A. Except as otherwise provided by Section 1020.10 of this title for limited quantity groundwater permits, upon the filing of an application which complies with the provisions of Chapter 11 of this title,¹ and the rules promulgated by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board pursuant thereto, the Board shall instruct the applicant to provide notice thereof, at the applicant's expense, and as required by the Board's rules. Such notice shall give all the essential facts as to the proposed taking, among them being the places of taking and of use, amount of water, the purpose for which it is to be used, name and address of applicant, the hearing date, time and place if a hearing is scheduled by the Board before instructions to provide notice are given, and a thirty-day protest period as well as the manner in which a protest to the application may be made. At the time the Board provides notice of application to the applicant, the Board shall publish on its website the applications and instructions for public notice, including the draft public notice prepared by the Board. The website publishing is in addition to, and not in lieu of, the requirement for applicants to publish notice in the newspaper. The time to protest shall run from the date of the first newspaper publication.

B. No hearing shall be had upon the application until proper notice shall have been given. Any interested party shall have the right to protest the application and present evidence and testimony in support of such protest. If the Board does not schedule a hearing on the application before instructing the applicant to provide notice, a hearing on the application shall be scheduled by the Board upon receipt of a protest which meets the requirements of the Board's rules and the Board shall notify the applicant and protestant of such hearing.