is required to specifically list the lands served by each challenged appropriation, and to name all persons known or believed to have any ownership interest. The Board's staff may be contacted for assistance in describing adjudicated appropriations to be placed in contest, and the State Engineer's Office may be contacted for assistance in describing unadjudicated permits to appropriate water. The respective county records and all other readily available public records should be searched by the petitioner to obtain the names and addresses of the owners. As a minimum, the petition should reference the appropriations' names shown on the records of the Board and provide current ownership information. If the petitioner desires to use surplus water for standing, it must be clearly described in the petition how the standing is determined. The petition should be substantially in the form indicated below and must contain the following information:
a. HEADING -- Sufficiently describe and identify the appropriation(s) for which a declaration of abandonment is sought.
b. OPENING STATEMENT - Identify the contestant(s) , and show a mailing address, and give a general introduction.
c. BODY -
ITEM 1 -- Show that the contestant (s) is the owner (s) of the appropriation for which standing is claimed. Identify the appropriation by the name of the original appropriator, the name of the ditch, the source of supply, the permit number, and the priority. Also describe the lands under the appropriation. Indicate that proof of ownership from the county clerk or other acceptable documentation accompanies the petition.
ITEM 2 -- Set forth the present ownership and completely describe the appropriation for which a declaration of abandonment is sought, showing the name of the original appropriator, proof number, stream, ditch, permit number, and priority. State that proof of ownership from the county clerk or other acceptable documentation accompanies the petition.
ITEM 3 -- State and fully describe the factual basis upon which the petitioner claims standing.
ITEM 4 -- State that water has not been applied to beneficial use for at least five successive years last past when water was available for use. The five years need not to be consecutive if there were intervening years when water was not available. However, the specific five years at issue must be specified in the petition.
ITEM 5 -- State and fully describe how the petitioner's water right(s) will be benefited by the abandonment, or how the petitioner's water right(s) will be injured by the reactivation of the water right for which abandonment is sought.
d. PRAYER -- Follow the format set out in the sample petition in Appendix A of these Regulations and Instructions.
e. If the petition seeks abandonment of only portions of an appropriation, the Board may require a map or maps be submitted. Where less than full 40-acre subdivisions are sought for abandonment, map(s) shall be submitted showing the situation as it currently exists on the ground, including a description of the portion of each 40-acre subdivision for which the water rights are sought to be abandoned.
f. The division superintendent shall notify the holder of the water right (s) sought to be abandoned by certified mail that a hearing will be held. The hearing shall be conducted pursuant to all applicable provisions of the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act. All notices shall advise interested parties of the time, place and purpose of the hearing. The parties initiating abandonment actions are designated as contestants. Water right holders or other persons with interest in the water right(s) sought to be abandoned are designated as contestees. Where notice by certified mail cannot be accomplished, an advertisement published once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the abandonment is alleged to have occurred, naming the parties in the case and setting the time, place and purpose of the hearing is sufficient. The costs of advertising shall be paid by the contestant.
g. A transcript shall be made of the hearing and delivered to the Cheyenne Board office. The contestants shall pay for the costs of establishing the record of the proceedings. At the conclusion of the hearing, a report of the division superintendent shall be transmitted to the Board by the division superintendent. As soon thereafter as may be possible, the Board shall vote to declare the water right(s) in question abandoned, either in whole or in part, or vote to deny the petition.
037-5 Wyo. Code R. § 5-17