Title 41, Title 41 — Water

Exchange of construction bonds for property or stock. A district may exchange its construction bonds for any property or interest in property which the district might acquire with the proceeds of the bonds, if sold, or for the capital stock of any corporation owning the property,…

Refunding bonds sold or exchanged for bonds or warrants. (a) Any refunding bonds may be either: (i) Sold from time to time in the same manner as other bonds of the district; or (ii) Exchanged for other bonds or warrants of the district upon terms approved by the court.

Immediate cancellation of refunded or exchanged bonds. Any outstanding bonds refunded or exchanged shall be immediately canceled by the treasurer.

Cancellation of unissued bonds; resolution of board. Whenever the whole or any portion of any issue of bonds of any district remains unissued for more than one (1) year after the date of the election at which the bonds were authorized, the board of commissioners, by a resolution …

Fixing time for consideration of resolution of cancellation. Whenever a resolution to cancel bonds is offered, its consideration shall be postponed to a date fixed by the board of commissioners which is subsequent to final publication of the resolution.

Publication of cancellation resolution and notice of time for consideration. The resolution together with a notice stating that the time fixed by the board of commissioners for the consideration of the resolution shall be published once a week for at least two (2) successive week…

No bonds issued after cancellation resolution adopted. After the adoption of a resolution to cancel bonds no other bonds shall be issued in pursuance of the proceedings taken in relation to the issuance of the bonds so canceled.

Destruction of canceled bonds and coupons. Any bonds and coupons so canceled shall be destroyed under the direction of the board of commissioners.

Petition of landowners. When the commissioners of an irrigation district by unanimous vote of the total membership thereof shall determine to call an election or whenever a majority of the landowners in any irrigation district in this state, who shall represent one-half of the ir…

Election; notice. Notice of such election shall be published for four (4) successive weeks in one (1) or more newspapers published in each county in which such district is situated, stating the time and place of said meeting and the object thereof, and in addition thereto, the co…

Election; conduct; certification of result; report of district indebtedness. If at any such election which shall be conducted in the same manner as is now provided by law for the conduct of annual elections in irrigation districts, a majority of all the qualified votes in the dis…

Order for hearing on results of election; generally. Upon the filing of the commissioner's report and return of election, an order shall be made and entered by the court fixing the time and place for a hearing thereon, at which time and place all creditors and other persons inter…

Order for hearing on results of election; publication. A copy of such order to show cause shall be published for four (4) successive weeks prior to said hearing in a newspaper published in each county in which said district is situated.

Hearings; final settlement. Upon said hearing, the court must find, on the evidence submitted, if the district be ordered dissolved, that the best interests of all parties interested will be served by the proposed dissolution, and shall determine the amount of the existing indebt…

Definitions. (a) "Director" means a director of a watershed improvement district, and "board of directors" means the governing body of a watershed improvement district. (b) "Supervisor" means a supervisor of the soil and water conservation district in which a watershed improvemen…

Purposes. The purposes of this act are to provide for the prevention and control of erosion, floodwater and sediment damages, for agricultural uses, and the storage, conservation development, utilization and disposal of water, and thereby to preserve and protect land and water re…

Formation. Watershed improvement districts may be formed as subdistricts of conservation districts as herein provided for the development and execution of plans and projects relating to any of the purposes set forth in W.S. 41-8-102. The conservation district in which such subdis…

Area. The land area embraced in a watershed improvement district must lie within the same or adjoining watershed or subwatershed areas. A watershed improvement district may embrace land lying in one (1) or more soil and water conservation districts. Land lying within the boundari…

Petition for establishment; filing generally; contents; copy to be furnished conservation commission. A petition to establish a watershed improvement district shall be filed with the board of supervisors of the conservation district in which the proposed watershed improvement dis…

Petition for establishment; establishment in more than 1 soil and water conservation district. If a proposed watershed improvement district is situated in more than one (1) conservation district, copies of such petition shall be presented to the board of supervisors of all the co…

Petition for establishment; hearing; notice. (a) The board of supervisors shall act upon the petition for formation in the same manner as set forth in W.S. 22-29-109 for county commissioners in determining if a petition for district formation shall be voted upon. (b) If it appear…

Referendum prerequisite to establishment; generally. After the board of supervisors has made and recorded a determination that there is a need, in the interest of the public health, safety and welfare, for the creation of the proposed watershed improvement district, it shall cons…

Referendum prerequisite to establishment; voting; ballots; right of landowners to vote; proxies. (a) Repealed by Laws 1998, ch. 115, § 5. (b) All qualified electors of the district and owners of land lying within the boundaries of the proposed district, as determined by written a…

Referendum prerequisite to establishment; counting and recording votes; action upon results; certification of fact when created. The votes cast in the referendum shall be counted by the polling officers at the close of the polls and a report of the results, along with the ballots…

Inclusion of additional land; detaching land; change of boundaries; change of name. (a) Petitions for including additional territory within an existing watershed improvement district may be filed with the board of supervisors, and in such cases the proceedings herein provided for…

Board of directors; eligibility; election; terms; officers. (a) Within thirty (30) days after a watershed improvement district is created, the board of supervisors shall conduct an election to be held for the election of a board of directors of the watershed improvement district.…

Board of directors; powers generally. (a) Under the supervision of the board of supervisors, the board of directors of a watershed improvement district shall have power to: (i) Levy and collect assessments for special benefits accruing to land, as hereinafter provided; (ii) Acqui…

Board of directors; issuance of bonds. (a) Bonds authorized by W.S. 41-8-113 shall not be issued until proposed by order or resolution of the board of directors specifying the purpose for which the funds are to be used, the rate of interest the bonds are to bear, the amount of th…

Board of directors; per diem and mileage. Members of the board of directors shall receive no salaries, but such members may be entitled to expenses for meetings and travel in the performance of their duties as approved by the board of supervisors.

Hearing on proposed projects. (a) Before any contract shall be let or work begun upon any improvement or project within the watershed improvement district, the cost of which cannot be exclusively financed by funds on hand, grants in aid, or financial assistance or gifts to the di…

Appointment of appraisers and appraisal of benefited property. If the board of directors determines that the proposed improvement or project should be constructed and that the costs thereof should be paid by special assessment against the land benefited by such improvement or pro…

Hearing on report of appraisers. Upon receiving the report of the appraisers the board of directors shall fix a time and place within the watershed improvement district for hearing any complaint that may be made regarding the benefits appraised to any tract of land or the assessm…

Appeal from approval of project or determination of benefits or assessments. (a) Any owner of land or person having an interest therein upon which an assessment is proposed to be levied may, within thirty (30) days from such order or resolution of the board of directors accepting…

Assessment of benefits against land of state and its subdivisions. In case land belonging to the state, or a county, school district, or other public corporation is benefited by any improvement or project constructed under the provisions of this act, all of such benefits shall be…

Assessments generally. (a) The board of directors shall, on or before the third Monday in July of each year, certify to the board of county commissioners of the county within the watershed improvement district in which assessed land is located the amount of the annual installment…

Levy, collection and disposition of taxes and special assessments; expenditure of funds. It shall be the duty of the officer or body having authority to levy taxes within each county, to levy the taxes and special assessments as provided in this act and it shall be the duty of al…

Lien of assessment; collection of delinquent assessments. All taxes and assessments levied against any land under this act together with all interest thereon and penalties for default in payment thereof, and all costs of collecting the same, shall, until paid, constitute a perpet…

Supervision upon discontinuance. If any soil and water conservation district in which a watershed improvement district is situated is discontinued, the state soil and water conservation committee [conservation commission] shall thereafter serve in the same supervising capacity ov…

Existing water rights preserved. Nothing in this act shall be so construed as to in any manner impair existing water rights, appropriations or priorities.

Petition for organization; when filed; contents; service of notice or petitions generally. (a) Whenever a majority of the adult owners of lands within any district of land, who shall represent one-third in area of the lands within said district to be reclaimed or benefited, or wh…

Petition for organization; amendment; multiple petitions. No petition having as many signers as are required by this section shall be declared void, but the court may at any time permit the petition to be amended in form and substance to conform to the facts, if the facts justify…

What lands may be included. Said territory need not be contiguous, provided, that it be so situated that the public health or welfare will be promoted by such drainage of each part thereof, and the benefits of the proposed work in each part will exceed the damages from and costs …

Notice of hearing; service generally; contents. (a) On such petition being filed the court or judge thereof shall make an order fixing a time and place of hearing thereon and ordering notice; thereupon the clerk of said court, for the county in which the proceedings are institute…

Notice of hearing; nonresidents. If any of the owners of land in said district are nonresidents of the county or counties in which the proposed district lies, the petition shall be accompanied by an affidavit giving the names and post-office address of such nonresidents, if such …

Notice of hearing; proof of service. The certificate of the clerk of the court or other public officer, or the affidavit of any other person who knows the facts, affixed to a copy of said notice, shall be sufficient evidence of the posting, serving, mailing or publication thereof…