Title 42 — IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE — WATER RIGHTS AND RECLAMATION

42-5201. Short title — Title of districts — Definitions. This chapter is known as the "Ground Water District Act"; the districts created hereunder may be termed "ground water districts." When used in this chapter, and unless otherwise specified, the following terms shall be defin…

42-5202. Establishment of ground water districts. Whenever fifty (50) or a majority, whichever is less, of the ground water users in a particular geographic area desire to organize a ground water district, they may propose the organization of a district and the election of its in…

42-5203. Petition for organization — Map — Bond. (1) A petition shall be first presented to the county commission of the county in which the greatest proportion of cubic feet per second of ground water rights of the proposed district is situated, which petition shall: (a) Be sign…

42-5204. Notice of presentation to county commission. The petition may be filed with the county clerk, upon verifying with the county assessment roll or other evidence of entitlement whether the petition is valid, at any time, and upon such filing the clerk forthwith shall cause …

42-5205. Notice of county commission hearing. When the petition is presented, the county commission shall set a time for a hearing on the petition, which shall not be less than four (4) nor more than eight (8) weeks from the date of presentation, unless extended by the county com…

42-5206. Examination by department of water resources — Report to county commission — Amendment of plan. (1) A copy of the petition and all maps and other papers filed with the county commission shall be filed with the department on the same day the petition is filed with the cou…

42-5207. Organization hearing before county commission — Order of county commission. (1) After receiving the report of the department of water resources, the county commission shall conduct a hearing on the petition. If the county commission determines that the requisite number o…

42-5208. Divisions of district for election of directors. The county commission shall also make an order dividing the district into not less than three (3) nor more than seven (7) divisions, each division to contain approximately the same amount, measured in cubic feet per second…

42-5209. Notice of election. The county commission shall give notice of an election to be held in accordance with section 34-106, Idaho Code, in the proposed district for the purpose of determining whether the district shall be organized under this chapter, and, if so, who shall …

42-5210. Qualifications of voters for district elections. (1) Any ground water irrigator, and any nonirrigator who is a member for all purposes, within the proposed district shall be entitled to vote at any election held under the provisions of this chapter. The production of doc…

42-5211. Conduct of elections. (1) Elections shall be conducted as nearly as practicable in accordance with the general laws of the state; provided, no particular form of ballot shall be required, and that the provisions of the election laws as to the form and distribution of bal…

42-5212. Registration not required. No registration shall be required in any ground water district election, but in lieu thereof the judges of election shall require every elector to subscribe to an elector’s oath as prerequisite to casting his vote, and such oath shall be the us…

42-5213. Canvass of votes — Completion of organization. (1) Immediately after any election for voting upon the organization of a ground water district, the judges of the election shall forward the official results of said election to the county clerk. The county commission shall …

42-5214. Ground water users included within the district — Notice and hearing for members included in district after March 31, 2005 — Order — Appeal and conclusiveness. (1) All ground water irrigators within the boundaries of the district shall be members of the district and subj…

42-5215. Limitation on proceedings affecting validity. No action shall be commenced or maintained, or defense made affecting the validity or organization of the district, more than two (2) years from and after the county commission enters on its minutes the order directing the fo…

42-5216. Organizational meeting of board. From and after the date the county commission files its order declaring the district to be formed by election, the organization of the district shall be complete and those ground water users specified in section 42-5214, Idaho Code, shall…

42-5217. Treasurer’s official bonds. The treasurer shall on his appointment execute and file with the secretary an official bond in such amount as may be fixed by the district board of directors, which shall not be less than five thousand dollars ($5,000); and shall thereafter fr…

42-5218. Election, term of office, nominations and qualifications. (1) One (1) year following the organization of the district, an election shall be held in accordance with section 34-106(1), Idaho Code, at which shall be elected one (1) director for each division of the district…

42-5218A. When election not required. In any election for directors if, after the expiration of the date for filing written nominations for the office of director, it appears that only one (1) qualified candidate has been nominated thereby for each position to be filled, it shall…

42-5218B. Notice of election. The secretary of the district shall give notice of all elections in the district by posting the same in five (5) public places in each county in which a part of the district is situated and in the office of the board of directors at least four (4) we…

42-5218C. Conduct of elections. The election shall be conducted as nearly as practicable in accordance with the general laws of the state; provided that no particular form of ballot shall be required and the provisions of the election laws as to the form and distribution of ballo…

42-5218D. Canvass of returns — Declaration of winners. On the first Monday after each election, or at a time designated by the board of directors, the board shall meet at its usual place of meeting and proceed to canvass the returns. By order entered on its minutes, the board sha…

42-5219. Directors at large. In the event a district is divided into six (6) or fewer divisions, the district is authorized to elect one (1) to two (2) directors at large. Directors at large shall be elected at the annual meeting of the district by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of …

42-5223. Board of directors — Officers — Meetings — Compensation — Vacancies. (1) The board of directors annually shall elect a chairman from their number and shall appoint a secretary and a treasurer to hold office at the pleasure of the board. Upon appointment the treasurer sha…

42-5224. Powers and duties of board of directors. The board shall, in addition to any other powers and duties provided in this chapter, and provided that nothing in this chapter shall abrogate or impair the right of any person to take any action necessary to acquire, protect, cha…

42-5225. Authority to construct and operate ground water recharge or storage project. Any ground water district organized under the laws of this state is authorized in section 42-234, Idaho Code, to file an application with the department to acquire water rights or to appropriate…

42-5226. Intersections with streets, railroads, watercourses. The board of directors shall have power to construct the works necessary to implement an approved mitigation plan across any stream of water, watercourse, street, avenue, highway, railway, canal, ditch or flume which t…

42-5227. Officers must not be interested in contracts. No director or any other officer named in this chapter shall in any manner be interested, directly or indirectly, in any contract awarded or to be awarded by the board, or in the profits to be derived therefrom, except as a m…

42-5228. Indemnification of officers, directors, employees and agents. The indemnification provisions of section 43-204A, Idaho Code, shall apply to ground water districts in the same manner as for irrigation districts.

42-5229. Report to department of water resources. At least as often as once a year after organization, the board of directors shall make a report to the department of the condition of the work of any mitigation plans developed by the district, as to capacity, stability and perman…

42-5230. Statement of financial condition. On or before the second Tuesday of February of each year the board of directors of each ground water district organized under this chapter shall publish in at least one (1) issue of a newspaper published in the county or counties in whic…

42-5231. County commission to have access to books. Any district board, or the secretary thereof, shall at any time allow any member of the county commission, when acting under resolution of the commissioners, to have access to all books, records and vouchers of the district whic…

42-5232. Levy of assessments. (1) The secretary of the board shall be the assessor of the district and, on or before August 1 of each year, shall prepare an assessment book containing a full and accurate list of all lands within the district that are subject to assessment under t…

42-5233. Power to incur indebtedness — Assessments to secure repayment — Warrants. (1) In order to secure funds for the mitigation plan or plans for the district, the board of directors may, by resolution duly adopted and entered upon the minutes, incur indebtedness by contract w…

42-5234. Election for indebtedness — Referendum petition. (1) The board may by resolution adopted by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the board, determine that the interest of the district and the public interest and necessity demand the development and operation of a mitigation pl…

42-5235. Judicial examination. (1) Prior to the incurring of indebtedness with a repayment term exceeding one (1) year, the board shall file a petition in the district court of the county in which the office of the board is located, pursuant to the provisions of sections 43-406 t…

42-5236. Judicial proceedings to test validity. If any official required to participate in any act leading to the calling or holding of the required election or the execution of any required contract shall refuse to perform such act alleging as his reason illegality of the propos…

42-5237. Tax exemption. Interim notes, and the interest thereon, issued pursuant to the authority contained in this chapter shall be exempt from taxation under the Idaho income tax law.

42-5238. Liberal construction. Any restrictions, limitations or regulations relative to the execution of such contracts pursuant to the authority herein contained in any other act shall not apply to the execution of such contracts pursuant to the authority herein contained. Any a…

42-5239. Lending institutions — Right to compel assessments — Alternative remedy. If in any year the board of directors fails to levy assessments for the repayment of indebtedness in amounts sufficient to meet a payment or payments falling due, the lender may bring an action in t…

42-5240. Lien of assessment. From and after February 1 of any year, all assessments, other than those levied against municipalities, shall be liens against the land of ground water users to which the water rights used to determine assessments are appurtenant, and notwithstanding …

42-5241. Payment of assessments — When delinquent — Interest and penalties. (1) District assessments levied pursuant to subsections (2) through (4) of section 42-5232, Idaho Code, shall be billed and collected in one (1) of the following ways: (a) On or before the first day of De…

42-5242. Entry of delinquent assessments — Filing of delinquency list. (1) On or before February 15 of each year the treasurer shall enter the amount of all delinquent assessments on the assessment book, which entry shall be considered to be dated as of the first day of February.…

42-5243. Redemption and sale of property subject to delinquent assessments. The manner in which property subject to a lien for nonpayment of assessments may be redeemed, and if not redeemed, shall be sold as provided in sections 43-712, 43-715 through 43-721, 43-724 and 43-726, I…

42-5244A. APPORTIONMENT OF MITIGATION PLAN OBLIGATIONS. (1) The board of directors may apportion among district members mitigation plan obligations requiring district members to limit the amount of water diverted under their respective ground water rights or perform other actions…

42-5244B. DELINQUENT ASSESSMENTS — NONCOMPLIANCE WITH MITIGATION PLAN. A water user who is delinquent in the payment of any assessment under this chapter, or who has failed to comply with any apportionment of mitigation obligations imposed by the board under this chapter, shall n…

42-5245. Petition for annexation of land. Any ground water user, as defined in section 42-5201(8), Idaho Code, as well as any user of ground water for domestic or stock use as defined by sections 42-111 and 42-1401A, Idaho Code, may file with the board a petition in writing prayi…

42-5246. Notice of petition. The board secretary shall cause a notice of the filing of such petition to be published in the manner of notices of elections. The notice shall state the filing of such petition, and the name of the petitioner, a description of the lands mentioned in …

42-5247. Hearing on petition. The board, at the time mentioned in said notice or at such other time to which the hearing may be adjourned, shall hear the petition and all the objections thereto. The failure of any person to appear and object shall be taken as an assent on his par…

42-5248. Assessments against annexed lands. (1) The board of directors may require, as a condition to the granting of an annexation petition, that the petitioners shall severally pay to the district such respective sums, as nearly as the same can be estimated, as said petitioners…