R655-3-6. Procedures for Processing a Report of Conveyance

  6.1 Upon receipt of a Report of Conveyance, the state engineer shall assess if the Report of Conveyance is acceptably completed in form and substance.

  6.2 If a Report of Conveyance is acceptably complete, it will be processed and Division records updated to reflect ownership of the water right in accordance with the Report. Written notice will be sent to the new owner identified in the Report of Conveyance.

  6.3 If a Report of Conveyance is not acceptably complete, the ROC will be returned to the submitting party with an explanation of why it is not considered acceptably complete.

  6.4 If the fee for the ROC has been processed by the state engineer prior to the return of a ROC to the submitting party, the state engineer will place a copy of the ROC on the water right file but will not update ownership records until the ROC is acceptably complete.

  The submitting party will be allowed 90 days to return a corrected or completed ROC for processing without further fee.

  6.5 The accuracy and completeness of the Report is the sole responsibility of the submitter.

  6.6 A Report of Conveyance which conflicts with another Report on the same water right will not be processed and will be returned to the submitter. Its receipt will be noted on records of the state engineer and the disputing parties notified. The state engineer will take no further administrative action on a water right which is the subject of a conflict until the conflict is resolved.

  6.6.1 Conflicted Holders may resolve the title conflict by filing documents that resolve the title question with the State Engineer. To be evaluated, any documents submitted, including court orders, must first be filed with the applicable county recorder where the water right is diverted and used. Any resolution document, agreement or order between the Conflicted Holders must directly address the title conflict of record rather than appeal to state engineer discretion in resolving the matter.

  6.6.2 Nothing in this Section 6.6 shall be construed to create a title conflict where a deed with precedence over subsequent deeds relied upon in a chain of title used to update state engineer records is submitted in a Report of Conveyance. However, the deed holder assumes ownership of the water right on state engineer records subject to all administrative actions which have occurred at the time the ROC is submitted and individual ROCs must be filed for each segregated portion of the water right affected by the conveyance documents.