Chapter 19, Chapter 19

Agencies of this state which have jurisdiction over or be charged with the administration of any state-owned lands, and of any county, or other governmental subdivision of the state, which have jurisdiction over or be charged with the administration of any county-owned or other p…

A watershed improvement district organized under the provisions of this article shall constitute a governmental division of this state and a public body corporate, and such watershed improvement district shall have all of the powers of the soil conservation district or districts …

For the purpose of paying expenses incurred or to be incurred in organizing such district, making surveys of the same, assessing benefits and damages, and to pay other expenses necessary to be incurred, before the board of supervisors shall be empowered by subsequent provisions o…

A county commission or the governing body of any municipality that may reasonably be expected to receive a benefit from the construction, improvement, operation, or maintenance of any works of improvement may expend money for such construction, improvement, operation, or maintena…

(a) By vote of the governing body of a municipality or a county commission, any county or municipality authorized to expend money on works of improvement by §19-21A-11 of this code, may alone, or in combination with, the committee or the conservation agency, give assurances, by c…

After the board of supervisors has adopted the plan for reclamation the secretary of such board shall file a certified copy of same, together with a copy of the order of such board approving "the plan for reclamation," with the clerk of the circuit court in which the district was…

The powers herein granted to watershed improvement districts shall be additional to the powers of the soil conservation district or districts in which the watershed improvement district is situated; and the soil conservation district or districts, and the supervisors thereof, are…

At any time after five years from the organization of a watershed improvement district, any twenty-five owners of land lying within the limits of the district, or a majority of such owners if their number be less than fifty, or any municipality or county any part of which lies wi…

Within thirty days after qualifying, as provided in the previous section, the appraisers shall begin their duties; and the chief engineer or one of his assistants shall accompany such appraisers at all times and shall render his opinion in writing when called for. The appraisers …

The county commission of each county and the governing body of each municipality in the state are hereby authorized and empowered to enter into a contract or agreement with the conservation committee or the conservation agency for the purpose of constructing flood control project…

Upon the filing of the report of the appraisers, the clerk of such court shall give notice thereof by causing publication of such report to be made as a Class II-O legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty- nine of this code, and the pu…

(a) At any time after five years following the organization of a district under the provisions of this article, any twenty-five owners of land lying within the boundaries of a district may file a petition with the state Conservation Committee praying that the district be disconti…

The drainage district, or any owner of land or other property in such district, may file exception to such report, or to any assessment for either benefits or damages, within ten days after the last day of publication of the notice provided for in the preceding section. All excep…

Any property owner may accept the assessment of damages in his favor made by the appraisers, or acquiesce in their failure to assess damages in his favor, and shall be construed to have done so unless he gives to such board of supervisors, within thirty days after the assessment …

The board of supervisors of such district shall have full power and authority to build, construct, excavate and complete all or any works and improvements which may be needed to carry out, maintain and protect "the plan for reclamation." To accomplish that end such board of super…

After the lists of lands and other property, with the assessed benefits and the decree and judgment of court, have been filed in the office of the clerk of the county court of each county in which any of such lands are situate, as provided in section fifteen of this article, then…

The board of supervisors shall each year thereafter determine, order and levy the amount of the annual installment of the total taxes levied under the preceding section, which shall become due and be collected during said year at the same time that state and county taxes are due …

It is hereby declared, as a matter of legislative determination: (a) That West Virginia has a rich history of farming and using natural resources. The farms, forests, soil, and water resources are among the basic assets of the state and conservation of these resources is vital to…

Whenever within a soil conservation district or districts, soil conservation or the conservation, development, utilization, or disposal of water will be promoted by the construction of improvements for such purpose or purposes, a watershed improvement district may be established …

Proceedings under the provisions of this article shall have precedence on the dockets of all circuit courts of this state over all other civil cases, except election cases and special proceedings which heretofore by other laws may have been given precedence on the courts' dockets…

It shall be the duty of the sheriff of each county in which lands or other property of any drainage district organized under this article are situate, to receive the "drainage tax book" each year, and he is hereby empowered and it shall be his duty to promptly and faithfully coll…

All taxes levied under the terms of this article shall be payable between October 1, and the last day of December of each year; and if any taxes levied by the board of supervisors in pursuance to this article are not paid at maturity, the sheriff shall not embrace such taxes in t…

Such suits shall be conducted in the name of the drainage district, and in accordance with the practice and proceedings of chancery courts in this state, except as herein otherwise provided, save that oral testimony may be heard; and this law shall be liberally construed to give …

All bonds issued by supervisors under the terms of this article shall be a lien on all lands or other property so assessed in the district, and the board of supervisors shall see to it that a tax is levied annually and collected under the provisions of this article so long as it …

The secretary of the board of supervisors in any drainage district shall hold the Office of Treasurer of such district, except as otherwise provided herein. Such secretary shall receive such salary, payable monthly, as the board of supervisors may fix, and all necessary expenses.…

In order to effect the drainage, protection and reclamation of the land and other property in the district subject to tax, the board of supervisors is authorized and empowered to straighten, widen, change the course and line of any drain in or out of such district; to fill up any…

The board of supervisors may employ an attorney or attorneys to act for the district and to advise such board. Such employment shall be evidenced by an agreement in writing, which, as far as possible, shall specify the exact or approximate amount to be paid to such attorney for a…

The board of supervisors of any district organized under this article shall cause to be kept a well-bound book, entitled "Record of board of supervisors of ........................ district," in which shall be recorded minutes of all meetings, proceedings, certificates, bonds giv…

The board of supervisors shall not have the right to enter upon or appropriate any land for right-of-way, or other works of the districts, until the price awarded to the owners of such land by the commissioners shall have been paid to such owners or into the hands of the circuit …

Where any public ditch or drain constructed under the provisions of this article crosses a public highway or the right- of-way of any railroad, tramway, or any public utility, the cost of constructing such ditch or drain across such highway, railroad, tramway or other public util…

Any twenty-five owners of land lying within the limits of a proposed watershed improvement district, or a majority of such owners if their number be less than fifty, or any municipality or county any part of which lies within the proposed watershed improvement district, may file …

Wherever used or referred to in this article, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context: (1) “Agency of this state” means the government of this state and any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, corporate or otherwise, of the government of this state. (2) “…

Proceedings to establish and organize a drainage, levee or reclamation district shall be commenced by three or more owners of real property within the proposed district, whose lands will be affected by the proposed improvement, filing a petition in the circuit court, or before th…

In case any warrant issued under this article is not paid when presented to the treasurer of the board of supervisors of the district, because of lack of funds in the treasury, such fact shall be indorsed on the back of such warrant, and such warrant shall draw interest thereafte…

All surety bonds required to be given by this article shall be made payable to the district in its corporate name, in which name all suits shall be instituted and prosecuted. All penalties on any bond herein named shall be payable to and recoverable by such district. All bonds re…

No action under this article shall abate by reason of the death or disability of any party to any proceeding, but upon suggestion of such death or disability the cause shall be immediately revived in the name of the heirs, devisees or their legal representatives, and summons must…

The word "owner," as used in this article, shall mean the owner of the freehold estate, as appears by the deed of record, and it shall not include reversioners, remaindermen, trustees, or mortgagees, who need not be notified by publication, or served by process, but shall be repr…

The board of supervisors for and in behalf of any drainage district organized under the provisions of this article, or the owners of land adjacent to such district, shall have the right to file a petition in the office of the clerk of the court organizing the district praying the…

The board of supervisors may, if in their judgment it seems best, issue serial bonds not to exceed ninety percent of the total amount of unpaid taxes levied under the provisions of section eighteen of this article, in denominations of not less than $100, bearing interest from dat…

Where "the plan for reclamation" of the drainage district is found insufficient to reclaim in whole or in part any or all of the land of the district, the board of supervisors shall have the right to formulate new or amended plans containing new ditches, levees or other works, an…

The board of supervisors may at any time remove any officer, attorney or other employee appointed or employed by such board.

At the time of the construction in any district incorporated under this article of "the plan for reclamation" hereinbefore referred to, all ditches or systems of drainage already constructed in such district and all watercourses shall, if necessary to the drainage of any of the l…

To maintain and preserve the ditches, drains, levees or other improvements made pursuant to this article and to strengthen, repair and restore the same, when needed, and for the purpose of defraying the current expenses of the district, the board of supervisors may, upon the comp…

Immediately after such petition shall have been filed it shall be the duty of the court, or the judge thereof in vacation, to enter upon its records an order appointing an engineer to be selected by the petitioners, provided the engineer whom they select is a qualified and suitab…

Within thirty days after such petition has been filed with the supervisors of the soil conservation district or districts, they shall hold a public hearing or hearings upon the practicability and feasibility of creating the proposed watershed improvement district. All owners of l…

(a) The State Conservation Committee is continued. It serves as an agency of the state and is to perform the functions conferred upon it in this article. The committee consists of the following 10 members: (1) Four citizen members; (2) The following ex officio members or his or h…

Any two or more adjacent districts, whether incorporated in the same or different counties, may be united and consolidated in one district, and such new district and the board of supervisors thereof shall have the rights, powers and privileges of any districts organized under thi…

Any person who shall obstruct a drain or damage drainage works constructed under the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined $100, and he shall also be liable to the district for double the cost of removing such ob…

(a) If a conservation district supervisor applies to participate in a West Virginia Conservation Agency financial assistance program, then his or her application for that particular program shall be evaluated for approval or denial by the West Virginia Conservation Agency. (b) A …

The conservation districts formed throughout the state under the prior enactments of this section are continued and shall remain in effect until reformed or reorganized as provided in section fourteen of this article.