When an application is filed which complies with this chapter and the rules adopted under this chapter, the department of water resources shall instruct the applicant to:

     1.    Give notice of the application by certified mail in the form prescribed by rule, to all record title owners of real estate within a radius of one mile [1.61 kilometers] from the location of the proposed water appropriation site, except:

a.    If the one-mile [1.61-kilometer] radius extends within the geographical boundary of a city, the notice must be given to the governing body of the city and no further notice need be given to the record title owners of real estate within the geographical boundary of the city.

b. If the one-mile [1.61-kilometer] radius includes land within the geographical boundary of a rural subdivision where the lots are of ten acres [4.04 hectares] or less, the notice must be given to the governing body of the township or other governing authority for the rural subdivision and no further notice need be given to the record title owners of real estate within the geographical boundary of the rural subdivision.

c.    If the one-mile [1.61-kilometer] radius includes a single tract of rural land which is owned by more than ten individuals, the notice must be given to the governing body of the township or other governing authority for that tract of land and no further notice need be given to the record title owners of that tract.

2.    Give notice of the application by certified mail in the form prescribed by rule to all persons holding water permits for the appropriation of water from appropriation sites located within a radius of one mile [1.61 kilometers] from the location of the proposed water appropriation site. The department of water resources shall provide a list of all persons who must be notified under this subsection to the applicant.

3.    Give notice of the application by certified mail in the form prescribed by rule to all municipal or public use permitholders within a twelve-mile [19.32-kilometer] radius of the proposed water appropriation site. The department of water resources shall provide a list of all municipal or public use permitholders that must be notified under this subsection to the applicant.

4.    Provide the department of water resources with an affidavit of notice by certified mail within sixty days from the date of the department’s instructions to provide notice. If the applicant fails to file satisfactory proof of notice by certified mail within sixty days and in compliance with the applicable rules, the department shall treat the application as an original application filed on the date of receipt of the affidavit of notice by certified mail in proper form. If a properly completed affidavit of notice is not submitted within one hundred twenty days, the department shall consider the application withdrawn. Upon receipt of a proper affidavit of notice by certified mail, the department shall publish notice of the application, in a form prescribed by rule, in the official newspaper of the county in which the proposed appropriation site is located, once a week for two consecutive weeks.

5.    The notice must give all essential facts as to the proposed appropriation, including the places of appropriation and of use, amount of water, the use, the name and address of the applicant, and the date by which written comments and requests for a public hearing regarding the proposed appropriation must be filed with the department of water resources. The notice also must state anyone who files written comments with the department will be mailed the department’s recommended decision on the application. Persons filing written comments will become a party of record to the application. The comment deadline is five p.m. on the first business day thirty days after the first published notice in the official county newspaper as specified in subsection 4.

6.    The applicant shall pay all costs of the publication of notice.