PURPOSE OF RULES AND SUMMARY OF

ADJUDICATION PROCESS Rule 1(a). Authority of Montana water court. The Montana water court has a statutory obligation and the exclusive authority to adjudicate claims of existing water rights. The Montana supreme court establishes these special Montana water court rules of practice and procedure to guide the adjudication of pre-July 1, 1973 water rights. Rule 1(b). The adjudication process. Briefly, the adjudication process consists of the following steps: (1) upon order of the Montana supreme court, the filing of statements of claim for uses of water that existed prior to July 1, 1973; 3 (2) a review of the submitted claim and accompanying materials for clarity and completeness with editing to allow entry into computerized storage; (3) the compiling of the claim information into a centralized record system by the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (hereinafter referred to as the department); (4) under the direction of the water court pursuant to § 85-2-243, MCA, the department's examination of claims and the reporting of facts, data, and issues pertaining to the claims as set forth in these rules; (5) the issuance, by the water court, of interlocutory, temporary preliminary, or preliminary decrees based upon the information on the sworn claims, data submitted by the department, additional information obtained by the water judge, and, where appropriate, the contents of approved compacts or the filings for Indian and federal reserved water rights; (6) the notice and opportunity for interested persons to review and object to the interlocutory, temporary preliminary, or preliminary decrees for good cause; (7) judicial hearing by the water court on issues raised in these proceedings; (8) the issuance, by the water court, of final decrees based upon the previous decrees and the judicial determinations made upon hearings; and, (9) the opportunity for interested parties to review and appeal the final decrees under § 85-2-235, MCA.