Title XI, NATURAL RESOURCES (Ch. 455 - 485)

After the filing of the plan contemplated in section 468.201 the board shall, at its first session thereafter, regular, special or adjourned, appoint a disinterested and competent civil or drainage engineer who shall give bond in an amount to be fixed by the board conditioned for…

The engineer shall examine the plan filed by the federal agency and the lands affected thereby and shall make and file with the county auditor a full written report which, together with the federal plan, will show the following: 1. The character and location of all contemplated i…

Upon the filing of such report the board shall examine and consider the same together with the plan and the commitments involved in its adoption and may require supplemental reports of the engineer or of another disinterested engineer with such data as they may deem necessary or …

If upon consideration of the plan or amended plan and the report or reports of the engineer and the commitments involved in the adoption of the plan the board finds that the district will benefit therefrom or the purposes for which the district was established will be promoted th…

1. The notice under section 468.206 shall be captioned in the name of the district and shall be directed to all of the following: a. The owners of each tract or lot within the levee or drainage district, including railroad companies having rights-of-way and lienholders and encumb…

The board may continue the hearing pending decision and may amend the plan but in the event of amendment the board shall continue further hearing to a fixed date. All parties over whom the board then has jurisdiction shall take notice of such further hearing but any new parties r…

1. If the board, after consideration of the subject matter, including all objections filed to the adoption of the plan and all claims for damages, shall find that the district will be benefited by adoption of the plan or the purposes for which the district was established is furt…

The petition may be amended at any time before final action on the petition. At the time set for hearing on the petition, the board shall hear and determine the sufficiency of the petition in form and substance and all objections filed against the establishment of such district, …

Upon adoption of the plan, the board shall appoint three appraisers of the qualifications prescribed in section 468.24 , who shall qualify in the manner provided in that section, and shall fix a time for hearing on their report of which all interested parties shall take notice. T…

Appointment of commissioners to assess benefits and classify lands within the district and all proceedings relative to such assessment and classification shall be as otherwise provided in this subchapter, parts 1 through 5 , except that when the lands of the district have previou…

The board shall levy the costs contemplated in section 468.201 upon all of the lands of the district on the basis of the classification for benefits as finally established and the assessments so levied shall be paid in one installment unless the board in its discretion shall prov…

The board shall make such subsequent levies as may be necessary to meet the expenses of the district including costs of maintenance, repair and operation of the works. [C50, 54, 58, 62, 66, §455.213; C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §455.214 ] 89 Acts, ch 126, §2 CS89, §468.213 Referred …

Except as otherwise provided in this part , all provisions of this chapter relative to assessment of damages, appointment of an engineer, employment of counsel, payment for work, levy and collection of drainage and levee assessments and taxes, the issue of improvement certificate…

The provisions of this part shall be applicable to districts organized or established under the provisions of subchapters II and III . [C50, 54, 58, 62, 66, §455.215; C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §455.216 ] 89 Acts, ch 126, §2 CS89, §468.215 Referred to in §468.38 , 468.184 , 468.201…

When a district is in the management of trustees as provided in subchapter III the board of trustees shall have the jurisdiction to adopt the federal plan as provided herein and to exercise all other powers herein granted except that any levy shall be made by the board of supervi…

1. a. The board may locate and establish the district in accordance with the recommendation of the engineer and the report and plans on file if the board finds all of the following: (1) That the petition complies with the requirements of law in form and substance. (2) That the im…

1. Any levee or drainage district organized, or in the process of being organized, under the laws of this state may occupy and use for any lawful levee or drainage purpose land owned by the state of Iowa, upon first obtaining permission to do so from the state or state agency con…

1. This section applies whenever a board or county officer acting under this chapter is required to deliver a written communication to a state agency or local government. The written communication includes but is not limited to a notice, service of process, demand, statement, or …

If a settling basin or basins are provided as a part of a drainage improvement, the board of supervisors may buy or lease the necessary lands in lieu of condemning said lands. The board may by purchase acquire the necessary lands required for right-of-way for open ditches or othe…

The county board of supervisors of any county of this state in which one or more drainage districts are established may by resolution establish a board of county drainage administrators. All of the powers, duties, and responsibilities now or hereafter conferred on county boards o…

When establishing a board of county drainage administrators, the board of supervisors shall divide the county, along township lines, into three drainage administrator areas of approximately equal territory. The board of county drainage administrators shall consist of one resident…

The members of the board of county drainage administrators shall each receive compensation at an hourly rate established by the county board of supervisors for time actually devoted to the duties of their office, and reimbursement at the rate established by section 70A.9 for trav…

The compensation and expenses of the county board of drainage administrators, for each day or portion thereof necessarily expended in the transaction of the business of a drainage or levee district, shall be paid out of the funds of the district served. The administrators shall f…

The governing board of every drainage or levee district organized under the laws of this state shall take notice of the district plan, and shall conform to the duly adopted rules, of the soil and water conservation district or districts in which the drainage or levee district is …

If the board shall find that such improvement will materially benefit said lands, will be conducive to the public health, convenience, welfare, benefit, or utility, and that the law has been complied with as to form and substance of the petition, the service of notice, and the su…

The board of a county with a population of two hundred thousand persons or more that has established a drainage district located partly within the corporate limits of a city may expend federal grants or revenue sharing money or other funds not derived from local tax levies in amo…

The appraisers appointed to assess damages shall view the premises and determine and fix the amount of damages to which each claimant is entitled, and shall place a separate valuation upon the acreage of each owner taken for right-of-way for open ditches or for settling basins, a…

Drainage or levee districts may be dissolved and abandoned or assimilated by the procedures prescribed by this part. 1. When any drainage or levee district is free from indebtedness and it shall appear that the necessity therefor no longer exists or that the expense of the contin…

Upon the filing of such petition the board shall enter an order fixing the date for hearing thereon not less than forty days from the date of the filing thereof and shall enter an order directing the county auditor, if such district is under the control of the board of supervisor…

The petition may be amended at any time before final action on the petition. At the time set for hearing on the petition, the board shall hear and determine the sufficiency of the petition as to form and substance and all objections filed against the abandonment and dissolution o…

Appeal may be taken from the order of the board to the district court of the county in which such district or a part thereof is situated, in the same time and manner as appeal may be taken from an order of the board of supervisors establishing a district. [C35, §7598-g4; C39, § 7…

In case there are sufficient funds on hand in such district, or there are unpaid assessments outstanding or other property belonging to such district in an amount sufficient to pay such expense, the expense of abandonment and dissolution shall be paid out of such funds or out of …

If a dissolution is effected pursuant to section 468.250, subsection 1 , and sections 468.251 through 468.254 , the rights-of-way of the district for all purposes of the district shall be deemed abandoned. [C35, §7598-g6; C39, § 7598.16; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 7…

To initiate the dissolution of a contained district under the circumstances described in section 468.250, subsection 2 : 1. The board of supervisors or board of trustees of the district proposed to be dissolved shall enter an order for the proposed dissolution of that district an…

1. The board of the overlying district shall enter an order fixing a place and a time, not less than forty days after the date of the later of the two orders required by section 468.256 , for a hearing on the proposals described in the two orders. 2. The auditor, or auditors if t…

The hearing shall be convened at the time and place fixed in accordance with section 468.257, subsection 1 , and the procedure at the hearing shall be as prescribed by this section . 1. The board of the contained district shall first hear all objections filed against the dissolut…

In lieu of the hearings provided for in section 468.258 , the board of either district may call an election for the purpose of determining the dissolution of the contained district or the acceptance of that district’s improvements and rights-of-way by the overlying district. The …

At the time fixed for hearing and after the filing of the report of the appraisers, the board shall examine said report, and may hear evidence thereon, both for and against each claim for damages and compensation, and shall determine the amount of damages and compensation due eac…

When a contained district dissolves and surrenders its improvements and rights-of-way to the jurisdiction and control of an overlying district, and the overlying district accepts those improvements and rights-of-way, in accordance with sections 468.256 through 468.259 : 1. It is …

The overlying district shall pay all costs of the proceedings held pursuant to sections 468.256 through 468.259 . [ C81, §456.16 ] 89 Acts, ch 126, §2 CS89, §468.261 Referred to in §468.250

The provisions of this part apply to drainage or levee districts when such districts participate in a merger. 2014 Acts, ch 1075, §1 ; 2015 Acts, ch 30, §148

1. A merger must involve two or more voluntarily participating drainage or levee districts including all of the following: a. One participating dominant district whose board would survive the merger to govern the merged district. b. One or more participating servient districts wh…

1. In order to participate in a proposed merger the board of a drainage or levee district must determine that the merger will substantially benefit the owners of land situated in the drainage or levee district. 2. A board making the determination described in subsection 1 shall e…

1. A public hearing must be conducted within forty-five days from the last date that the board enters an order with the auditor of each county where the drainage or levee district is situated as provided in section 468.264 . The auditor of each county where the participating drai…

1. Each board of a participating drainage or levee district shall meet to vote on a resolution which includes the question whether or not to approve the proposed merger. A board must vote on the resolution within forty-five days of the last public hearing conducted pursuant to se…

1. A resolution to merge participating drainage or levee districts approved by their respective boards as provided in section 468.266 shall be effectuated according to the terms and conditions of a joint order for merger entered by those boards. 2. Each board shall file the joint…