Commenting on Applications and Taking Part

Most decisions about water and farmland are made in public, on paper, with a notice, a deadline and a record. People miss them for plain reasons. The notice ran in a paper they do not read. The deadline was ten days. The comment said "no" without saying why. This lesson is the working guide: where notices appear, what the deadlines are, what a useful comment contains, and how to keep track of it all on a single page.

Where decisions are noticed

Decision	Who decides	Where the notice appears	Deadline to act
New water right (application for permit)	IDWR director	Newspaper in the county of the point of diversion, once a week for two successive weeks; IDWR website; the New Water Right Applications search	Protest within 10 days from the last date of publication (42-203A)
Change of a water right (point of diversion, place, period or nature of use)	IDWR director, with a watermaster recommendation	Notice similar to a new application; New Water Rights Transfers search	Protest within 10 days of the last publication (42-222). The notice itself states the date, so read it
Extension of time for non-use	IDWR director	Notice under the 42-203A procedure	Protest within 10 days of last publication (42-222)
Water Resource Board policy, ESPA recharge, State Water Plan	Idaho Water Resource Board	IWRB meeting schedule page; Townhall Idaho; agenda posting under 74-204	Meetings about every 6 to 8 weeks; check each agenda
Rezone, special use permit, subdivision	County planning and zoning commission, then commissioners	Newspaper, site posting, mailed notice, county website	Notice at least 15 days before the hearing; reconsideration request within 14 days of the final decision (67-6535); judicial review within 28 days after exhausting local remedies (67-6521)
Siting a large animal feeding operation	County commissioners	County notice for the hearing under its CAFO siting rules	Comment by residents within one mile (or wider if the board expands) at the hearing (67-6529)
Irrigation district budget, assessment, annexation	District board	Board notice and agenda under 74-204 and the district's own practice	Notice of correction and board of correction windows stated on the assessment notice (43-702, 43-703)
Water district delivery decisions	Watermaster, subject to IDWR	Water district annual meeting; notice from the watermaster	Set by the notice and IDWR rules

Following IDWR notices

1. Open the IDWR Water Rights page and use the New Water Right Applications search for pending permits and amendments. Use the New Water Rights Transfers search for pending transfers. Search by county, source or applicant name.
2. Read the notice for the application number, the source, the priority date requested, the quantity, the point of diversion, the place and purpose of use, and the last protest date. The newspaper notice is the official one.
3. Pull the application from IDWR. It shows maps, quantities and the applicant's stated need.
4. Compare it to the water rights near it using the Water Rights and Adjudication Search and the map-based search (lesson 06). Your question is whether the proposed diversion would reduce the supply to your right, to a neighbor's, to a district's, or to the source.
5. If you want to protest, write it, attach the fee and send a copy to the applicant. IDWR's page lists a non-refundable fee of $25 per application, which is a figure from IDWR's site as of October 2026. Confirm the amount against 42-221 and the form before you send it.
6. Mark the hearing. A hearing on a protested application must be held within 60 days of receiving the protest, with certified-mail notice to the applicant and protestants at least 10 days beforehand (42-203A).

What the director weighs

The director's decision turns on criteria in statute, and a protest works when it speaks to them. For a new application under 42-203A, the director may reject it, approve it for a smaller quantity or approve it with conditions if it would reduce the quantity of water under existing rights, the water supply is insufficient, the application is not in good faith, is for delay or is speculative, the applicant lacks sufficient financial resources, it conflicts with the local public interest, it is contrary to water conservation in Idaho, or it would adversely affect the local economy of the source watershed where the place of use is outside that watershed. For a change under 42-222, the director approves only if no other water rights are injured, the change does not enlarge the original right, it is consistent with conservation and in the local public interest, it does not adversely affect the local economy of the originating watershed where the place of use is outside it, and the new use is beneficial. A change from agricultural use cannot be approved if it would significantly affect the local agricultural base. Minimum stream flow rights cannot be established under the local public interest criterion.

Standing, in plain words

The statute lets "any person, firm, association, or corporation concerned" file a protest (42-203A). That is a broad door. The narrower door is judicial review: a person who formally appeared at the hearing and is aggrieved by the director's decision may seek review under 42-1701A(4). The practical point is that a protest and attendance at the hearing are the way to keep the option. A person who sent only a letter to a newspaper has no record in the case.

Water Resource Board and county meetings

The Idaho Water Resource Board holds public meetings about every 6 to 8 weeks and sometimes special meetings, according to IDWR's page. Schedules, agendas and archived materials are on the IWRB Meeting Materials and Schedules page, and Townhall Idaho, the state portal where participating public bodies post meetings, may list them too (search for the Board by name). Standing committees make recommendations and, as the page says, final actions are taken only by the full Board. The Water Storage Projects committee oversees the managed recharge program on the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer, and the Aquifer Stabilization committee sets policy for stabilization in the ESPA and reviews project proposals. The IWRB page did not describe a public comment process for regular meetings; it lists past comment periods and hearings tied to specific plans. Contact the Board's staff before a meeting to learn how comment is taken.

Public bodies in Idaho post notices and agendas. Under 74-204, a regular meeting needs notice at least five calendar days ahead and an agenda at least 48 hours ahead. A special meeting needs 24 hours unless there is an emergency. Agendas label items that may be voted on as action items. Agendas can be amended. An amendment posted at least 48 hours before a regular meeting (24 hours before a special one) takes effect when posted; a later one takes effect only after the body votes at the meeting to adopt it. Notices are posted at the agency's principal office and electronically if the agency has a website or social media. County planning commissions, county commissioners and irrigation district boards fall under these rules to the extent they are public agencies; the open-meetings tracker at jeffapierson.com/journal_tools/idaho-open-meetings-tracker helps keep a log.

County hearings that touch water

A subdivision or rezone on irrigated land often decides, in effect, what happens to a water right and to wells. At the hearing the commission or board takes testimony and makes a record (67-6536 requires a transcribable record). For a special use permit, notice is published at least 15 days ahead, posted at the site at least a week ahead, and mailed to owners or purchasers of record within the land and within 300 feet of its boundaries (67-6512). A rezone follows similar mailed and posted notice (67-6511). The decision must be written with a reasoned statement tied to express standards (67-6535). A person who wants judicial review of compliance with that section must first request reconsideration within 14 days of the final decision, identifying specific deficiencies; the body then has 60 days to respond or the request is deemed denied; the 28-day period for a petition for judicial review runs after local remedies are exhausted and is tolled during reconsideration (67-6521, 67-6535). An affected person under 67-6521 has a bona fide interest in real property that may be adversely affected.

Writing a comment that gets used

A decision maker must apply criteria to facts. A comment helps when it supplies facts that fit a criterion. A short structure that works:

• Who you are and what you own or use. Name, address, the water right number or parcel, and how you use the water.
• The case. Application number or file number, the hearing date, the page of the notice.
• The criterion. Injury to existing rights, enlargement, sufficiency of supply, local public interest, conservation; or at the county, the plan policy or ordinance standard.
• The fact. A date, a flow, a distance, a measurement, a map reference or a record. For example, a gauge reading, a district delivery report or a well log.
• The request. Deny, approve with a stated condition, require measurement, require a study or a delivery entity letter.

Keep it to a page. Attach records. Be calm. A comment that says "the proposed point of diversion is 800 feet above my headgate and the application shows 1.2 cfs; in July my right gets about 0.9 cfs" gives the director something to test. Personal attacks on the applicant give the record nothing.

Records requests

Water and land use files are public records in most cases. Under the Idaho Public Records Act, a request goes to the agency's designated custodian and must state that it is a public records request (74-103). A resident is entitled to a grant or denial within three working days; if more time is needed to locate or retrieve the records, the agency must say so in writing and provide them within ten working days. If the agency misses the deadline, the request is deemed denied. A denial must be in writing, cite the statutory authority and explain the right to appeal and the deadlines. Nonresidents have longer periods (21 days, extended to 35). No special form is required.

What to request, by agency: from IDWR, the application file, protests, hearing notices, field exam reports and watermaster reports; from the county, the staff report, the application, letters from delivery entities, hearing recordings and minutes; from a district, the budget, minutes and assessment summaries. Mutual and canal companies are private corporations, and their records follow their bylaws (lesson 08). Use the letter generator at jeffapierson.com/journal_tools/foia-letter-generator and see the course Public Records Requests in Idaho.

Questions and answers

Can anyone protest a water right application?

The statute says any person, firm, association or corporation concerned with the application (42-203A). The protest must be written, signed, with name and address, state objections clearly and include the fee.

What if I miss the 10 days?

The statute sets the deadline. A late protest is not covered by the text reviewed here. Call the IDWR regional office right away to learn what it will accept, and do not rely on an extension.

How do I know the last date of publication?

The newspaper notice runs once a week for two successive weeks and the notice states the final protest date. IDWR's page says the protest must be received by IDWR no later than 10 days after the publication.

Is a hearing guaranteed after a protest?

Under 42-203A a hearing must be held within 60 days of receiving the protest. IDWR's page adds that if you and the applicant cannot resolve the protest, either party can request a formal hearing, and describes the process. Read the current page and the notice for your case.

Can I comment on a transfer at the county?

County hearings concern land use. The transfer decision is IDWR's. You can raise water supply concerns at the county hearing and file the protest with IDWR. Both records matter.

How do I find the Water Board agenda?

Use IWRB Meeting Materials and Schedules and Townhall Idaho. Agendas must be posted under 74-204 for public bodies subject to it.

How long does a county have to answer a records request?

Three working days to grant or deny for a resident, with a written extension to ten working days when more time is needed to locate or retrieve records (74-103).

What if an irrigation district will not give me its minutes?

Districts are generally treated as public agencies under the records and meetings laws (the definition in 74-101 reaches districts and political subdivisions). Send a written request that says it is a public records request, and keep the denial if there is one, since a denial must cite its authority and explain appeal rights.

Hard questions

Is ten days enough time to protest?

Applicants and the agency point out that the statute gives a clear deadline and a final protest date, and that fast decisions help people who need water. Residents point out that a two-week newspaper notice can be missed, particularly in a county without a daily paper. The statute sets the clock. A person who watches the IDWR application listings weekly is not relying on the newspaper.

Should only people with a water right be allowed to protest?

The statute opens protests to any concerned person, and the criteria include local public interest and conservation, which are not limited to holders of rights. Water users argue protests by people without rights add cost and delay. Others answer that the public interest criteria exist because the water belongs to the public in Idaho (lesson 01). The $25 fee and the requirement of objections tied to the application are the filters the statute uses.

Does public comment matter if the criteria are legal?

Comments that supply facts matter because the decision maker must apply the criteria to the record. Comments that only express feeling are noted and carry little weight. That is a fair description of how records work, not an insult to feeling.

Why do county decisions need a written reasoned statement?

67-6535 requires one so that the people affected, the applicant and a reviewing court can see which standards were applied and what facts were relied on. Counties say it adds work for volunteer commissions. Residents say it makes decisions checkable.

What is the right balance between speed and participation?

Short windows protect applicants from long uncertainty, and long windows protect neighbors from surprise. The numbers in statute (10 days, 15 days, 14 days, 28 days) are the legislature's balance. Readers can compare them with the figures in the next section and form their own view.

Pictures, Numbers and Infographics

Verified figures from the statutes and agency pages in this lesson

Item	Figure	Source (checked 2026-10)
Protest deadline, new water right application	10 days from the last date of publication	Idaho Code 42-203A; IDWR Water Rights page
Newspaper notice	Once a week for two successive weeks	Idaho Code 42-203A
Hearing after a protest	Within 60 days of receiving the protest; certified-mail notice at least 10 days before	Idaho Code 42-203A
Protest fee	$25 per application, non-refundable (IDWR page; statutory fee under 42-221)	IDWR Water Rights page
Forfeiture for non-use	5 years; extension up to 5 more years on a showing	Idaho Code 42-222
Water Resource Board meetings	About every 6 to 8 weeks	IDWR IWRB page
Open meeting notice, regular meeting	5 calendar days; agenda 48 hours	Idaho Code 74-204
Open meeting notice, special meeting	24 hours, unless emergency	Idaho Code 74-204
Public records response, resident	3 working days; 10 working days with written extension	Idaho Code 74-103
County special use permit notice	Published at least 15 days ahead; posted at least 1 week ahead; mailed within 300 feet	Idaho Code 67-6512
County reconsideration request	Within 14 days of the final decision; response within 60 days	Idaho Code 67-6535
Judicial review of county decision	28 days after exhausting local remedies	Idaho Code 67-6521
CAFO siting comment	Residents within 1 mile (board may widen)	Idaho Code 67-6529
CAFO thresholds	700 mature dairy cows; 1,000 other cattle; 2,500 swine of 55 pounds or more; 82,000 chickens (among others)	Idaho Code 67-6529C
Meritless nuisance complaints	$150, $300, then misdemeanor, within two years of the first complaint	Idaho Code 22-4505

Infographic 1: priority on a river in a dry July

Check: 1.5 + 3.0 = 4.5 cfs for the two oldest rights. 5.0 - 4.5 = 0.5 cfs left for the third. 7.2 - 5.0 = 2.2 cfs short. All figures are invented to show the order of service, which is first in time, first in right.

Infographic 2: how a water right changes hands

Infographic 3: who administers water, without a map

The county box sits beside the water chain on purpose. The county does not decide who holds a water right, and IDWR does not approve a subdivision. Land use and water meet where an applicant must show a water source to the county (67-6537) and a delivery entity must approve a change in use. For the roles of each office, see lessons 02 and 08.