Chapter 547 — Chapter 547

ORS 547.005 Authority to form drainage district. The persons shown by the records of the county to be the owners of 50 percent of the acreage in any contiguous body of swamp, wet or overflowed lands or irrigated lands, waters from which contribute to the swamp, wet or overflowed conditions of those or other lands, situated in one or more counties of the state, may form a drainage district for the purpose of having such lands reclaimed and protected by drainage or otherwise from the effects of water, for sanitary or agricultural purposes, or when the same may be conducive to the public health, convenience and welfare or of public utility or benefit

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ORS 547.010 Petition to form district; contents. For the purpose mentioned in ORS 547.005, the owners may prepare and sign a petition in which shall be stated

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ORS 547.015 Verification and filing of petition. The petition shall be verified by one or more of the petitioners to the effect that they have read the petition and believe the allegations to be true. It shall be filed in the office of the county clerk of the county in which the lands described are situated. If the lands are situated in more than one county it shall be filed in the office of the county clerk of the county in which more of the lands are situated than in any other county

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ORS 547.020 Fixing time and place of hearing; notice; jurisdiction over district. (1) Upon presentation of the petition, the county court shall fix the time and place for hearing the petition. Thereupon the clerk in whose office the petition was filed shall give notice in the following manner

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ORS 547.025 Filing of objections. On or before the date set for the hearing, any person objecting to the organization and incorporation of the district may appear and file a writing setting forth specifically and definitely any objections thereto

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ORS 547.030 Evidence at hearing; findings; appeal. (1) At the hearing the court shall hear and consider any evidence that may be presented for or against the petition or any objection thereto

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ORS 547.035 [Repealed by 1975 c.326 §5]

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ORS 547.040 Application of Act of 1915 and amendments to districts organized under earlier laws. All drainage districts organized before February 14, 1921, in pursuance of any law relating to drainage districts passed prior to the enactment of chapter 340, Oregon Laws 1915, shall have all the powers and be subject to all the provisions of the Drainage District Act, except in so far as the organization of the district is concerned

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ORS 547.045 Public lands within district; authority to sign petition or objections; liability of lands; assessments. (1) Whenever any diking or drainage district is sought to be created and organized or is created and organized in the manner provided by law, within the boundaries of which are located any lands belonging to the state that have been acquired or used by or for any state institution described in ORS 179.321 or used for the Eastern Oregon State Training Center, the Director of Human Services, the Department of Corrections or the Director of the Oregon Health Authority may sign any petition or objections thereto for the organization of such district and exercise on behalf of the state with respect to the district and the land therein belonging to the state, all the rights and privileges of a landowner within the district

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ORS 547.050 Signing of petition by Governor. The signing of the petition by the Governor for the organization of a diking or drainage district on behalf of the state shall be deemed to constitute compliance with the provisions of ORS 547.005 to 547.015, and any previous such action by the Governor is hereby ratified and confirmed. [Amended by 1969 c.597 §62]

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ORS 547.055 Attack on validity or boundaries of district; time for commencement of suit. No action, suit or proceeding, under ORS 30.570 or otherwise, shall be maintained for the purpose of avoiding, setting aside or otherwise questioning or affecting the validity of the organization of any district organized under the Drainage District Act, unless such action, suit or proceeding is commenced within nine months from the date of the proclamation in such matter made by the county judge; nor for the purpose of questioning the legality of the boundaries established for such corporation in such proclamation unless similarly commenced within nine months therefrom; nor for the purpose of questioning the legality of any altered boundaries of the district which may be subsequently established as provided for by ORS 547.250 to 547.260 unless commenced within nine months from the date of the judgment. [Amended by 2003 c.576 §505]

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ORS 547.057 Drainage district activity as urban service. (1) An activity of a drainage district is deemed to be an urban service, as defined in ORS 195.065, if the drainage district

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ORS 547.060 Scope of Drainage District Act. As used in this chapter, “Drainage District Act” means ORS 547.005 to 547.030, 547.057, 547.105 to 547.150, 547.205 to 547.240, 547.250 to 547.265, 547.310, 547.315, 547.455 to 547.475, and 547.555 to 547.580. [Amended by 2015 c.544 §13]

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ORS 547.063 Definitions. As used in ORS 547.063 to 547.083

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ORS 547.065 Public hearing required. (1) Before a drainage district elects to exercise the powers and duties set forth in ORS 547.067, the board of supervisors shall hold a public hearing

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ORS 547.067 Powers of drainage district. (1) A drainage district may acquire, construct, reconstruct, repair, improve or extend improvements to carry out the purposes of the Drainage District Act

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ORS 547.069 Formation of drainage district by owners of certain lands permitted. In a contiguous body of swamp, wet or overflowed land or irrigated land from which waters contribute to the swamp or to the wet or overflowed condition of the same or different land, the owners of record of at least 50 percent of the acreage may form a drainage district for the purpose of reclaiming and protecting the land by drainage, flood control or otherwise from the effects of water

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ORS 547.071 Powers of drainage district officers and employees. (1) The officers and employees of any drainage district may

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ORS 547.073 Powers of board of supervisors. (1) The board of supervisors may

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ORS 547.075 Contracts with federal government permitted. The board of supervisors of any drainage district, whenever it is determined by the board that it is for the best interests of the district

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ORS 547.077 Powers of boards of supervisors west of the Cascade Mountains. (1) The board of supervisors of a drainage district lying west of the Cascade Mountains, whether or not organized under the Drainage District Act

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ORS 547.079 Clogged or obstructed conditions; notice to owner or occupant. (1) Whenever the engineer or secretary of a drainage district notifies the supervisors that any flood control project is less efficient, by reason of the failure of the owner of the premises upon which it is situated to prevent obstructions, repair, clean or grade the same, the board of supervisors shall serve or cause to be served upon such owner, if the owner is known and residing within the county in which the district is situate, or if not a resident of the county, then upon the occupant of the premises, a notice in writing notifying the owner or occupant of the clogged or obstructed condition of the flood control project

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ORS 547.081 Repair of clogged or obstructed condition. (1) If the owner or occupant of the premises upon which the clogged or obstructed flood control project is situated fails for 10 days after being notified of the existence of the clogged or obstructed condition, to submit to the drainage district a plan and schedule to repair, clean or grade the flood control project or remove the obstruction therefrom, the board of supervisors shall immediately repair, clean or grade the same and cause it to be promptly placed in a proper and efficient condition

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ORS 547.083 Owner or occupant liable for repair expense; notice and recordation of lien. (1) Upon completion of the work the board of supervisors shall bill the owner or occupant of the premises for the expense necessarily incurred in the repair, grading or cleaning of the flood control project

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ORS 547.105 Election of supervisors; qualifications and terms of office; quorum for transaction of business at owners’ meetings. (1) Within 30 days after any drainage district has been organized under the provisions of the Drainage District Act, the county clerk of the county in which the petition was filed shall call a meeting of the owners of land situated in the district for the purpose of electing a board of supervisors with three or five supervisors as determined by the owners of land within the district

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ORS 547.110 Annual meeting; election of supervisors; owners entitled to vote. In the same month of each year after the election of the first board of supervisors, the board shall call a meeting of the owners of land in the district. The board shall give notice in the manner provided for in ORS 547.105. The owners shall meet at the time and place fixed by the board and elect one or two supervisors in the manner prescribed in ORS 547.105, who shall hold office for three years and until a successor is elected and qualified. However, after the report of the commissioners has been confirmed by the court under the provisions of ORS 547.235, only the owners, or the designees of the owners, of the land having benefits attributed to the land are entitled to vote at the annual meetings held under the provisions of this section. [Amended by 1969 c.669 §14; 1991 c.459 §425b; 2003 c.223 §2; 2015 c.544 §19]

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ORS 547.112 Change in number of supervisors. (1) At least six months prior to an annual meeting of a drainage district, the board of supervisors of the drainage district may change the number of supervisors elected to the board, effective at the next annual meeting, by a motion approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of the supervisors

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ORS 547.115 Supervisor’s oath of office. Each supervisor before entering upon official duties shall take and subscribe to an oath before some officer authorized by law to administer oaths, that the supervisor will honestly, faithfully and impartially perform the duties devolving upon the supervisor in office as supervisor of the drainage district in which the supervisor was elected, and that the supervisor will not neglect any of the duties imposed upon the supervisor by the Drainage District Act

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ORS 547.120 Board of supervisors; officers; secretary; seal; record of proceedings; report. The board of supervisors immediately after its election shall choose one of its number president of the board, and elect some suitable person secretary, who may or may not be a member of the board. The board shall adopt a seal with a suitable design, and shall keep a record of all its proceedings. The board shall report to the landowners at the annual meeting held under the provisions of ORS 547.110 what work has been done, either by the engineers or otherwise. Notwithstanding the provisions of ORS 198.190, if the secretary is a member of the board the secretary shall be entitled to compensation as provided for in ORS 547.125. [Amended by 1971 c.403 §10; 1973 c.794 §28]

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ORS 547.125 Secretary as treasurer; duties; audit of books and report to landowners; compensation. (1) The secretary of the board of supervisors in any drainage district shall hold the office of treasurer of the district, except as otherwise provided in this chapter

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ORS 547.130 Record of meetings, proceedings, certificates, bonds, acts. The board of supervisors of any district organized under the Drainage District Act shall cause to be kept a well-bound book, entitled “Record of Proceedings of Board of Supervisors of _____ District,” in which shall be recorded minutes of all meetings, proceedings, certificates, bonds given by all employees, and any and all corporate acts, which record shall at all times be open to the inspection of anyone interested, whether taxpayer or bondholder

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ORS 547.135 Removal of employees. The board of supervisors may at any time remove any officer, attorney or other employee appointed or employed by the board

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ORS 547.140 Uniform charge to pay expenses of organizing district, surveys, assessing benefits and damages; collection; surplus funds; refunding in case of dissolution. (1) The board of supervisors of any district organized under the provisions of the Drainage District Act shall, as soon as elected and qualified, impose a uniform charge of not more than $1 per acre upon the owner of each acre of land within the district, to be used for the purpose of paying expenses incurred or to be incurred in organizing the district, making surveys of the same, and assessing benefits and damages, and to pay other expenses necessary to be incurred before the board shall be empowered by other provisions of the Drainage District Act, to provide funds to pay the total cost of works and improvements of the district. In case the boundary lines of the district are extended so as to include lands not described and contained in the petition, the same uniform charge shall be imposed upon the owners of the included lands as soon as the lands are annexed and included in the district

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ORS 547.145 [Repealed by 1969 c.345 §20]

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ORS 547.150 Payment of claims; warrants; nonpayment; interest-bearing warrants; charge or levy of tax to pay. All claims against the district shall be paid by warrants drawn on the district treasurer and signed by the president and secretary of the board. When any warrant is not paid when presented to the treasurer because of lack of funds in the treasury, such fact shall be indorsed on the back of the warrant, and such warrant shall draw interest thereafter at the rate of six percent per annum until there is money on hand to pay the amount of the warrant and the interest then accumulated. No interest shall be allowed on warrants after sufficient funds are in the treasury to pay the indorsed warrants and interest. The secretary shall give notice by publication whenever sufficient funds are available to pay outstanding warrants. The board shall charge or levy each year a sufficient amount of money to pay the outstanding warrants of the district to the extent permitted within the constitutional limitation. [Amended by 1991 c.459 §425d]

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ORS 547.205 Appointment of engineer; duties; surveys; report; maps. Within 30 days after organizing, the board of supervisors shall appoint a competent civil engineer as chief engineer, who may be an individual, partnership or corporation, and who shall engage such assistants as the board of supervisors may approve. The chief engineer shall

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ORS 547.210 Engineer’s report; adoption by supervisors; report constitutes “Plan for Reclamation”; exclusion of lands not benefited; certain irrigated lands deemed to be benefited. (1) The chief engineer shall make a report in writing to the board of supervisors whenever the board requires. Upon receipt of the final report of the engineer concerning surveys made of the lands contained in the district, and plans for reclaiming the same, the board shall adopt the report or any modification thereof approved by the chief engineer. The adopted report shall be the plan for draining and reclaiming such lands from overflow or damage by water, and shall be known and designated as the “Plan for Reclamation.” The plan shall be filed with the secretary of the board of supervisors and by the secretary copied into the records of the district

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ORS 547.215 Commissioners; appointment; qualifications; quorum; continuing existence. Upon adoption of the plan for reclamation, the county judge shall, by order, appoint three commissioners (who shall not be landowners in the district nor of kin within the fourth degree of consanguinity to any person owning land in the district), one of whom shall be a civil engineer and two of whom shall be freeholders residing within the state. A majority of the commissioners shall constitute a quorum and shall control the action of the board on all questions. Such commissioners shall constitute a body which shall continue in office and may be convened at any time by the county court for the purpose of correcting any errors, omissions or other mistakes that shall have been discovered in its original report as the same may have been amended and supplemented from time to time or for any other good cause shown. The court shall fill any vacancy occurring in such body of commissioners by appointment of a person who has the qualifications required by this section of the commissioner the person is to replace. Whenever said body of commissioners has been reconvened by the court, it shall thereafter make its report in response to the directions of the court and such report when completed shall be subject to ORS 547.245, with reference to a hearing thereon and a confirmation thereof by order or judgment of the court before such supplemental report shall go into effect. [Amended by 1953 c.434 §2; 2003 c.576 §506]

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ORS 547.220 Notice of appointment of commissioners; meeting; secretary of board of supervisors to furnish certain information; oath; officers. The county clerk upon the filing of the order of appointment shall notify each commissioner of appointment by written or printed notice, and in the notice the county clerk shall state the time and place for the first meeting of the commissioners. The secretary of the board of supervisors shall attend the meeting, and shall furnish the commissioners a complete list of all lands in the district, and the names of the owners thereof, as were contained in the petition, at the date of the judgment of the court incorporating the district. The secretary shall also furnish the commissioners a copy of the plan for reclamation, with maps and profiles in the office of the secretary. The commissioners at the meeting, or within 10 days thereafter, shall each take and subscribe to an oath that they will faithfully and impartially discharge their duties as commissioners and make a true report of the work done by them. They shall also at the meeting elect one of their own number chairperson. The secretary of the board of supervisors shall be ex officio secretary of the commissioners. [Amended by 2003 c.576 §507]

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ORS 547.225 Assessment of benefits and damages by commissioners; report; compensation. (1) Within 30 days after qualifying, the commissioners shall begin their duties. The chief engineer shall accompany them at all times, and render an opinion in writing when called for

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ORS 547.230 Notice of report of commissioners; publication; form. (1) Upon the filing of the report of the commissioners, the county clerk shall give notice thereof by publication once a week for three consecutive weeks in some newspaper published in each county in the district. It shall not be necessary for the notice to name the parties interested. The notice shall be in small type, in substantially the following form

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ORS 547.235 Exceptions to report or assessment; hearing by court; modifications; transmission of judgment and report to supervisors and county clerks; appeal from judgment. The drainage district or any owner of land in the district may file exceptions to the report or to any assessment of either benefits or damages, within 10 days after the last day of publication of the notice provided for in ORS 547.230. All exceptions shall be heard by the court and such amendments and modifications made to the report of the commissioners as may in the court’s judgment be equitable. When it appears to the satisfaction of the court, after having heard and determined all the exceptions, that the estimated cost of the improvement contemplated in the plan for reclamation is less than the benefits to be derived therefrom, the court shall approve and confirm the commissioners’ report, as so amended and modified. The county clerk shall transmit a certified copy of the judgment and copy of the commissioners’ report, as confirmed or amended by the court, to the secretary of the board of supervisors of the district and to the clerk of each county having lands in the district, or affected by the report, where the same shall become a permanent record. Each such county clerk shall receive a fee of $3.75 for receiving, filing and preserving the same. Any person may appeal from the judgment of the court. [Amended by 1971 c.621 §39; 1975 c.607 §42; 1979 c.833 §34; 1981 c.835 §16; 2003 c.576 §508]

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ORS 547.240 Dissolution of district if cost exceeds benefits; obligations and expenses; additional charges. If after determining the objections made to the commissioners’ report, the court finds that the estimated costs of works and improvements as reported by the commissioners, or as amended by the court, exceed the estimated benefits, the court shall then render a judgment, declaring the incorporation of the district to be dissolved as soon as all costs incurred, which shall include court costs and all obligations and expenses incurred in behalf of the district by the board of supervisors, are paid. If the uniform charge made under ORS 547.140 is found insufficient to pay all the costs, the board of supervisors shall make such additional uniform charges as will be necessary to pay the deficiency. [Amended by 1991 c.459 §425f; 2003 c.576 §509]

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ORS 547.245 Reassessment of benefits. At any time after the expiration of five years from the confirmation of the report of the commissioners, as provided by ORS 547.235, and upon the filing of a petition with the county clerk signed by at least one-tenth of the owners of the lands within the drainage district or the owners of at least one-tenth of the lands within such district, setting forth that the original assessments or benefits are inequitable and unjust, the county court shall appoint three commissioners, as provided by ORS 547.215, to reassess the benefits in the district. The commissioners shall report the reassessment to the court. Upon the filing of the report of the commissioners, the county clerk shall give notice of hearing thereon by publication once a week for three consecutive weeks in some newspaper published in each county in the district, the last insertion to be made at least 15 days prior to the hearing. At least 10 days before the day set for hearing, exceptions may be filed by any interested person, and upon hearing the same the court shall approve the report or direct how it shall be modified and, when so modified or approved, shall confirm it. The assessment as confirmed shall take the place of all prior assessments; provided, that in no case shall the total amount of assessments be less than the outstanding obligations. The county clerk shall transmit a certified copy of the court’s judgment and copy of the commissioners’ report, as confirmed or amended by the court, to the secretary of the board of supervisors of the district and to the county clerk of each county having lands in the district. [Amended by 2003 c.576 §510]

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ORS 547.250 Changes in plan for reclamation; petition for amendment of plan; notice. The board of supervisors shall have power to make any change in the plan for reclamation by action of the board until such time as the commissioners have filed their report. After that all changes shall be made as follows

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ORS 547.255 Objections to petition; findings; judgment; recording. Any owner of land located in the district, or any owner of land located outside of the district that will be affected by the proposed changes, amendments, and corrections enumerated in the petition, may file objections to the granting of the prayer of the petition, on or before the first day of the term of court at which the petition is to be heard. The court shall hear the petition and all objections filed against it in a summary manner and enter a judgment according to its findings. The clerk of the court shall, within 15 days after the granting of the judgment, transmit a certified copy of the judgment and of the petition to the secretary of the board of supervisors, and to the recorder of deeds of each county having land in the district. Each such recorder shall file and preserve the same in the recorder’s office, for which the recorder shall receive a fee of $3.75. [Amended by 1971 c.621 §40; 1975 c.607 §43; 1979 c.833 §35; 1981 c.835 §17; 2003 c.576 §512]

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ORS 547.260 Appointment of commissioners when plan amended; subsequent proceedings; court costs. (1) If the judgment of the court provides that the plan for reclamation may be amended, changed or corrected or the boundary lines of the district extended, the court shall appoint three commissioners, possessing the same qualifications as the commissioners appointed under ORS 547.215, to appraise property to be taken, assess benefits and damages, and estimate the cost of improvements the same as is required of commissioners acting under ORS 547.225. The commissioners shall make their report in writing and file it with the county clerk, after which the case shall be proceeded with in the same manner as is provided for the organization of drainage districts

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ORS 547.265 Amendment of plan where works or charge insufficient; additional charge. Where the works set out in the plan for reclamation of any drainage district are found insufficient to reclaim in whole or in part any or all of the land of the district, the board of supervisors may formulate new or amended plans containing new ditches, levees or other works, and additional assessments may be made in conformity with the provisions of ORS 547.225, the same to be made in proportion to the increased benefits accruing to the lands because of the additional works. If it should be found at any time that the total of the charges made under ORS 547.455 to 547.485 is insufficient to pay the cost of works set out in the plan for reclamation or additional work done under this section, the board of supervisors may impose an additional charge to provide funds to complete the work, provided the total of all charges does not exceed the total amount of benefits assessed. [Amended by 1991 c.459 §425g]

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ORS 547.305 Entry on land; acquisition of property; water filings and appropriations; condemnation of property devoted to public use; right of way across state lands. (1) The officers and employees of any drainage district shall have the right to

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ORS 547.310 Board authority regarding reclamation works; contracts; engineer’s duties. (1) The board of supervisors shall have full power and authority to

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