45-252. General adjudication; representation; superior court; assignment to judge; personnel funding; petition

A. One or more water users on a river system and source, the water rights of which have not been previously adjudicated under this article and administered by the director of water resources, or this state on the request of any state agency other than the department of water resources may file a petition to have determined in a general adjudication the nature, extent and relative priority of the water rights of all persons in the river system and source.

B. The attorney general shall represent this state in connection with all water claims asserted by this state. The director shall be represented by legal counsel retained in accordance with section 45-104, subsection F.

C. The general adjudication shall be brought and maintained in the superior court in the county in which the largest number of potential claimants resides. The clerk of the court in which the petition is filed shall notify the supreme court, and the supreme court shall assign the general adjudication to a superior court judge and appoint a master and shall consolidate the general adjudication with other pending general adjudications, if appropriate.

D. The supreme court may appoint additional paralegals and law clerks for the general adjudication.  Notwithstanding section 12-128, the superior court judge, master, paralegal and law clerk positions prescribed in this subsection and subsection C of this section shall be fully funded by this state.

E. The petition for a general adjudication shall be captioned: "In re the general adjudication of all rights to use water in the ____________ river system and source" and shall request that the court determine the nature, extent and relative priority of the water rights of all persons in the river system and source.