§ 61-24-16 — County may be excluded from conservancy district if not benefited

1. Any county in the conservancy district not benefited or not to be benefited, in whole or
in part, by the establishment of the Garrison diversion unit of the Missouri River basin
project as authorized by Act of Congress, approved December 22, 1944 [58 Stat. 887],
and acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto, may be excluded from the
district as provided herein. The board of county commissioners of any such county
may by resolution direct the county auditor and the chairman of the board to file with
the board of directors of the conservancy district a petition, for and on behalf of the
county, requesting the board of directors of the district to exclude such county
therefrom. A certified copy of the resolution of the county board shall accompany and
be filed with such petition. The petition and resolution shall state specific reasons why
such county will not be benefited by the establishment and development of the
Garrison diversion unit.
2. Within sixty days from the date of filing said resolution and petition for exclusion from
the district, the district board shall meet to consider such petition. It may grant such
petition or it may fix a time and place for a hearing thereon. If a hearing be set, the
secretary of the board shall cause notice of the filing of such petition for exclusion, and
of the time and place for a hearing, to be published once each week for two
consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation printed in the district. The
hearing mentioned in such notice shall be held not less than ten nor more than twenty
days after the last publication of such notice. The notice shall state that any person,
corporation, limited liability company, municipality, and county in the district may
appear or be represented at the hearing and show cause why the petition should or
should not be granted. The board shall hear the petition at the time and place
mentioned in the notice.

3. If after the hearing on the petition the district board of directors shall determine that the
county requesting to be excluded from the district will not be benefited, the district
board shall by resolution grant the petition and shall direct the chairman and secretary
to execute the order of the board excluding such county from the conservancy district.
If, however, the district board shall decide that such county will be benefited it shall
deny the petition and direct the chairman and secretary to execute its order refusing to
exclude such county from the district. A county excluded from the conservancy district
shall not be liable for any obligations thereof incurred after exclusion but shall be liable
for and shall pay to the district taxes levied before exclusion.
4. If any contract shall have been made with the United States or any agency thereof
before such petition is filed, such petition shall not be granted unless consented
thereto by the appropriate agency of the United States and if such agency gives its
consent upon condition, such conditions shall be included in the order of exclusion and
the county may be required to and in that event such county shall continue to pay any
tax levies required to meet the obligations of any such contract.