Title 36, LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Sec. 22. (a) A municipality acting under a statute other than this chapter may not construct, reconstruct, or maintain a drain that: (1) is located partly or wholly within the corporate boundaries of the municipality; and (2) will flow directly or indirectly into a regulated drai…

Sec. 23. (a) Whenever: (1) a person wants to connect a drain with a regulated drain that is subject to this chapter; and (2) the connection would result in the discharge into the regulated drain of liquid wastes that would cause or contribute to pollution of the receiving waters;…

Sec. 24. (a) A regulated drain that is located within a conservancy district is not subject to this chapter if: (1) the drain has been designated for construction, reconstruction, or maintenance in the district plan of the conservancy district; and (2) the district plan was appro…

Sec. 25. Whenever a regulated drain that is subject to this chapter is included in a flood control project approved by the department of natural resources, the drain ceases to be subject to this chapter. The construction, reconstruction, and maintenance of such a drain is the res…

Sec. 26. A drain that is under the jurisdiction of: (1) a drainage maintenance and repair district established under IC 13-2-21 (before its repeal) or under IC 14-27-8; or (2) an association established under Acts 1913, c. 165; is not subject to annual assessments for periodic ma…

Sec. 26.5. (a) A county executive may change a regulated drain that is subject to this chapter into a drain that is subject to the jurisdiction of a drainage maintenance and repair district under IC 14-27-8. (b) When a drain that is subject to assessments for periodic maintenance…

Sec. 27. (a) A written statement alleging that a drainage maintenance and repair district established under IC 13-2-21 (before its repeal) or under IC 14-27-8 is not active and is not properly maintaining the drains under its control may be filed with the board by: (1) the owners…

Sec. 28. (a) A written statement alleging that an association established under Acts 1913, c. 165 for the purpose of maintaining and repairing a drain is not active and is not properly maintaining the drain may be filed with the board by: (1) members of the association who own fi…

Sec. 29. The county surveyor is the technical authority on the construction, reconstruction, and maintenance of all regulated drains or proposed regulated drains in the county, and the county surveyor shall: (1) investigate, evaluate, and survey all regulated drains or proposed r…

Sec. 3. (a) The rights and powers of a political subdivision under this chapter as an owner shall be exercised on behalf of the political subdivision by: (1) the works board, for a municipality; (2) the executive, for a county or a township; and (3) the fiscal body, for any other…

Sec. 30. (a) Whenever the county surveyor is not registered under IC 25-21.5 or IC 25-31 and that statute prohibits an unregistered person from performing any function that the county surveyor is directed to do under this chapter, the surveyor shall employ and fix the compensatio…

Sec. 31. If for any reason there is no elected county surveyor in any county, the board shall employ and fix the compensation of a part-time or full-time engineer or surveyor. The engineer or surveyor, who must be registered under IC 25-21.5 or IC 25-31 and must be or become a re…

Sec. 32. (a) Whenever the board finds that it is necessary to advance the work of construction or of reconstruction, as determined from the long-range plan established under section 36 of this chapter, to a degree inconsistent with the work load of the county surveyor, the board …

Sec. 33. (a) The county surveyor, the board, or an authorized representative of the surveyor or the board acting under this chapter has the right of entry over and upon land lying within seventy-five (75) feet of any regulated drain. The seventy-five (75) foot limit shall be meas…

Sec. 34. (a) The county surveyor shall classify all regulated drains in the county as: (1) drains in need of reconstruction; (2) drains in need of periodic maintenance; or (3) drains that should be vacated. The surveyor shall also consider the designation of urban drains under se…

Sec. 35. (a) The county surveyor shall submit to the board a written report setting forth the county surveyor's classification of regulated drains in order of priority for action by the board. This report may be made from time to time during the county surveyor's process of class…

Sec. 36. (a) When the classification of drains, or a partial classification of drains, has been adopted by the board, the county surveyor shall prepare a long-range plan for: (1) the reconstruction of regulated drains classified as in need of reconstruction; (2) the establishment…

Sec. 37. (a) When instituting proceedings to vacate a regulated drain, the board shall: (1) serve a notice of intention to vacate on all owners of affected land; (2) fix a date for a hearing; (3) receive all objections filed; (4) hold the hearing; and (5) issue an order vacating …

Sec. 38. When the board refers a regulated drain classified in need of periodic maintenance to the county surveyor, the county surveyor shall prepare a maintenance report that includes the following items: (1) The estimated annual cost of periodically maintaining the drain. (2) T…

Sec. 39. When the board receives a maintenance report under section 38 of this chapter, it shall prepare a schedule of assessments that includes the following items: (1) A description of each tract of land determined to be benefited, and the name and address of the owner, as list…

Sec. 4. There is established in each county a drainage board, which shall act in the name of "The __________ County Drainage Board" (designating the name of the county). [Pre-Local Government Recodification Citation: 19-4-1-3 part.] As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.101.

Sec. 40. (a) The board shall fix a date, time, and place for a hearing on the maintenance report of the county surveyor and on the schedule of assessments, and shall prepare a written notice for each owner of land proposed to be assessed. The notice, which must describe the land …

Sec. 41. (a) If recommended by the county surveyor, the board may, after notice and hearing to affected owners, combine regulated drains located in the same watershed for the purpose of annually assessing the owners benefited for periodic maintenance. (b) The notice shall be publ…

Sec. 42. (a) The board may at any time increase or decrease the amount annually assessed for periodic maintenance of a regulated drain if the board finds that the county surveyor's estimate of the cost of maintaining the drain was insufficient or excessive. (b) The board may decr…

Sec. 43. (a) If in any year a maintenance fund established under section 44 of this chapter has an unencumbered balance equal to or greater than four (4) times the estimated annual cost of periodically maintaining the drain for which the fund was established, the annual assessmen…

Sec. 44. (a) A maintenance fund is established for each regulated drain and for each combination of drains established under section 41 of this chapter. A maintenance fund consists of: (1) money received from annual assessments upon land benefited by the periodic maintenance of a…

Sec. 45. A maintenance fund established under section 44 of this chapter is subject to the use of the board for the necessary or proper repair, maintenance, study, or evaluation of the particular drain or combination of drains, which may be done whenever the board, upon the recom…

Sec. 45.5. (a) This section applies when a county surveyor advises the drainage board that in the county surveyor's opinion a maintenance fund has a balance in excess of the amount reasonably needed in that fund for maintenance work in the foreseeable future. (b) The board may tr…

Sec. 46. (a) When a regulated drain is obstructed or damaged by logs, trees, brush, unauthorized structures, trash, debris, excavating, filling, or pasturing livestock, or in any other way, the county surveyor shall immediately remove the obstruction and repair any damage. (b) No…

Sec. 47. (a) Whenever any person: (1) goes upon any land under any contract, easement, or statute; and (2) damages a regulated drain or impedes the flow of such a drain by placing pipe, cable, or other material over, under, or through the drain; the board shall serve upon the per…

Sec. 48. (a) Whenever, in the construction or reconstruction of a regulated drain, the county surveyor determines that: (1) the proposed drain will cross a pipeline, cable, or similar equipment of a public utility; and (2) the equipment will interfere with the proper operation of…

Sec. 49. (a) When the board refers a regulated drain to the county surveyor for a reconstruction report, the county surveyor shall determine and set forth in the county surveyor's report the best and cheapest method of reconstructing the drain so that it will adequately drain all…

Sec. 5. (a) Except as provided in subsection (c), the drainage board consists of either: (1) the county executive; or (2) three (3) or five (5) persons, at least one (1) of whom must be a member of the executive, appointed by the executive; at the option of the executive. Appoint…

Sec. 50. When the county surveyor files a reconstruction report, the county surveyor shall consult with the board, and the board shall take the following actions: (1) Prepare a schedule of assessments containing a description of each tract of land determined to be benefited by th…

Sec. 51. Whenever it becomes necessary to reconstruct a regulated drain that has become inadequate due to an increased flow of drainage resulting, in whole or in part, from a change in land use by one (1) or more owners of land affected by the drain, the board shall consider that…

Sec. 52. (a) When the schedules of damages and assessments are completed and marked filed, the board shall fix a date, time, and place for a hearing on the reconstruction report of the county surveyor and on the schedules of damages and assessments, and shall prepare a notice for…

Sec. 52.5. (a) If: (1) a proposed project for the reconstruction of a regulated drain is presented to the board for approval; (2) the proposed project consists exclusively of the relocation of a regulated drain from one (1) site on property owned by a person to another site on pr…

Sec. 53. (a) Whenever: (1) the board has initiated, or is considering initiating, a proceeding to reconstruct a regulated drain under this chapter; (2) one (1) or more other regulated drains in the same watershed are in need of reconstruction; (3) the board finds that no substant…

Sec. 53.5. (a) A county surveyor or board planning to perform a project for the reconstruction or maintenance of a regulated drain under this chapter that: (1) is subject to regulation under: (A) IC 14-26-5; or (B) IC 14-28-1; or (2) requires an individual permit under Section 40…

Sec. 54. (a) When one (1) or more persons want to establish a new regulated drain, and that drain cannot be established in the best and cheapest manner without affecting land owned by other persons, the person or persons seeking to establish the drain must file a petition with th…

Sec. 55. When the county surveyor has accepted a petition and marked it filed under section 54 of this chapter, the county surveyor shall make a personal inspection of the land described in the petition and file with the board a written preliminary report stating: (1) whether the…

Sec. 56. (a) If the county surveyor's report concerning any of the three (3) subdivisions of section 55 of this chapter is wholly in the negative, the board shall have a copy of the county surveyor's preliminary report served upon the attorney for the petitioner. (b) Within twent…

Sec. 57. (a) If the county surveyor, in the county surveyor's preliminary report, or the board, after a hearing under section 56 of this chapter, finds that the report concerning each of the three (3) subdivisions of section 55 of this chapter should be in the affirmative, the co…

Sec. 58. (a) Within seven (7) days after the attorney for the petitioner is served with notice of a hearing under section 57(e) of this chapter, the attorney for the petitioner shall prepare a written notice setting forth: (1) the fact of the filing and pendency of the petition; …

Sec. 59. (a) At least five (5) days before the board's hearing on a petition to establish a new regulated drain, one (1) or more persons who own two-thirds (2/3) in the area of the acreage and fifty-one percent (51%) of the assessed valuation of the land named in the petition, or…

Sec. 6. (a) When the membership of the board is reduced to less than three (3) because of disqualifications, the board shall immediately certify that fact to the circuit court of the county. The court shall then restore the membership of the board to three (3) by appointing the a…