This text of North Dakota § 61-16.1-09.1 (Watercourses, bridges, and low-water crossings) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.
1.A water resource board may undertake the snagging, clearing, and maintaining of
natural watercourses and the debrisment of bridges and low-water crossings. The
board may finance the project in whole or in part with funds raised through the
collection of a special assessment levied against the land and premises benefited by
the project. The benefits of a project must be determined in the manner provided in
section 61-16.1-18. Revenue from an assessment under this section may not be used
for construction of a drain or reconstruction or maintenance of an existing assessment
drain. Any question as to whether the board is maintaining a natural watercourse or is
constructing a drain or reconstructing or maintaining an existing assessment drain
must be resolved by the department of water resou
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1. A water resource board may undertake the snagging, clearing, and maintaining of
natural watercourses and the debrisment of bridges and low-water crossings. The
board may finance the project in whole or in part with funds raised through the
collection of a special assessment levied against the land and premises benefited by
the project. The benefits of a project must be determined in the manner provided in
section 61-16.1-18. Revenue from an assessment under this section may not be used
for construction of a drain or reconstruction or maintenance of an existing assessment
drain. Any question as to whether the board is maintaining a natural watercourse or is
constructing a drain or reconstructing or maintaining an existing assessment drain
must be resolved by the department of water resources. All provisions of this chapter
apply to assessments levied under this section except:
a. An assessment may not exceed fifty cents per acre [.40 hectare] annually on
agricultural lands and may not exceed fifty cents annually for each five hundred
dollars of taxable valuation of nonagricultural property.
b. If the assessment is for a project costing less than one hundred thousand dollars,
no action is required for the establishment of the assessment district or the
assessments except the board must approve the project and assessment by a
vote of two-thirds of the members and the board of county commissioners of the
county in which the project is located must approve and levy the assessments to
be made by a vote of two-thirds of its members.
(1) If a board that undertakes a project finds the project will benefit lands
outside water resource district boundaries, the board shall provide notice to
the water resource board where the benefited lands are located together
with the report prepared under section 61-16.1-17.
(2) The board of each water resource district containing lands benefited by a
project must approve the project and assessment by a vote of two-thirds of
its members. The board of county commissioners in each county that
contains lands benefited by a project must approve and levy the
assessment to be made by a vote of two-thirds of its members.
(3) If a project and assessment is not approved by all affected water resource
boards and county commission boards, the board of each water resource
district and the board of county commissioners of each county shall meet to
ensure all common water management problems are resolved pursuant to
section 61-16.1-10. In addition, the water resource board that undertakes
the project may proceed with the project if the board finances the cost of the
project and does not assess land outside the boundaries of the district.
c. All revenue from an assessment under this section must be exhausted before a
subsequent assessment covering any portion of lands subject to a prior
assessment may be levied.
2. Before an assessment may be levied under this section, a public hearing must be held
and attended by a quorum of the affected water resource boards and a quorum of the
affected boards of county commissioners. The hearing must be preceded by notice as
to date, time, location, and subject matter published in the official newspaper in the
county in which the proposed assessment is to be levied. The notice must be
published at least ten days but not more than thirty days before the public hearing.