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Show ARTESIAN WATERS 653 After March 1, 1958, anyone wishing to acquire rights to ground water must file an application for a permit with the State Engineer.190 In areas not desig- nated as critical ground water areas, the permit is granted as a matter of course if the proposed use is beneficial and the proposed means of diversion and construction are adequate. However, if the State Engineer finds that granting the permit would not be in the public interest, he may deny the application, subject to review at the next meeting of the State Board of Control.191 Ground water rights are subject to the same preferences as are surface water rights.192 ARTESIAN WATERS Most of the Western States have statutes regulating the drilling or operation of artesian wells. Many court decisions also deal with the subject, although at times the courts use the term "artesian" when they actually are considering ordinary percolating waters. This section will consider the laws of the Western States as they expressly relate to these waters. Such statutes and court deci- sions include those in the following discussions of the applicable laws in par- ticular States. Alaska Artesian waters are given no special treatment in Alaska, but are subject to statutory appropriation as are other surface and ground waters.193 Arizona Statutory regulations of artesian waters in Arizona empower the State Land Department to require that flowing wells be capped or equipped with valves and to be so constructed as to prevent waste.194 A person who owns or is in charge of an artesian well and wilfully allows it to flow uncapped is guilty of a misdemeanor.195 California The classification of waters as artesian or non-artesian has no bearing in determining relative rights to the waters.196 In an early case,197 it was stated 190Id. § 41-138. 191 Id. § 41-139. Procedures applicable to critical ground water areas are discussed under "Designated Critical or Other Ground Water Areas-Wyoming," infra. 192Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 41-123 (1957). 193See, Alaska Stat. § 46.15.030 (Supp. 1966). 194 Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 45-319 (1956). 19SId. § 13-1012. 196See Hutchins, W. A., "The California Law of Water Rights" 465466 (1956). 197Miller v. Bay Cities Water Co., 157 Cal. 256, 107 Pac. 115 (1910). |