Title 51, Waters, Water Resources, Water Districts, Drainage, and Flood Control

This article shall be considered supplemental and additional to any and all other laws, and confers sufficient authority in and of itself for the purposes set forth herein.

It is hereby declared, as a matter of legislative determination, that the waterways and surface waters of the state are among its basic resources, that the overflow and surface waters of the state have not heretofore been conserved to realize their full beneficial use, that the u…

The Pat Harrison Waterway Commission may hereafter be organized in this state under the provisions of this article, in the manner hereafter provided for. This water management district shall be an agency of the state and a body politic and corporate, and may be composed and is co…

(1) All powers of the district shall be exercised by a board of directors to be composed of the following:(a) [Repealed](b) From and after January 9, 1996, the Governor shall appoint three (3) members of the Board of Directors of the Pat Harrison Waterway District from the distri…

(a) The Pat Harrison Waterway Commission, acting through its members who favor bringing the counties they represent into the Pat Harrison Waterway District, or other counties having Pascagoula River, Leaf River, Chickasawhay River, or Tallahala Creek tributaries, shall petition t…

The Board of Water Commissioners shall file a written answer to the petition within thirty (30) days after such service. After the filing of the answer of the Board of Water Commissioners, and upon motion of the petitioners, the chancellor shall enter an order fixing the date for…

The chancery court of Forrest County may hear the petition at any term thereof, or the chancellor of said court may fix a time to hear such petition at any time in vacation, may determine all matters pertaining thereto, may adjourn the hearing from time to time, and may continue …

If the court or chancellor thereof finds that the proposed waterway district should be organized, a decree shall be so entered by the court which shall become final unless an election is called as hereinafter provided. A notice as provided by the decree of the court creating such…

Such election shall be held, as far as is practicable, in the same manner as other elections are held in counties or municipalities. At such election, all qualified electors of such counties or municipalities May vote and the ballots used at such election shall have printed there…

Any person interested in or aggrieved by the final order of the court or the chancellor, creating the waterway district or dismissing the petition or admitting a county or municipality to the district, and who was a party to the proceedings in the chancery court may prosecute an …

The board of supervisors of any county that is included in the Pat Harrison Waterway District, or the governing authorities of any municipality not located in a member county but that joined the district by petition, may elect to withdraw such county or municipality from the dist…

(1) The Pat Harrison Waterway District through its board of directors is hereby empowered:(a) To develop in conjunction with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, United States Secretary of Agriculture, or with the head of any other federal or state agency as may be involved…

The Pat Harrison Waterway District is authorized to establish or otherwise provide for public parks and recreation facilities and for the preservation of fish and wildlife, and to acquire land otherwise than by condemnation except as provided in subsection (e) of Section 51-15-11…

(1) The board of directors of the district shall have the power to adopt and promulgate all reasonable regulations, which include establishing penalties for violation or the misuse, so as to secure, maintain, and preserve the sanitary condition of all water in and to flow into an…

The district is empowered to obtain through appropriate hearings an appropriation permit or permits from the board of water commissioners of the State of Mississippi.

In each county of the State of Mississippi which is a part of the Pat Harrison Waterway District, so long as funds are found to be necessary for the operation of the district by annual legislative approval of the district budget, the tax collector of such county shall pay into th…

The board of directors of the district is hereby authorized and empowered to borrow money or issue bonds of the district for the purpose of paying the cost of acquiring, owning, constructing, operating, repairing, and maintaining the projects and works specified herein, including…

All bonds provided for by Section 51-15-131 shall be negotiable instruments within the meaning of the Uniform Commercial Code of this state, shall be lithographed or engraved and printed in two (2) or more colors to prevent counterfeiting, shall be in denominations of not less th…

Bonds and other indebtedness issued or incurred pursuant to this article shall not exceed Seven Million Dollars ($7,000,000.00) in principal amount.

From and after April 6, 1995, the board of directors shall not borrow money or issue bonds of the district unless sixty percent (60%) of the entire membership of the board of directors votes in favor of such action after thirty (30) days’ written notice to the chancery clerks and…

All bonds issued pursuant to this article shall be validated as now provided by law of Sections 31-13-1 through 31-13-11, Mississippi Code of 1972. The services of the state’s bond attorney may be employed in the preparation of such bond resolutions, forms, or proceedings as may …

At the discretion of the board of directors of the district any bonds provided for in Section 51-15-131 may be further secured by a trust agreement between the board of directors and a corporate trustee, which may be any trust company or bank having powers of a trust company with…

The board of directors of the district is hereby authorized to provide by resolution for the issuance of refunding bonds of the district for the purpose of refunding any bonds then outstanding and issued under authority of this article, including the payment of any redemption pre…

All bonds of the district are hereby declared to be legal and authorized investments for public funds of counties, cities, towns, school districts, banks, savings banks, trust companies, building and loan associations, savings and loan associations, insurance companies, and for f…

(a) The board of directors shall designate one or more qualified state depositories within the district to serve as depositories for the funds of the district, and all funds of the district other than funds required by any trust agreement to be deposited, from time to time, with …

The board of directors of the Pat Harrison Waterway District is hereby authorized and empowered to negotiate and contract with the United States of America, or any agency thereof, concerning all lands, easements, and rights of way necessary for the relocation of any federal road,…

The Pat Harrison Waterway District shall have authority to act jointly with political subdivisions of the state and agencies, commissions, and instrumentalities thereof, and with the federal government and other agencies thereof in the performance of the purposes and services aut…

The provisions of any other law, general, special, or local, except as provided in this article, shall not limit or restrict the powers granted by this article. The water management district herein provided for shall not be subject to regulation or control by the public service c…

The accomplishment of the purposes stated in this article being for the benefit of the people of this state and for the improvement of their properties and industries, the district in carrying out the purposes of this article will be performing an essential public function and sh…

Any municipality or county which is within the territorial limits of the district may advance funds to said district to pay the preliminary expenses, including engineers’ reports, organization, or administration expenses, on such terms of repayment as the governing body of such m…

(1) On or before the fifteenth day of July of each year, the board of directors of the district shall prepare and file with the clerk of the board of supervisors of each member county, and with the clerk of each member municipality, at least two (2) copies of a budget of estimate…

It is hereby declared as a matter of legislative determination that the overflow and inundation of sixteenth section lands or in lieu lands shall not constitute legal waste of such lands. The district shall pay a reasonable rental for the use of such lands to be overflowed, and t…

Nothing in this article shall be construed to violate any provisions of the federal or state constitutions, and all acts done under this article shall be done in such manner as will conform thereto, whether herein expressly provided or not. Where any procedure hereunder may be he…

(1) At any time more than fifteen (15) years after the commencement date of any residential lease from the district, the leaseholder shall have the option to renew and extend the lease for a new sixty-year term by giving the district notice of his exercise of this option to renew…

(1) Any holder of a lease that is not a residential lease subject to Section 51-15-163 shall have the right, exclusive of all other persons, to renew the lease at fair market rental value at any time prior to expiration of the lease. (2) Other than the right of a lessee to renew …