Section 46.15.040. Right to appropriate.

   (a) A right to appropriate water can be acquired only as provided in this chapter.  A right to the use of water either appropriated or unappropriated may not be acquired by adverse use or possession.
   (b) A right to appropriate water shall be obtained by first making application to the commissioner for a permit to appropriate. The commissioner shall by regulation prescribe the form and contents of the application and the procedure for filing the application.  If a permit is granted and the means of appropriation is constructed, a certificate of appropriation may be obtained.
   (c) All applications to the commissioner for a permit to appropriate water, filed subsequent to July 1, 1966, shall be considered as having been simultaneously filed with the Department of Fish and Game under AS 16 and the Department of Environmental Conservation under AS 46.03.
   (d) The commissioner's issuance of a permit under AS 46.15.080 or of a certificate under AS 46.15.065 or 46.15.120 does not represent a guarantee by the state to the permittee or certificate holder that water will be available for appropriation at a certain volume, quality, artesian pressure, or cost. This subsection does not, however, alter the right a permittee or certificate holder may have against a later appropriator, including a government agency.

Authorities

46.15.035

Notes

Implemented As

11 AAC 93.040
11 AAC 93.050
11 AAC 93.060
11 AAC 93.065
11 AAC 93.142
11 AAC 93.143
11 AAC 93.210
11 AAC 93.220
11 AAC 93.250
11 AAC 93.970

References

11 AAC 05.010
AS 46.15.035 Appropriation or removal of water out of hydrologic units to other hydrologic units; water conservation fee; reservation of water for fish.

History

(Sec. 1 ch 50 SLA 1966; am Sec. 6 ch 104 SLA 1971; am Sec. 51 ch 71 SLA 1972; am Sec. 1 ch 135 SLA 1986)