Title 14, TITLE 14. NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES

Sec. 8. (a) The members of the board shall elect a member as the chairman of the board. (b) The director of the division of soil conservation established within the Indiana state department of agriculture by IC 15-11-4-1 is the secretary of the board. [Pre-1995 Recodification Cit…

Sec. 9. A majority of the members of the board constitutes a quorum. The concurrence of a majority of the members is required for the board to take any action. [Pre-1995 Recodification Citation: 13-3-1-4(c) part.] As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.25.

Sec. 1. Freeholders who desire the establishment of a district must initiate proceedings by filing a petition in the office of the clerk of the circuit court with jurisdiction in the county containing the most land within the proposed district. [Pre-1995 Recodification Citation: …

Sec. 10. (a) A court in which a petition is filed shall order the proceedings transferred to the court having jurisdiction under section 9 of this chapter if: (1) the petition was filed in the wrong court by mistake; or (2) the petition is amended so that another county has more …

Sec. 11. Upon receipt of a petition for the establishment of a district, the court shall docket the petition as a civil case and set a date for hearing. The court shall give priority to the hearing in determining the date, but the court must allow at least thirty (30) days for in…

Sec. 12. (a) This subsection applies only to a petition by freeholders. The petitioners shall give notice of hearing on the petition as follows: (1) By publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation in each county having land in the proposed district, three (3) times at…

Sec. 13. Notice of the hearing on a petition serves as notice of all further proceedings in connection with the district. [Pre-1995 Recodification Citation: 13-3-3-18.] As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.26.

Sec. 14. The notice of the hearing on the petition, in addition to all other requirements, must contain the following: (1) A statement that a petition for a district is before the court. (2) A statement of each purpose for which the district is proposed. (3) A statement as to whi…

Sec. 15. (a) A petition against the establishment of a district may be presented to the court: (1) at the hearing on a petition; or (2) at any time thereafter before the fifth day before the hearing day initially ordered by the court after the receipt of the commission's report. …

Sec. 17. (a) This section applies to all districts, except for districts described in section 18 of this chapter. (b) If the court determines that a petition conforms to the requirements, the court shall enter an order referring the petition to the commission. (c) The commission …

Sec. 18. (a) This section applies only to a district to be located in a county having a population of more than one hundred seventy-four thousand (174,000) and less than one hundred eighty thousand (180,000). (b) If the court determines that a petition conforms to the requirement…

Sec. 19. (a) In determining the facts, the commission shall hold hearings at which the commission shall give any interested person the right to be heard. At the request of an interested person, the commission shall hold hearings at the county seat of a county containing land in t…

requirements Sec. 2. A petition filed under section 1 of this chapter must be signed by freeholders owning land in the proposed district. The signatures of freeholders on the petition must be sufficient to satisfy both of the following requirements: (1) The freeholders signing th…

Sec. 20. The expenses of the hearings and other expenses of necessary investigations and surveys, together with any expense incurred by the commission in subsequent studies of district plans, are payable initially out of the general money of the commission. The district shall rep…

Sec. 21. (a) If a proposed purpose is within the administrative jurisdiction of another state agency, the commission shall request technical assistance of the agency and give full weight to the agency in making a report to the court. (b) State agencies shall furnish assistance to…

Sec. 22. The commission shall make a report of the commission's findings to the court, including findings on the territorial limits of the proposed district. The commission shall make this report within one hundred twenty (120) days after the petition is referred to the commissio…

Sec. 23. The factfinding report of the commission on the proposed district is prima facie evidence of the facts stated in the report in all subsequent proceedings. [Pre-1995 Recodification Citation: 13-3-3-27.] As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.26.

Sec. 24. (a) The court may permit amendments to a petition to conform to the findings of the commission. (b) If a petition is amended to include additional land other than the land published in the notice for hearing on the petition, the court may make a final determination on th…

Sec. 25. (a) Upon receipt of the commission's report, the court shall set a date for a hearing. The court shall give priority to this hearing in determining the date, but the court must allow at least twenty-one (21) days for interested persons, including petitioners, to file exc…

Sec. 26. (a) If the court finds at the hearing that: (1) the only purpose of the district is water supply or sewage disposal, or both; and (2) the public health is not served immediately or prospectively by the establishment of the district; the court shall dismiss the petition. …

Sec. 27. (a) If the court orders a district established, the court shall in the order establishing the district determine the following: (1) The number of directors to serve on the board and the procedures for the election of the directors. (2) The division of the district into a…

Sec. 28. An order: (1) dismissing a petition; or (2) establishing a district; may be appealed to the supreme court within thirty (30) days. [Pre-1995 Recodification Citation: 13-3-3-31.] As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.26.

Sec. 29. If: (1) a district is established by order of the court and an appeal is not taken within thirty (30) days; or (2) an order establishing a district is affirmed by the supreme court; the establishment of the district is final and may not be directly or collaterally questi…

qualified to sign petition Sec. 3. To determine the number of freeholds in the proposed district and the number or proportion of freeholders owning land in the district qualified to sign a petition for establishment, the following apply: (1) Only one (1) freeholder's signature ma…

Sec. 30. If a petition is dismissed: (1) because the court finds the evidence does not support the petition according to section 26 of this chapter; or (2) according to section 15 of this chapter; a new petition may not be addressed to any court to establish a district with essen…

Sec. 4. A petition must contain the following: (1) The name for the proposed district, which should be in the form of "_________ Conservancy District". (2) A description of the territory to be included, not necessarily by metes and bounds, but sufficiently accurate to inform the …

Sec. 5. If: (1) a petition is conditioned upon a promise of federal money; and (2) the responsible federal agency informs the court that federal money is not available for the district as proposed by the petition or amendments to the petition; the petitioners may move that the pe…

Sec. 6. A petition may be circulated in several counterparts and still constitute a single petition. [Pre-1995 Recodification Citation: 13-3-3-11.] As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.26.

Sec. 7. A municipality (as defined in IC 36-1-2) may file a petition to initiate a proposed district by ordinance adopted by the legislative body (as defined in IC 36-1-2). The proposed district may include land: (1) solely inside the municipality; or (2) partially inside and par…

Sec. 8. (a) The petitioners must post a bond sufficient to pay the cost of notice and all legal costs of the court connected with the proceedings in case the court refuses to establish the district and dismisses the petition. (b) The petitioners shall pay the cost of notice and a…

Sec. 9. The circuit court, superior court, or probate court with jurisdiction in the county having the most land in the proposed district has exclusive jurisdiction over the establishment of the district. If the district is established, this court also has exclusive jurisdiction …

Sec. 1. The commission shall do the following: (1) Adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 that do the following: (A) Effectuate the purposes of this article. (B) Take into account the following: (i) The terrain, climate, biologic, chemical, and other physical conditions in those areas of In…

Sec. 2. (a) The commission shall appoint the following: (1) An administrative law judge to conduct proceedings under IC 4-21.5. An administrative law judge is subject to IC 14-10-2-2. (2) A hearing officer to conduct proceedings under IC 4-22-2. (b) An administrative law judge is…

Sec. 3. The director shall do the following: (1) Supervise the administration and enforcement of the following: (A) This article. (B) The rules adopted under this article. (2) Conduct the necessary investigations and inspections for the proper administration of this article. (3) …

Sec. 4. (a) The director may do the following: (1) Apply for, accept, and use money from any legal source to aid in carrying out the purposes of this article. (2) Conduct research related to coal mining activities. (3) Collect and distribute information relating to mining activit…

Sec. 5. The director may delegate any powers and duties assigned to the director in this article to other employees of the department. [Pre-1995 Recodification Citation: 13-4.1-2-2(c).] As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.27.

Sec. 6. (a) An employee of the department who has a duty under this article may not have a direct or an indirect financial interest in a surface coal mining operation. (b) In addition to the filings required under IC 35-44.1, each member of the commission shall file annually with…

Sec. 1. The department may do the following: (1) Conduct geologic investigations, including exploratory drilling, to evaluate the quality and reserves of mineral deposits on land and water of the state. (2) Grant permits for investigations and exploration described in subdivision…

Sec. 2. The fee for a permit issued under this chapter is one hundred dollars ($100). In addition, a permittee must give bond in the amount and with surety approved by the department for full and prompt compliance with the terms and conditions of the permit. [Pre-1995 Recodificat…

Sec. 3. The department shall incorporate in a permit the terms, conditions, and covenants the department considers necessary to protect the public interest and other uses and purposes for which the land is held and used by the state. [Pre-1995 Recodification Citation: 14-3-2-6.1 …

Sec. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, this chapter does not apply to coal mining operations if IC 14-34 is applicable to those operations under IC 14-34-1-4(a) or IC 14-34-1-4(b). [Pre-1995 Recodification Citation: 14-4-2.1-1.5.] As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC…

Sec. 10. The director may: (1) grade, plant, and perform other acts of restoration and reclamation; or (2) contract for the performance of restoration or reclamation work; to the extent and subject to the conditions that state or federal money is appropriated and available. [Pre-…

Sec. 11. After restoration of the acquired land, the department may, with the approval of the governor, transfer jurisdiction of the land or a part of the land to a state agency that can best utilize the land for public purposes. [Pre-1995 Recodification Citation: 14-4-2.1-7.] As…

Sec. 12. (a) If the retention of the land by the department or other state agencies is determined to be impractical, the department may, with the approval of the governor, sell the land: (1) to political subdivisions of the state at the cost of acquisition and restoration; or (2)…

Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "land" means ground, soil, or solid materials of the earth: (1) disturbed by mining and not reclaimed under: (A) IC 14-34 or IC 13-4.1 (before its repeal); or (B) IC 14-36-1 or IC 13-4-6 (before its repeal); whether or not subject to IC 14-34 or I…

Sec. 3. As used in this chapter, "mining" means the following: (1) Surface mining. (2) Surface coal mining operations. (3) Underground mining. [Pre-1995 Recodification Citation: 14-4-2.1-1(a).] As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.29.

Sec. 4. As used in this chapter, "reclamation" means rehabilitation under IC 14-36-1. [Pre-1995 Recodification Citation: 14-4-2.1-1(c) part.] As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.29.

Sec. 5. As used in this chapter, "restore" or "restoration" means rehabilitation under IC 14-36-1. [Pre-1995 Recodification Citation: 14-4-2.1-1(c) part.] As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.29.

Sec. 6. The department may acquire land by: (1) negotiation; or (2) exercise of the power of eminent domain under IC 32-24-1. [Pre-1995 Recodification Citation: 14-4-2.1-2.] As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.29. Amended by P.L.2-2002, SEC.65.

Sec. 7. Before acquiring land the department shall extend to the owner of the land a reasonable opportunity to restore the land. If the owner: (1) agrees in writing to perform the restoration; and (2) starts the restoration within ninety (90) days; the land may not be acquired un…