Title 21, Title 21. Drainage, Soil Conservation, Sanitation and Public Facilities Districts

Whenever a petition, signed by fifty-one percent or more of the owners of land who own fifty-one percent or more of the land, within a proposed drainage project, according to the county-land book or books or to the latest assessment lists of the county or counties in which such p…

For the convenience of the petitioners, duplicate originals of the same petition may be circulated and separately signed by the several petitioners without the others being present, which the court shall treat in all respects as if the signatures had been placed upon the same cop…

The summons may be served by publication as to any defendants who cannot be personally served, as provided by law. Such summons shall be returnable to the first day of any regular term of the circuit court of the county, during which term, or some succeeding term, the court, afte…

The clerk of the court thereupon shall mail a written notice to each member of the board of viewers so appointed, notifying him of his appointment, and requesting that the board proceed without delay to discharge its duties as such according to law.

If a vacancy occurs on the board of viewers for any reason a successor shall be chosen in accordance with the provisions of § 21-297.

The compensation for the services of the board of viewers, together with their incidental expenses to be fixed as herein provided, shall be paid preliminarily by the county treasurer upon the certificate of the circuit judge; the sum so paid shall be refunded, with interest at th…

If the majority of the landowners in any wet, swamp or overflowed lands petition the court for a drainage district based on the widening, deepening, cleaning or straightening of such natural streams only as the United States government or the state drainage authorities pronounce …

If during the proceedings, before or after the filing of the petition, any of the petitioners withdraw from the petition so as to render the number of petitioners whose signatures remain upon the petition insufficient according to § 21-295, and sufficient additional signatures to…

To render the practical application of this chapter possible in all drainage cases, it shall be sufficient for the petitioners to exercise due diligence to ascertain the names of all the landowners and those having title to land in the proposed district, and it shall not be neces…

Whenever a supplementary petition signed by the owner or owners of any tract of land in the proposed district, be subsequently filed with the clerk of the court, requesting that tile be used to drain the tract, the clerk shall immediately notify the engineer of the district of su…

The board of viewers of the project involved shall at the first meeting after the selection of a drainage engineer make provision for the compensation to be paid him, if any, and his necessary assistants and the members of the board of viewers together with their incidental expen…

If, at the time of the filing of the petition, or at any time subsequent thereto, it shall be made to appear to the court, or the judge thereof in vacation, by affidavit or otherwise, that the owner or owners of the whole or any share of any tract or tracts of land affected or wi…

After the time of publication shall have expired, if no person claiming and asserting title to the tract or tracts of land and entitled to notice shall appear, the court or the judge thereof, in its or his discretion, may appoint some disinterested person to represent the unknown…

If at any time during the pendency of the drainage proceeding the owner or owners of the lands shall appear in person, they may be made parties defendant of their own motion and without the necessity of personal service, and shall thereafter be considered as parties to the procee…

These proceedings shall not be stayed because of infancy or incapacity; but the court in which the petition was filed shall appoint some discreet and competent attorney at law as guardian ad litem to any infant or incapacitated person who may own or be interested in any of the la…

A copy of the petition, duly certified by the clerk of the court in which the same was originally filed, shall be recorded in the deed book in the clerk's office, of each county in which any of the lands affected thereby are located and duly indexed in the names of all the partie…

The board of viewers shall proceed, as soon as practicable, to examine the land described in the petition and other land if necessary, to locate properly such improvement or improvements as are petitioned for, along the route described in the petition, or any route answering the …

After the petition is entertained by the court, notice shall be given to all interested landowners or their representatives in writing mailed to their last known address and by publication in two consecutive issues of any daily or weekly newspaper published in any city, town or v…

At the date appointed for the hearing, or upon any date to which the same may be continued, in its discretion, the court shall hear and determine any objection that may be offered to the report of the board of viewers.

If it appears that there is any land within the proposed levee or drainage district that will not be affected by the leveeing or drainage thereof, such lands shall be excluded and the names of the owners withdrawn from such proceeding.

If it shall be shown that there is any land not within the proposed district that will be affected by the construction of the proposed levee or drain, the boundary of the district shall be so changed as to include such land, and such additional landowners shall be made parties pl…

The efficiency of the drainage or levee shall also be determined, and if it appears that the location of any levee or drain can be changed so as to make it more effective, or that other branches or spurs should be constructed, or that any branch or spur projected may be eliminate…

The board of viewers shall attend such hearing, and give any information or evidence that may be sought to verify and substantiate their report.

The above facts having been determined to the satisfaction of the court, and the approximate boundaries of the proposed district determined, it shall declare the preliminary establishment of the drainage or levee district, which shall be designated by name or number, for the obje…

If any lands shall be excluded from the district because of the court having found that such lands will not be affected or benefited, and the names of the owners of such lands have been withdrawn from such proceedings, but such lands are so situated as necessarily to be located w…

If it shall be necessary to acquire a right-of-way and outlet over and through any lands or to remove any dam or other obstacle, whether the same is or is not operated under a decree of court, and the same cannot be acquired by purchase at a price deemed reasonable by the court u…

Any person or corporation owning lands within the drainage or levee district, which he or it thinks will not be benefited by the improvement, and should not be included within the district, shall have a right to appeal as provided by Chapter 26 (§ 8.01-669 et seq.) of Title 8.01;…

After the district is preliminarily established the court shall refer the report of the board of viewers back to them, and unless United States or state engineers have already surveyed the district or the major portion thereof, may make a complete survey, plans and specifications…

The board of viewers shall have power to employ such assistants as may be necessary to make a complete survey of the drainage district, and unless already completely surveyed and chartered, by United States or state engineers, shall enter upon the ground and make a survey of the …

The line of each ditch, drain or levee shall be plainly and substantially marked upon the ground, by the cutting or marking of necessary trees, staking or otherwise. The course and distance of each ditch shall be carefully noted and sufficient notes made so that it may be accurat…

Frequent bench marks shall be established along the line, on permanent objects, and their elevation recorded in the field books.

If it is deemed expedient by the board of viewers, other levels may be run to determine the fall from one part of the district to another. If an old watercourse, land drainage, ditch or channel is to be widened, deepened, or straightened, it shall be accurately cross-sectioned so…

A drainage map of the district shall then be completed, showing the location of the ditch or ditches, and other improvements, and the acreage as closely as may be determined by the records, or if necessary, from the notes of the survey, by the drainage engineer, of the lands, des…

There shall also be prepared to accompany this map a profile of each levee, drain, or watercourse, showing the surface of the ground, the bottom of the grade of the proposed improvement and the number of cubic yards of excavation or fill in each mile or fraction thereof, and the …

In any case where surveys have been made by or under the direction of any engineer, surveyor, corporation, town, city, county, state or of the United States government, of lands, in any part or parcel of land included within any proposed drainage district, authority is given to t…

It shall be the further duty of the board of viewers to assess the damages claimed by anyone that are justly right and due him for land taken or for inconvenience imposed because of the construction of the improvement or for any other legal damages sustained. Such damage shall be…

It shall be the further duty of the board of viewers personally to examine the land in the district and classify it with reference to the benefit it will receive from the construction of the levee, ditch, drain, or watercourse or other improvement and to determine rates of assess…

The board of viewers or the drainage engineer shall keep an accurate account and report to the court or the judge thereof in vacation the name and number of days each person was employed on the survey, the kind of work he was doing and the rate of pay of each, and all other incid…

In case the work is delayed by high water, sickness or any other good cause, and the final report is not completed at the time fixed by the court, the engineer on the board of viewers shall communicate with the court or the judge thereof in vacation, either before or after the ex…

When the final report is completed and filed a date shall be fixed for the final hearing upon the report, and notice thereof shall be given in accordance with § 21-314.

At the date set for the hearing any landowner may appear in person or by counsel and file his objection in writing to the final report of the board of viewers, and it shall be the duty of said board of viewers to carefully review the objections filed thereto and to make such chan…

If, in the opinion of the court, the cost of construction, together with the amount of damage assessed is not greater than the increased value of the lands affected and of the benefits that will accrue to the lands, the court shall confirm the final report of the board of viewers…

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as depriving the court of the power of reopening the proceedings in any case after the approval of the final report and before the letting of the contract in accordance with § 21-349, in order to make such changes in the plans as may be …

If the court finds that the cost of construction, together with the damages assessed is greater than the value of the resulting benefit that will accrue to the lands affected, or greater than the potential value of the lands after the completion of the proposed drainage, the cour…

Either party shall have a right to appeal from the judgment of the court as provided by Chapter 26 (§ 8.01-669 et seq.) of Title 8.01. Such appeal shall be perfected within sixty days from the entry of the order confirming the final report of the board of viewers.

The court may, from time to time, order the petitioners to pay into court, or as the court may direct, such amounts at a flat rate per acre according to the area owned by each within the bounds of the district as may be necessary to pay costs and expenses theretofore accrued, suc…