Miss. Code Ann. § 51-13-111 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 1 / Section 13-111
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-13-111
Status: in_force

The Tombigbee River Valley Water Management 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, plans for public works of improvement for the prevention of floodwater damage, or the conservation, development, navigation, utilization and disposal of water, including the impoundment, diversion, flowage and distribution of waters for beneficial use as defined in Chapter 3 of this title.

To enter into agreements with the United States of America, as represented by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, to meet the requirements of local cooperation for flood control and navigation projects as set out in House Document No. 167, 84th Congress, First Session, as authorized by Public Law 85-500 , 85th Congress, dated July 3, 1958, as amended, and House Document No. 486, 79th Congress, Second Session, as approved by Public Law 525, 79th Congress, as amended.

(b) To impound overflow water and the surface water of the Tombigbee River or its tributaries within the project area, within or without the district, at the place or places and in the amount as may be approved by the Office of Land and Water Resources of the State of Mississippi, by the construction of a dam or dams, reservoir or reservoirs, work or works, plants and any other necessary or useful related facilities contemplated and described as a part of the project, within or without the district, to control, store and preserve these waters, and to use, distribute, and sell them, to construct or otherwise acquire within the project area all works, plants, or other facilities necessary or useful to the project for processing the water and transporting it to cities and other facilities for domestic, municipal, commercial, industrial, agricultural and manufacturing purposes, and is hereby given the power to control open channels for water delivery purposes and water transportation.

(c) To acquire and develop any other available water necessary or useful to the project and to construct, acquire and develop all facilities within the project area deemed necessary or useful with respect thereto, including terminals.

(d) To forest and reforest, and to aid in the foresting and reforesting of the project area, and to prevent and to aid in the prevention of soil erosion and flood within the area; to control, store, and preserve within the boundaries of the project area the waters of the Tombigbee River or any of its tributaries for irrigation of lands and for prevention of water pollution.

(e) To acquire by condemnation all property of any kind, real, personal, or mixed, or any interest therein, within or without the boundaries of the district, necessary for the projects and the exercise of the powers, rights, privileges and functions conferred upon the district by this article, according to the procedure provided by law for the condemnation of lands or other property taken for rights-of-way or other purposes by railroads, telephone, or telegraph companies, and according to the provisions of Section 29-1-1 . For the purposes of this article the right of eminent domain of the district shall be superior and dominant to the right of eminent domain of railroad, telegraph, telephone, gas, power and other companies or corporations and shall be sufficient to enable the acquisition of county roads, state highways, or other public property in the project area, and the acquisition or relocation of this property in the project area. The cost of right-of-way purchases, rerouting and elevating all other county-maintained roads affected by construction shall be borne by the water management district, and new construction shall be of equal quality as in roads existing as of May 1, 1962. The county in which the work is done may assist in these costs if the board of supervisors desires.

The amount and character of interest in land, other property, and easements to be acquired shall be determined by the board of directors, and their determination shall be conclusive and shall not be subject to attack in the absence of manifold abuse of discretion or fraud on the part of such board in making such determination. However,

(i) In acquiring lands, either by negotiation or condemnation, the district shall not acquire minerals or royalties within the project area; sand and gravel shall not be considered as minerals within the meaning of this section; and

(ii) No person or persons owning the drilling rights or the right to share in production shall be prevented from exploring, developing, or producing oil or gas with necessary rights-of-way for ingress and egress, pipelines, and other means of transporting these products by reason of the inclusion of the lands or mineral interests within the project area, whether below or above the waterline, but any activities shall be under reasonable regulations by the board of directors that will adequately protect the project; and

(iii) In drilling and developing, these persons are hereby vested with a special right to have mineral interests integrated and their lands developed in the drilling unit or units that the State Oil and Gas Board shall establish after due consideration of the rights of all owners to be included in the drilling unit.

Moreover, when any site or plot of land is to be sold to any person, firm, or corporation for the purpose of operating recreational facilities thereon for profit, the board shall, by resolution, specify the terms and conditions of the sale and shall advertise for public bids thereon. When these bids are received, they shall be publicly opened by the board, and the board shall thereupon determine the highest and best bid submitted and shall immediately notify the former owner of the site or plot of the amount, terms, and conditions of the highest and best bid. The former owner of the site or plot shall have the exclusive right at his option, for a period of thirty (30) days after written notice is received by the landowner of the determination of the highest and best bid by the board, to purchase the site or plot of land by meeting the highest and best bid and by complying with all terms and conditions of the sale as specified by the board. However, the board shall not sell to any former owner more land than was taken from the former owner for the construction of the project, or one-quarter ( 1 / 4 ) mile of shoreline, whichever shall be the lesser. If this option is not exercised by the former owner within a period of thirty (30) days, the board shall accept the highest and best bid submitted.

Any bona fide resident householder actually living or maintaining a residence on land taken by the district by condemnation shall have the right to repurchase his former land from the board of directors for a price not exceeding the price paid for condemning his land, plus any permanent improvements.

In addition and notwithstanding any other provision in this section to the contrary, the board may lease or rent all or any portion of any property that it owns to any person, firm, or corporation for the purpose of operating recreational facilities for profit or not for profit or for any other public purpose provided the land is open for the use of the general public or is otherwise used for the public benefit and upon any other terms and conditions as the board may determine. The leasing or renting of all or any portion of any such land upon said conditions shall require a resolution duly adopted by the board and shall be exempt from any bid requirements in this section.

(f) To require the necessary relocation of roads and highways, railroad, telephone, and telegraph lines and properties, electric power lines, gas pipelines and mains and facilities in the project area, or to require the anchoring or other protection of any of these, provided due compensation is first paid the owners thereof or agreement is had with the owners regarding the payment of the cost of relocation. Further, the district is hereby authorized to acquire easements or rights-of-way in or outside of the project area for the relocation of roads, highways, railroad, telephone, and telegraph lines and properties, electric power lines, gas pipelines and mains and facilities, and to convey them to the owners thereof in connection with the relocation as a part of the construction of the project. However, the directors of the district shall not close any public access road to the project existing prior to the construction of the reservoir unless the board of supervisors of the county in which the road is located agrees thereto.

(g) To overflow and inundate any public lands and public property, including sixteenth section lands and in lieu lands, within the project area.

(h) To construct, extend, improve, maintain and reconstruct, to cause to be constructed, extended, improved, maintained and reconstructed, and to use and operate all facilities of any kind within the project area necessary or convenient to the project and to the exercise of powers, rights, privileges and functions.

(i) To sue and be sued in its corporate name.

(j) To adopt, use, and alter a corporate seal.

(k) To make bylaws for the management and regulation of its affairs.

( l ) To employ engineers, attorneys, and all necessary agents and employees to properly finance, construct, operate, and maintain the project and the plants and to pay reasonable compensation for these services; for all services in connection with the issuance of bonds as provided in this article, the attorney's fee shall not exceed one-quarter of one percent ( 1 / 4 of 1%) of the principal amount of these bonds. For any other services, only reasonable compensation shall be paid for these services. The board shall have the right to employ a general manager, who shall, at the discretion of the board, have the power to employ and discharge employees. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, it may employ fiscal agents or advisors in connection with its financing program and in connection with the issuance of its bonds.

(m) To make contracts and to execute instruments necessary or convenient to the exercise of the powers, rights, privileges, and functions conferred upon it by this article.

(n) To make or cause to be made surveys and engineering investigations relating to the project, or related projects, for the information of the district to facilitate the accomplishment of the purposes for which it is created.

(o) To apply for and accept grants from the United States of America, or from any corporation or agency created or designated by the United States of America, and to ratify and accept applications heretofore or hereafter made by voluntary associations to these agencies for grants to construct, maintain or operate any project or projects which hereafter may be undertaken or contemplated by the district.

(p) To do any other acts or things necessary, requisite, or convenient to the exercising of the powers, rights, privileges or functions conferred upon it by this article or any other law.

(q) To make contracts in the issuance of bonds that may be necessary to insure the marketability thereof.

(r) To enter into contracts with municipalities, corporations, districts, public agencies, political subdivisions of any kind, and others for any services, facilities or commodities that the project may provide. The district is also authorized to contract with any municipality, corporation, or public agency for the rental, leasing, purchase, or operation of the water production, water filtration or purification, water supply and distributing facilities of the municipality, corporation, or public agency upon consideration as the district and entity may agree. Any contract may be upon any terms and for any time as the parties may agree, and it may provide that it shall continue in effect until bonds specified therein, refunding bonds issued in lieu of these bonds, and all obligations are paid. Any contract with any political subdivision shall be binding upon these political subdivisions according to its terms, and the municipalities or other political subdivisions shall have the power to enter into these contracts as in the discretion of the governing authorities thereof would be to the best interest of the people of the municipality or other political subdivision. These contracts may include, within the discretion of the governing authorities, a pledge of the full faith and credit of the political subdivisions for the performance thereof.

(s) To fix and collect charges and rates for any services, facilities or commodities furnished by it in connection with the project, and to impose penalties for failure to pay these charges and rates when due.

(t) To operate and maintain within the project area, with the consent of the governing body of any city or town located within the district, any works, plants or facilities of any city deemed necessary or convenient to the accomplishment of the purposes for which the district is created.

(u) Subject to the provisions of this article, from time to time to lease, sell, or otherwise lawfully dispose of any property of any kind, real, personal, or mixed, or any interest therein within the project area or acquired outside the project area as authorized in this article, for the purpose of furthering the business of the district.

(v) When, in the opinion of the board of directors as shown by resolution duly passed, it shall not be necessary to the carrying on of the business of the district that the district own any lands acquired, the board shall advertise these lands for sale to the highest and best bidder for cash and shall receive and publicly open the bids thereon. The board shall, by resolution, determine the highest and best bid submitted for the land and shall thereupon notify the former owner, his/her heirs or devisees, by registered mail of the land to be sold and the highest and best bid received therefor, and the former owner, or his/her heirs or devisees, shall have the exclusive right at his/her or their option for a period of thirty (30) days in which to meet such highest and best bid and to purchase the property.

(i) The board may transfer title to that certain property known as the Trace State Park in Pontotoc County to the Department of Environmental Quality; provided, however, that any of the property that is under current lease shall not be included in the transfer. Such transfer of title shall require a resolution duly adopted by the board and by the Commission on Environmental Quality and shall be exempt from any bid requirements herein. In addition, the board may transfer title to that certain property known as the Elvis Presley Park in Lee County to Lee County, Mississippi, upon the terms and conditions as it may determine. The transfer of title shall require a resolution duly adopted by the board and shall be exempt from any bid requirement in this section. In addition, the board may transfer title to all or any portion of that certain property known as the Elvis Presley Park in Lee County to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks upon the terms and conditions as it may determine, including, but not limited to, authorizing the board to pay the sum of Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00) to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks at the time of the transfer with such funds to be used by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks for the construction of an office building on the Elvis Presley Park for use by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. Such transfer of title and the payment of such sum of money shall require a resolution duly adopted by the board and by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and shall be exempt from any bid requirement in this section.

(ii) The board may transfer title to the property known as Kemper Lake in Kemper County, Mississippi, to the Kemper County Board of Supervisors, upon the terms and conditions as it may determine, including, but not limited to, authorizing the board to pay the sum of Forty Thousand Dollars ($40,000.00) for costs associated with pavilion repairs and improvements, to the Kemper County Board of Supervisors at the time of the transfer. Such transfer of title and the payment of such sum of money shall require a resolution duly adopted by the board and shall be exempt from any bid requirement in this section.

In addition, upon the transfer of title of the property known as Kemper Lake from the board to the Kemper County Board of Supervisors, the Kemper County Board of Supervisors may transfer title to all or any portion of the property known as Kemper Lake in Kemper County, Mississippi, to any water management district that meets certain criteria as prescribed by the Kemper County Board of Supervisors, upon the terms and conditions as it may determine. Such transfer of title shall require a resolution duly adopted by the Kemper County Board of Supervisors and by such water management district, and shall be exempt from any bid requirement in this section.

(w) To prevent or aid in the prevention of damages to persons or property from the waters of the Tombigbee River or any of its tributaries.

(x) To acquire by purchase, lease, gift or in any other manner (otherwise than by condemnation) and to maintain, use, and operate all property of any kind, real, personal, or mixed, or any interest therein within the project area, within or without the boundaries of the district, necessary for the project and convenient to the exercise of the powers, rights, privileges and functions conferred upon the district by this article.

(y) In the purchase of or in the entering into of all lease-purchase agreements for supplies, equipment, heavy equipment, and the like, the directors shall in all instances comply with the provisions of law pertaining to public purchases by public bids on these supplies and equipment.

(z) In addition to, or in conjunction with, any other powers and duties of the district arising under this chapter, to exercise those powers, duties and functions of a joint water management district set forth in Sections 51-8-27 through 51-8-55 , except the power of eminent domain under Section 51-8-33 . Before exercising those powers and duties, the district must comply with the provisions of Sections 51-8-63 and 51-8-65 . In exercising the functions of a joint water management district, the district may apply to the Environmental Quality Permit Board for delegation of those powers and duties as provided by Section 51-3-15 , and to apply to the Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality for delegation of those powers and duties provided by Section 51-3-21 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-217 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 2 / Section 9-217
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-217
Status: in_force

(1) The exercise of the powers granted by this act will be in all respects for the benefit of the people of the state, for their well-being and prosperity and for the improvement of their social and economic conditions, and the district shall not be required to pay any tax or assessment on any property owned by the district under the provisions of this act or upon the income therefrom; nor shall the district be required to pay any recording fee or transfer tax of any kind on account of instruments recorded by it or on its behalf.

(2) Any bonds issued by the district under the provisions of this act, their transfer and the income therefrom shall at all times be free from taxation by the state or any local unit or political subdivision or other instrumentality of the state, excepting inheritance and gift taxes.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-159 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 26 / Section 29-159
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-159
Status: in_force

The board of commissioners of any drainage district heretofore and hereafter organized under the provision of this chapter are hereby authorized and empowered, in their discretion, to lease lands owned by the drainage district for oil, gas, and mineral exploration and development upon such terms and conditions and for such consideration as the board of commissioners of said district, in their discretion, shall deem proper and advisable.

Every such lease shall empower the lessee to enter upon the premises leased and to explore and develop such premises for oil, gas, or either of them, or such other minerals as may be included in the terms of said lease, and do all things necessary or expedient for the production and preservation of any such products.

All rentals, royalties, or other revenue payable under any leases executed pursuant to this section shall be paid to and collected by the treasurer of such drainage district, deposited in the drainage district fund, and used and expended in the same manner and subject to the same restrictions as provided by law in the case of other money belonging to such drainage district.

Any lease executed pursuant to this section shall inure to the benefit of the lessee named therein, his heirs and assigns, and in case the lessee be a corporation, to such lessee and its assigns.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-181 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 9 / Section 9-181
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-181
Status: in_force

Each reservoir police officer commissioned under this article shall file a bond in the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) with the district for the lawful and faithful performance of his duties. The cost of the bond shall be borne by the district. The filing of the bond shall not relieve the district from any civil liability it may otherwise incur in accordance with the provisions of Section 51-9-179 . The district shall indemnify and hold the State of Mississippi, the Commissioner of Public Safety, and any sheriff harmless from any and all liability which any or all of them might otherwise incur for the negligent or unlawful acts of a reservoir police officer.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-4-9 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 3 / Section 4-9
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-4-9
Status: in_force

(1) After the eligibility assessment of a stream is completed by the department, and the Legislature enacts legislation approving the eligibility, the stream may be nominated as provided in this section. The department, through the executive director, shall establish an advisory council for that stream. The advisory council must be appointed as early as possible to assist the work of the department. Each council must consist of members who represent a broad range of interest in the vicinity of the eligible stream and shall include, but not be limited to, at least one (1) member from the department, local government, agricultural interests, forestry interests, business interests, conservation interests, recreational interests and riparian landowners who shall constitute a majority of the council. The advisory council shall elect a chairman. The advisory council shall assist and advise the department concerning the nomination of the stream for the program.

(2) The department shall hold a public meeting in the vicinity of the eligible stream proposed for nomination to the State Scenic Streams Stewardship Program. This public meeting must be conducted before any action by the department to nominate the eligible stream for inclusion in the State Scenic Streams Stewardship Program. The purpose of this meeting is to receive public comments concerning the proposed nomination of the eligible stream. Notice of this meeting must be published at least thirty (30) days before the meeting in a newspaper having general circulation in each county containing or bordering the eligible stream under study and in a newspaper having general circulation in the state. The department shall notify, in writing, the landowners along the eligible stream. The department and the advisory council shall consider the public comments in its decision whether to nominate the stream.

(3) Following the public meeting and after consideration of the public comments, the department and the advisory council may nominate the eligible stream for designation as a scenic stream and inclusion in the program. In order for a stream to be listed as eligible for nomination to the State Scenic Streams Stewardship Program, the nomination must be filed as a bill and adopted by the Legislature. No stream shall be designated as a scenic stream and placed in the program until the Legislature has duly enacted legislation designating the stream as scenic and placing it in the State Scenic Streams Stewardship Program.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-101 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 25 / Section 31-101
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-101
Status: in_force

Any person who shall wrongfully or purposely fill up, cut, injure, destroy, or in any manner injure or impair the usefulness of any drain, ditch, or other work constructed under drainage laws shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, may be fined in any sum not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.00), and shall be liable for double the expense occasioned by repairing the same or removing such obstruction, to be recovered at the suit of the proper drainage district.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-5-17 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 3 / Section 5-17
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-5-17
Status: in_force

Any person, firm, or corporation who engages in or follows the business or occupation, or advertises, holds itself out, or acts temporarily or otherwise as a well driller without having first secured the required license or renewal thereof, or who otherwise violates any provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) and not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) within the discretion of the court; and each day in which such violation exists or continues shall constitute a separate offense.

In addition to the penalties prescribed herein, any person who violates any order of the board requiring described remedial action as set out elsewhere in this chapter, which shall specify a time requirement for compliance with such order, shall be subject to a penalty not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100.00) for each day such noncompliance continues.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-5-11 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 1 / Section 5-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-5-11
Status: in_force

The grounds for revoking a well driller's license are:

(a) That he has intentionally made a material misstatement in the application for such license; or

(b) That he has willfully violated any provisions of this chapter; or

(c) That he has obtained, or attempted to obtain, such license by fraud or misrepresentation; or

(d) That he has been guilty of fraudulent or dishonest practices; or

(e) That he has demonstrated lack of competence as a driller of water wells; or

(f) That he has failed or refused to file reports as required under the provisions of this chapter; or

(g) That he has willfully and contumaciously refused to obey reasonable orders, rules, and regulations of the board.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-157 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 25 / Section 29-157
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-157
Status: in_force

Said consolidated drainage district shall have the same authority, power and jurisdiction over the combined territory of said separate districts, and over the integrated system of drainage thereof, as if it were a district organized and existing under and by virtue of this chapter. Such district shall have the further and additional power, authority, and jurisdiction to assess said combined territory, or any part thereof, with additional benefits and to levy taxes thereon for the purpose of raising money to preserve the said integrated system of drainage thereof, to clean out, widen, maintain, extend, deepen, and maintain the main and lateral canals thereof, and to construct such other and new canals as the board of commissioners of said consolidated drainage district may find advantageous to the efficient drainage of the said combined territory. In the exercise of said authority, power, and jurisdiction, said consolidated drainage district shall not be bound by any assessment previously made in any of said separate drainage districts, and may assess the said combined lands with benefits without regard to any former assessment of benefits in any separate district. In making said assessments, levying taxes, and in exercising its authority, jurisdiction, and control, said consolidated drainage district shall, insofar as the same is not inconsistent with Sections 51-29-145 through 51-29-157 , follow the procedures which shall have the effect provided by this chapter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-35-333 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 33 / Section 35-333
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-35-333
Status: in_force

(1)(a) To provide funds for the payment of the principal of, interest on, and other charges in connection with bonds issued under the provisions of this article, to provide funds for the annual expenses of operations of the district, and to provide funds for carrying out any of the purposes of this article, the district is empowered to levy annually a special tax upon all the taxable property within such district on or before the first Monday of September of each year and shall certify the levy to the boards of supervisors of the various counties in the district. It shall be the duty of the boards of supervisors of each county to make the levy on each tract of land or other property in the district according to the assessed valuation thereof.

(b) The taxes shall be collected by the tax collectors of the respective counties in the district, who shall deposit them in such depository as shall be selected by the board of directors of the district. The tax collector shall receive a sum not greater than one-fifth of one percent ( 1 / 5 of 1%) of the amount collected for his services in making such collection, and the fee shall be paid into the county general fund. It shall be the duty of the board of directors to levy a tax sufficient to pay the bonds and the interest thereon as such bonds and interest become due, to pay for the annual expense of operation of the district, and to provide funds for carrying out any of the purposes of this article.

(2)(a) If the board of directors undertakes a flood and drainage control improvement project that the board determines will benefit only a portion of the district:

(i) The board of directors may levy a special improvement assessment that applies only to property in the district that is directly or indirectly benefited by the project to provide funds for the payment of costs related to the flood and drainage control improvement project, including the payment of costs related to the principal and interest on any bonds issued under this article for the project and any related expenses; and

(ii) The board of directors may levy a special improvement maintenance assessment that applies only to property in the district that is directly or indirectly benefited by the project to provide funds for the operation, maintenance and preservation of the project.

(b) Prior to levying an assessment under this subsection, the board of directors shall make a determination that the necessary approvals and authorizations are in place and that project-related activities are ready to commence.

(c) If an assessment is levied under this subsection, the board of directors shall annually determine, order and levy the annual installment of the total assessments. These assessments may be due and collected during each year that county taxes are due and collected, in which case the annual installment and levy shall be evidenced to and certified to the county tax assessor by the board of directors not later than the first Monday of September of each year. The assessments shall be entered by the assessor on the county tax rolls and shall be collected and enforced by the county tax collector in the same manner and at the same time as county taxes, and the proceeds thereof shall be paid to the district. These assessments shall be a lien on the property against which assessed until paid and shall be collectible and enforceable in like manner as county property taxes. All statutes regulating the collection and enforcement of county property taxes shall apply to the enforcement and collection of the assessments levied under this subsection. The amount of the assessments under this subsection shall be determined by the board of directors and assessed by the board of directors upon such lands, which may be part or all of the lands within the district benefited by the project, apportioned between benefited lands in proportion to the benefits received by each tract of land.

(d) The tax collector shall be entitled to reasonable compensation for collecting the assessments which shall be not greater than one-fifth of one percent ( 1 / 5 of 1%) of the amount collected for his services in making such collection, and the fee shall be paid into the county general fund.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-95 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 26 / Section 31-95
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-95
Status: in_force

If in the construction of such ditches the same shall cross any public road, it shall be the duty of the drainage commissioners to notify the board of supervisors of such county in which such public road is located, at some regular meeting of said board held prior to a day which is thirty days next before the time fixed in such notice for the time at which the proposed work shall be constructed across said public road, stating in such notice the width and depth of such proposed work. It shall be the duty of the board of supervisors to cause to be removed and constructed, at the expense of the county, all bridges necessary to be removed or constructed, same to be done at such time as is reasonable, with a view to the convenience of the public and without unreasonable delay to the prosecution of such work.

Contracts may be made by the board of supervisors for such removal and construction of such bridge or bridges, without first advertising for bids where the cost of any one bridge does not exceed one hundred dollars.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-13-1 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 5 / Section 13-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-13-1
Status: in_force

There is hereby created the Tombigbee Valley Authority composed of Clay, Itawamba, Lee, Lowndes, Monroe, Noxubee, Prentiss, Pontotoc, Alcorn, and Tishomingo Counties in the State of Mississippi, to be governed by a board consisting of one member from each such county and three members from the state at large, all to be appointed by the governor to serve for a term of four years or until their successors are appointed and qualified. The governor shall designate in his appointment the chairman and vice-chairman thereof. They shall serve without pay except for their actual traveling expenses and other necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties, to be reimbursed as in the case of state employees under the provisions of general law. Upon appointment, said members shall meet and organize at Columbus, Mississippi, set a regular time and place for the meetings of the authority, secure offices and all necessary equipment, and obtain such engineering, professional, clerical, and other assistance as may be necessary in order to accomplish the purposes of this article. An executive director may be appointed by the board if this is deemed advisable, and salaries of all personnel may be paid out of funds provided under the terms of this article in an amount agreeable to the authority.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-161 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 1 / Section 9-161
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-161
Status: in_force

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, to be determined as provided by law in such cases. Any sixteenth section lands that have been flooded shall be reforested before this project shall ever be abandoned.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-135 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 3 / Section 9-135
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-135
Status: in_force

All bonds provided for by Sections 51-9-133 and 51-9-145 of this article shall be negotiable instruments within the meaning of the Uniform Commercial Code, shall be lithographed or engraved and printed in two (2) or more colors to prevent counterfeiting, shall be in denominations of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) nor more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00), shall be registered as issued, and shall be numbered in a regular series from one (1) upward. Each such bond shall specify on its face the purpose for which it was issued and the total amount authorized to be issued, it shall be payable to bearer, and the interest to accrue thereon shall be evidenced by proper coupons to be attached thereto. Such bonds shall bear interest at such rate or rates, not exceeding six percent (6%) per annum, as may be determined by the sale of such bonds. They shall mature annually in such amounts and at such times as shall be provided by the resolution of the board of directors. However, no bond issued under Section 51-9-133 shall have a longer maturity than forty (40) years from January 1, 1961, and the first maturity date thereof shall be not more than five (5) years from the date of such bonds. The denomination, form and place or places of payment of such bonds shall be fixed in the resolution of the board of directors of the district. Such bonds shall be signed by the president and secretary of such board with the seal of the district affixed thereto, but the coupons may bear only the facsimile signatures of such president and secretary. All interest accruing on such bonds so issued shall be payable semiannually, except that the first interest coupon attached to any such bond may be for any period not exceeding one (1) year.

Such bonds may provide that they may be called in, paid and redeemed in inverse numerical order on any interest date prior to maturity, upon not less than thirty (30) days' notice to the paying agent or agents designated in such bonds, and at such premium as may be designated in such bonds. In no case shall any premiums exceed six percent (6%) of the face value of such bonds.

All such bonds shall contain in substance a statement to the effect that they are secured solely by a pledge of the net revenues of such district, including the avails of the two-mill ad valorem tax levy provided for in Section 51-9-131 , and the avails of the special tax levy of two (2) mills provided for in Section 51-9-139 , and that they do not constitute general obligations of the state of Mississippi or of the counties comprising said district, and are not secured by a pledge of the full faith, credit and resources of said state or of such counties.

All such bonds as provided for herein shall be sold at public sale as now provided by law. No such sale shall be at a price so low as to require the payment of interest on the money received therefor at more than six percent (6%) per annum computed with relation to the absolute maturity of the bonds, in accordance with standard tables of bond values, excluding from such computation the amount of any premium to be paid on redemption of any bonds prior to maturity.

This article shall be full and complete authority for the issuance of the bonds provided for herein, and no restriction or limitation otherwise prescribed by law shall apply herein.

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, bonds referred to hereinabove may be issued pursuant to the supplemental powers and authorizations conferred by the provisions of the Registered Bond Act, being Sections 31-21-1 through 31-21-7 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-33-119 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 33 / Section 33-119
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-33-119
Status: in_force

The hearing and trial of any proceeding instituted under the terms of Sections 51-33-105 through 51-33-121 shall be conducted as other hearings and trials are conducted in the chancery court or by the chancellor in vacation, except as hereinabove provided. Any person feeling aggrieved by a final decree rendered by the court or chancellor in vacation in any of said proceedings shall have a right to appeal therefrom to the supreme court of Mississippi, which appeal shall be taken within twenty days from the date of said final decree.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-8-19 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 7 / Section 8-19
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-8-19
Status: in_force

From and after the date of adoption of the resolution creating a joint water management district, such district shall be a public corporation in perpetuity in its corporate name and shall, in that name, be a body politic and corporate with power of perpetual succession.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-35-315 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 33 / Section 35-315
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-35-315
Status: in_force

The said district through its board of directors is hereby empowered:

(a) To impound, divert, change, alter, or otherwise control overflow water and the surface water of any river or its tributaries within the project area within or without such district at such place or places and in such amount by the diversion of rivers or their tributaries, by the construction of a dam or dams, a levee or levees, a channel or channels, reservoir or reservoirs, works, pumps, plants, and any other necessary or useful related facilities contemplated or described as a part of the project within or without the district. The district is also empowered to construct or otherwise acquire within the project area all works, plants, or other facilities necessary or useful to the project for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this article.

(b) To cooperate with the United States of America in the construction of flood and drainage control improvements, for the protection of property, controlling floods, reclaiming overflow lands, and preventing overflows in this state; and for the purpose of operating and maintaining dams, reservoirs, channels, levees, pumps, and other flood control works and improvements which may be constructed by the United States of America or any department or agency thereof.

(c) When said project, or any part thereof, is to be constructed by the United States of America or any agency or department thereof, to furnish, without cost to the United States of America, all lands, easements, and rights-of-way necessary for the construction of the project or any part thereof; to hold and save the United States free from damages due to said construction; to make, without cost to the United States, any changes, alterations, or relocation of any public utilities, roads, highways, bridges, buildings, or local betterment made necessary by the work; to provide assurances to the United States of America that encroachment on the levees, improved channels, and pond areas will not be permitted; to maintain and operate the improvements after completion thereof in accordance with regulations prescribed by the United States of America or any agency or department thereof; to contribute in cash to the United States of America, or any agency or department thereof, such sums of money as shall be required by the United States of America, or any agency or department thereof, as a condition for the construction of any improvements by the United States or any agency or department thereof; and generally, without being limited by any of the above, to carry out and faithfully perform any obligations cast upon the district as a condition to the construction of any flood control work, project, or improvements by the United States of America, or any agency or department thereof, and to give assurances to the United States of America that the district will so do.

(d) To construct, acquire, and develop all facilities within the project area deemed necessary or useful with respect thereto.

(e) To prevent or aid in the prevention of damage to person or property from the waters of any river or any of its tributaries.

(f) To acquire by purchase, lease, gift, or in any other manner (otherwise than by condemnation) and to maintain, use, and operate any and all property of any kind, real, personal, or mixed, or any interest therein within the project area, within or without the boundaries of the district, necessary for the project and convenient to the exercise of the powers, rights, privileges, and functions conferred upon the district by this article.

(g) To acquire by condemnation any and all property of any kind, real, personal, or mixed, or any interest therein within the project area, within or without the boundaries of the district, necessary for the project and the exercise of the powers, rights, privileges, and functions conferred upon the district by this article, according to the procedure provided by law for the condemnation of lands or other property taken for rights-of-way or other purposes by railroads, telephone, or telegraph companies. For the purposes of carrying out this article, the right of eminent domain of such district shall be superior and dominant to the right of eminent domain of railroad, telegraph, telephone, gas, power, and other companies or corporations, and shall be sufficient to enable the acquisition of county roads, state highways, or other public property in the project area, and the acquisition, or relocation, of the above-mentioned utility property in the project area.

The amount and character of interest in land, other property, and easements thus to be acquired shall be determined by the board of directors; and their determination shall be conclusive and shall not be subject to attack in the absence of manifold abuse of discretion or fraud on the part of such board in making such determination. However,

1. In acquiring lands, either by negotiation or condemnation, the district shall not acquire minerals or royalties within the project area, sand and gravel not being considered as minerals within the meaning of this section; and

2. No person or persons owning the mining rights, drilling rights, or the right to share in production shall be prevented from exploring, developing, or producing oil or gas with necessary rights-of-way for ingress, egress, pipelines, and other means of transporting such products by reason of the inclusion of such lands or mineral interests within the project area, whether below or above the waterline, but any such activities shall be under such reasonable regulations and limitations by the board of directors as will adequately protect and reduce the impacts to the project; and

3. In drilling and developing, such persons are hereby vested with a special right to have such mineral interest integrated and their lands developed in such drilling unit or units as the State Oil and Gas Board shall establish after due consideration of the rights of all of the owners to be included in the drilling unit.

(h) To require the necessary relocation of bridges, roads, and highways, railroad, telephone, and telegraph lines and properties, electric power lines, gas pipelines and mains and facilities in the project area, or to require the anchoring or other protection of any of these, provided due compensation is first paid the owners thereof or agreement is had with such owners regarding the payment of the cost of such relocation. It is further provided that the district is hereby authorized to acquire easements or rights-of-way in or outside of the project area for the relocation of such road, highway, railroad, telephone, and telegraph lines and properties, electrical power lines, gas pipelines and mains and facilities, and to convey the same to the owners thereof in connection with such relocation as a part of the construction of the project.

(i) To overflow and inundate any public lands and public and private property, including sixteenth section lands and in-lieu lands, within the project area.

(j) To construct, extend, improve, maintain, and reconstruct, to cause to be constructed, extended, improved, maintained, and reconstructed, and to use and operate any and all facilities of any kind within the project area necessary or convenient to the project and to the exercise of such powers, rights, privileges, and functions.

(k) To sue and to be sued in its corporate name and shall be considered a political subdivision pursuant to Section 11-46-1 .

(l) To adopt, use, and alter a corporate seal.

(m) To make bylaws for the management and regulation of its affairs.

(n) To employ engineers, attorneys, fiscal agents, advisors, and all necessary agents and employees to properly finance, construct, operate, and maintain the project and the plants and facilities of the district and carry out the provisions of this article, and to pay reasonable compensation for such services.

(o) To make contracts and to execute instruments necessary or convenient to the exercise of the powers, rights, privileges, and functions conferred upon it by this article.

(p) To make or cause to be made surveys and engineering investigations relating to the project, or related projects, for the information of the district to facilitate the accomplishment of the purposes for which it is created.

(q) To apply for and accept grants from the United States of America, or from any corporation or agency created or designated by the United States of America, and to ratify and accept applications heretofore or hereafter made by voluntary associations to such agencies for grants to construct, maintain, or operate any project or projects which hereafter may be undertaken or contemplated by said district.

(r) To do any and all other acts or things necessary or convenient to the exercising of the powers, rights, privileges, or functions conferred upon it by this article or any other act of law.

(s) To make such contracts in the issuance of bonds as may be necessary to insure the marketability thereof.

(t) To operate and maintain within the project area, with the consent of the governing body of any city, town or county located within the district, any works, plants, or facilities of any such city, town, or county deemed necessary or convenient to the accomplishment of the purposes for which the district is created.

(u) Subject to the provisions of this article, from time to time to lease, sell, or otherwise dispose of any property of any kind, real, personal, or mixed, or any interest therein within the project area or acquired outside the project area as authorized in this article, for the purpose of furthering the business of the district.

(v) To make such changes in location of levees, channels, drains, or related facilities, or other changes, alterations, or modifications in the plan filed with the petition creating the district, which may be necessary for the accomplishment of the general purposes of the district.

(w) In the event the board of directors of the district determines that it would meet a public necessity and would be conducive to the public welfare to vary, alter, enlarge, diminish, or otherwise change the areas included in the district for the purpose of carrying out any of the purposes contemplated by this article, the board of directors of the district may at any time file a petition in the chancery court of the county having jurisdiction of the district, setting forth the reasons for said change in said area, and the chancery court or the chancellor in vacation shall have the power and jurisdiction to vary, alter, enlarge, diminish, or otherwise change said area included in the district under the procedure set forth in Sections 51-35-309 through 51-35-313 . However, such action by the chancery court or the chancellor in vacation shall not affect or impair any financial obligations of said district as they existed prior to such action, nor shall any liens or rights of any bondholders upon the lands included in the district be impaired by such action.

(x) All equipment, supplies, heavy equipment, contracts on lease-purchase agreements, and office supplies shall be purchased pursuant to state purchasing law.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-15-101 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 15 / Section 15-101
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-15-101
Status: in_force

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 utilization, development, conservation, and regulation of such waters are necessary to insure an adequate flood control program, sanitary water supply at all times, to promote the balanced economic development of the state, and to aid in conservation and development of state forests, irrigation of lands needing irrigation, and pollution abatement. It is further determined and declared that the preservation, conservation, storage, and regulation of the waters of the Pat Harrison Waterway District overflow waters for domestic, municipal, commercial, industrial, agricultural, and manufacturing purposes, for recreational uses, for flood control, timber development, irrigation, and pollution abatement are, as a matter of public policy, for the general welfare of the entire people of the state.

The creation of the Pat Harrison Waterway District is determined to be necessary and essential to the accomplishment of the aforesaid purposes, and this article operates on a subject in which the state at large is interested. All the terms and provisions of this article are to be liberally construed to effectuate the purposes herein set forth, this being a remedial law.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-201 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 1 / Section 9-201
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-201
Status: in_force

(1) Any public agency may, pursuant to a duly adopted resolution of the governing authority of such public agency, enter into contracts with the district for the district to acquire, construct, lease, improve, extend, operate or maintain a waterworks or water supply system or any part thereof or interest therein for the furnishing of water to the public agency; such contracts shall obligate the public agency to make payments to the district or to a trustee in amounts which shall be sufficient to enable the district to defray the expenses of administering, operating and maintaining its waterworks and water supply system, to pay interest and principal (whether at maturity or upon sinking fund redemption) on bonds of the district issued pursuant to this act and to fund reserves for debt service, for operation and maintenance and for renewals and replacements, and to fulfill requirements of any rate covenant with respect to debt service coverage contained in any resolution, trust indenture or other security agreement relating to the bonds of the district issued pursuant to this act. Any public agency shall have the power to enter into such contracts with the district as in the discretion of the governing authorities thereof would be in the best interest of such public agency. Such contracts may include a pledge of the full faith and credit of such public agency for payment of such amounts due under such contracts. Any such contract may provide for the sale or lease to or use of by the district of the waterworks, the water supply system or any part thereof of the public agency; may provide that the district shall operate the waterworks, water supply system or any part thereof of the public agency; may provide that any public agency shall have the right to continued use and/or priority use of the waterworks, water supply system or any part thereof of the district and the water supply made available thereby during the useful life thereof upon payment of reasonable charges therefor; may contain provisions to assure equitable treatment of persons or public agencies who contract with the district pursuant to this act; and may contain such other provisions and requirements as the parties thereto may determine to be appropriate or necessary. Such contracts may extend over any period of time, notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, and may extend beyond the life of the waterworks or water supply system or any part thereof or the term of the bonds sold with respect to such facilities or improvements thereto.

(2) The obligations of a public agency arising under the terms of any contract referred to in this act, whether or not payable solely from a pledge of revenues, shall not be included within the indebtedness limitations of the public agency for purposes of any constitutional or statutory limitation or provision. To the extent provided in such contract and to the extent such obligations of the public agency are payable solely from the revenues and other moneys derived by the public agency from the operation of its waterworks or water supply system or any part thereof, such obligations shall be treated as expenses of operating such systems.

(3) Contracts referred to in this section may also provide for payments in the form of contributions to defray the cost of any purpose set forth in the contracts and as advances for the waterworks or water supply system or any part thereof subject to repayment by the district. A public agency may make such contributions or advances from its general fund or surplus fund or from any moneys legally available therefor.

(4) Payments made or to be made to the district by a public agency or other person pursuant to a contract for the waterworks or water supply system or any part thereof and the use of the water made available thereby shall be determined by the method specified in such contract and shall not be subject to approval or review by the Mississippi Public Service Commission.

(5) Subject to the terms of a contract or contracts referred to in this act, the district is hereby authorized to do and perform any and all acts or things necessary, convenient or desirable to carry out the purposes of such contracts, including the fixing, charging, collecting, maintaining and revising of rates, fees and other charges for the services rendered and water supplied to any user of the waterworks or water supply system operated or maintained by the district, whether or not such systems are owned by the district.

(6) The district shall plan any construction of any such waterworks or water supply system, shall enter into such contracts and shall arrange such financing as to assure that the district shall receive in payment under such contracts revenues sufficient to defray all direct and indirect costs, whether administrative, operational or otherwise, of administering, operating and maintaining such waterworks and water supply system, to pay interest and principal (whether at maturity or upon sinking fund redemption) on bonds of the district issued pursuant to this act and to fund reserves for debt service, for operation and maintenance and for renewals and replacements, and to fulfill requirements of any rate covenant with respect to debt service coverage contained in any resolution, trust indenture or other security agreement relating to the bonds of the district issued pursuant to this act. To that end, the district may not expend money, including taxes levied pursuant to Section 51-9-131, Mississippi Code of 1972 , for construction, operation or maintenance of any waterworks or water supply system authorized, acquired, constructed or improved under this act in excess of the revenues received by the district pursuant to contracts authorized by this act or otherwise available from the operation of such waterworks or water supply system.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-31 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 31 / Section 31-31
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-31
Status: in_force

At the time of the hearing of the petition for the organization of any district, any landowner or landowners desiring so to do may sign said petition and ask that his lands be attached to and made part of said district.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-99 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 29 / Section 29-99
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-99
Status: in_force

Any person who shall obstruct a drain or damage drainage work provided for by this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction thereof, be fined not more than one hundred dollars nor less than ten dollars; and he shall also be liable to the district for double the cost of removing such obstruction or repairing such damage.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-39 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 29 / Section 31-39
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-39
Status: in_force

If, after hearing all objections, if any, to the report of the commissioners and all applications, if any, to annex other lands to the proposed district by the owners of such lands, the court or chancellor finds that a drainage district should be organized, the map of the same shall be recorded and the order may be entered according to the findings of the court or chancellor, substantially as follows:

“The State of Mississippi

County of __________

__________ Term, A.D. 20___.

In the matter of the petition to organize __________ drainage district in the county of __________ and State of Mississippi.

This day the report of the drainage commissioners of said county, filed in this cause, having been heard, and it appearing to the court or chancellor that due notice has been given “to all persons interested” for the length of time and in the manner required by law of the application to this court for the confirmation of said report, and the court or chancellor having duly examined said report and considered all objections to the same, it is ordered by the court that the report of said commissioners (or if modified by the court, say as modified by the court) be, and the same is, hereby confirmed; and the court further finds that the work proposed in said petition to be done will be beneficial for agricultural and sanitary purposes to the owners of the lands within said proposed district. And the court also finds that the persons who have signed said petition are of lawful age and owners of land in number and quantity as required by law. And it is further hereby ordered and decreed by the court that said district be, and the same is, hereby duly organized as a body politic and corporate by the name and style of __________ drainage district in the county of __________ and the State of Mississippi.”

But if the court, after hearing said report and objections, finds that the work proposed in said petition and the report with estimated costs by the drainage commissioners will not be sufficiently beneficial and justifiable for agricultural and sanitary purposes to the owners of the lands within said proposed drainage district, then an order shall be entered on the minutes of the court dismissing the petition and disallowing the organization of the proposed drainage district; and all costs and expenses shall be adjudged against the petitioners for the proposed drainage district.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-141 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 3 / Section 9-141
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-141
Status: in_force

All bonds issued pursuant to this article shall be validated as now provided by law by 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 be necessary, for which he shall be paid a reasonable fee. Such validation proceedings shall be instituted in the chancery court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi, but notice of such validation proceedings shall be published at least two times in a newspaper of general circulation and published in each of the counties comprising the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District, the first publication of which in each case shall be made at least ten days preceding the date set for the validation.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-101 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 27 / Section 29-101
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-101
Status: in_force

The commissioners, engineers, and contractors, with their teams and outfits engaged in drainage work, shall have the right to pass over all the lands of others to and from the district, being liable to the owner for any damage done thereto. Any owner who shall prevent such passage over his lands shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined one hundred dollars for each day that he prevents such passage.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-4-21.4 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 3 / Section 4-21.4
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-4-21.4
Status: in_force

In accordance with Section 51-4-7 , a loop of Bear Creek in Tishomingo County from the Mississippi-Alabama state line where it enters Mississippi to the Mississippi-Alabama line where it reenters Alabama is designated as eligible for nomination to the State Scenic Streams Stewardship Program.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-8-19 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 5 / Section 8-19
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-8-19
Status: in_force

From and after the date of adoption of the resolution creating a joint water management district, such district shall be a public corporation in perpetuity in its corporate name and shall, in that name, be a body politic and corporate with power of perpetual succession.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-35-317 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 33 / Section 35-317
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-35-317
Status: in_force

All powers of the district shall be exercised by a board of directors, to be composed of the following:

(a) In the event the proposed flood and drainage control district lies wholly within the limits of one (1) municipality, the governing authorities of said municipality shall appoint three (3) directors and the board of supervisors of the county in which said municipality lies shall appoint two (2) directors.

(b) In the event the proposed flood and drainage control district is comprised of lands lying partly in a municipality and partly outside the limits of a municipality but wholly in one (1) county, the governing authorities of said municipality shall appoint three (3) directors and the board of supervisors of the county in which said municipality lies shall appoint two (2) directors. However, should the assessed valuation of land and property and improvements in said district outside the municipality, according to the last preceding tax assessment roll for county and state taxes, exceed said assessment for the land and property and improvements of the district lying within the municipality, the board of supervisors of the county in which said district lies shall appoint three (3) directors and said municipality shall appoint two (2) directors.

(c) In the event the proposed flood and drainage control district is comprised of lands lying, in whole or in part, in one or more municipalities which are in existence at the time of the creation of such district, and in one or more counties and not falling within the description of paragraph (a) or (b) above, each such municipality shall appoint one (1) director and the board of supervisors of each county in which part of the lands of the proposed district lie shall appoint one (1) director. If a district is enlarged under Section 51-35-315(w) , each municipality within the enlarged district with a population above one hundred thousand (100,000), according to the most recent decennial census, shall have two (2) additional directors, who shall be the emergency manager for such municipality and the emergency manager for the county in which such municipality is located. However, in the event that selection of directors in said manner results in an even number of directors, the Governor of the State of Mississippi shall appoint one (1) additional director so that there shall be an odd number of directors.

(d) Each director shall take and subscribe to the oath of office required by Section 268 of the Constitution of the State of Mississippi , before a chancery clerk, that he will faithfully discharge the duties of the office, which oath shall be filed with the said clerk and by him preserved.

(e) Each director shall receive a fee not to exceed such amount as set forth in Section 25-3-69 for attending each meeting of the board and for each day actually spent in attending to the necessary business of the district and shall receive reimbursement for actual expenses thus incurred upon express authorization of the board.

(f) The board of directors shall annually elect from its number a president and a vice president of the district and such other officers as in the judgment of the board are necessary. The president shall be the chief executive officer of the district and the presiding officer of the board, and shall have the same right to vote as any other director. The vice president shall perform all the duties and exercise all powers conferred by this article upon the president when the president is absent or fails or declines to act, except the president's right to vote. The board shall also appoint a secretary and a treasurer who may or may not be members of the board, and it may combine these offices. The treasurer shall give bond in the sum of not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), as set by the board of directors, and each director shall give bond in the sum of not less than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), and the premiums on said bonds shall be an expense of the district. The condition of each such bond shall be that the treasurer or director will faithfully perform all duties of the office and account for all money which shall come into his custody as treasurer or director of the district.

(g) In the event a county or municipality entitled to appoint a director or directors to the district shall not do so within twenty (20) days from the date of the order of the chancery court creating the district, the chancery court or the chancellor in vacation shall forthwith exercise the right of said county or municipality in appointing a director or directors.

(h) Each director shall hold office for a period of four (4) years from the date of his appointment. However, in order to insure continuity of experience among the members of the board of directors in any district created after March 26, 1981, one (1) member of the initial board of directors shall hold office for only one (1) year, one (1) member shall hold office for only two (2) years, and one (1) member shall hold office for only three (3) years, and, at the initial meeting of the board of directors, they shall determine by lot which of their members shall serve for only one (1), two (2), or three (3) years.

(i) No person shall be disqualified from serving as a member of the board of directors by virtue of his having previously served as a director, by virtue of his holding any other office, political or otherwise, or by virtue of his not residing in or owning lands in said district.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-13-121 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 13 / Section 13-121
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-13-121
Status: in_force

In each county of the State of Mississippi which is part of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District, beginning with the ad valorem tax assessment for the calendar year 1964, payable on or before February 1, 1965, and so long as any bonds issued hereunder and other obligations are outstanding, the tax collector of said county shall pay into the depository selected by said water district for said purpose the amount of two mills of all ad valorem taxes due by said county to the State of Mississippi which is collected by the tax collector of said county, which may be collected by any lawful taxing agency of said county and state and for said county and the State of Mississippi shall continue to levy not less than two mills ad valorem taxes on each county in the district so long as any obligations or bonds issued pursuant to this article remain outstanding.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-201 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 5 / Section 9-201
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-201
Status: in_force

(1) Any public agency may, pursuant to a duly adopted resolution of the governing authority of such public agency, enter into contracts with the district for the district to acquire, construct, lease, improve, extend, operate or maintain a waterworks or water supply system or any part thereof or interest therein for the furnishing of water to the public agency; such contracts shall obligate the public agency to make payments to the district or to a trustee in amounts which shall be sufficient to enable the district to defray the expenses of administering, operating and maintaining its waterworks and water supply system, to pay interest and principal (whether at maturity or upon sinking fund redemption) on bonds of the district issued pursuant to this act and to fund reserves for debt service, for operation and maintenance and for renewals and replacements, and to fulfill requirements of any rate covenant with respect to debt service coverage contained in any resolution, trust indenture or other security agreement relating to the bonds of the district issued pursuant to this act. Any public agency shall have the power to enter into such contracts with the district as in the discretion of the governing authorities thereof would be in the best interest of such public agency. Such contracts may include a pledge of the full faith and credit of such public agency for payment of such amounts due under such contracts. Any such contract may provide for the sale or lease to or use of by the district of the waterworks, the water supply system or any part thereof of the public agency; may provide that the district shall operate the waterworks, water supply system or any part thereof of the public agency; may provide that any public agency shall have the right to continued use and/or priority use of the waterworks, water supply system or any part thereof of the district and the water supply made available thereby during the useful life thereof upon payment of reasonable charges therefor; may contain provisions to assure equitable treatment of persons or public agencies who contract with the district pursuant to this act; and may contain such other provisions and requirements as the parties thereto may determine to be appropriate or necessary. Such contracts may extend over any period of time, notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, and may extend beyond the life of the waterworks or water supply system or any part thereof or the term of the bonds sold with respect to such facilities or improvements thereto.

(2) The obligations of a public agency arising under the terms of any contract referred to in this act, whether or not payable solely from a pledge of revenues, shall not be included within the indebtedness limitations of the public agency for purposes of any constitutional or statutory limitation or provision. To the extent provided in such contract and to the extent such obligations of the public agency are payable solely from the revenues and other moneys derived by the public agency from the operation of its waterworks or water supply system or any part thereof, such obligations shall be treated as expenses of operating such systems.

(3) Contracts referred to in this section may also provide for payments in the form of contributions to defray the cost of any purpose set forth in the contracts and as advances for the waterworks or water supply system or any part thereof subject to repayment by the district. A public agency may make such contributions or advances from its general fund or surplus fund or from any moneys legally available therefor.

(4) Payments made or to be made to the district by a public agency or other person pursuant to a contract for the waterworks or water supply system or any part thereof and the use of the water made available thereby shall be determined by the method specified in such contract and shall not be subject to approval or review by the Mississippi Public Service Commission.

(5) Subject to the terms of a contract or contracts referred to in this act, the district is hereby authorized to do and perform any and all acts or things necessary, convenient or desirable to carry out the purposes of such contracts, including the fixing, charging, collecting, maintaining and revising of rates, fees and other charges for the services rendered and water supplied to any user of the waterworks or water supply system operated or maintained by the district, whether or not such systems are owned by the district.

(6) The district shall plan any construction of any such waterworks or water supply system, shall enter into such contracts and shall arrange such financing as to assure that the district shall receive in payment under such contracts revenues sufficient to defray all direct and indirect costs, whether administrative, operational or otherwise, of administering, operating and maintaining such waterworks and water supply system, to pay interest and principal (whether at maturity or upon sinking fund redemption) on bonds of the district issued pursuant to this act and to fund reserves for debt service, for operation and maintenance and for renewals and replacements, and to fulfill requirements of any rate covenant with respect to debt service coverage contained in any resolution, trust indenture or other security agreement relating to the bonds of the district issued pursuant to this act. To that end, the district may not expend money, including taxes levied pursuant to Section 51-9-131, Mississippi Code of 1972 , for construction, operation or maintenance of any waterworks or water supply system authorized, acquired, constructed or improved under this act in excess of the revenues received by the district pursuant to contracts authorized by this act or otherwise available from the operation of such waterworks or water supply system.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-25 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 27 / Section 31-25
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-25
Status: in_force

Upon the petition being filed in the office of the clerk of said chancery court, said clerk shall cause three weeks' notice of the filing of said petition to be given, addressed “To all persons interested,” by posting notices thereof at the door of the courthouse of the county or counties in which the district is situated and in at least ten of the most public places in said proposed district, and also by publishing said notice at least once a week for three consecutive weeks in some newspaper or newspapers published in the county in which the larger part of said district lies, if there be any newspaper published in said county. Such notice shall state when and in what court said petition was and is filed, with the general description of the land included in the said proposed drainage district and the boundaries of said drainage district, and when the said petitioners will ask a hearing of said petition. If any of the landowners in said district are nonresidents of said county or counties in which said proposed district will lie, or nonresidents of this state, the petition shall be accompanied by an affidavit giving the names and post office address of said nonresidents, if known, and if unknown, stating that upon diligent inquiry their places of residence and post offices cannot be ascertained; and the clerk shall send a copy of the notice which has been published as above provided by registered mail to each of said nonresidents whose residence or post office is known, which notice shall be mailed by said clerk not later than five days before the date set for hearing of the petition. The certificate of the clerk, with registered letter receipts attached, or the affidavit of any other credible person affixed to copy of such notice shall be sufficient evidence of the posting, mailing, and publication of such notice.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-3-45 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 1 / Section 3-45
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-3-45
Status: in_force

(1) The board may consider, approve, modify at the request of the applicant, or reject applications for permanent or temporary changes in the place of diversion or withdrawal or use of water from those originally approved, subject to the rules and regulations of the board and following the procedure herein established for original application for permit.

(2) Any person who changes or attempts to change the point or place of diversion or withdrawal or use of water, either permanently or temporarily, without first applying to the board in the manner prescribed, shall obtain no right thereby and shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and punished therefor, in the discretion of the court, not to exceed a fine of Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00). Each day of such unlawful change shall constitute a separate offense, separately punishable.

(3) Each application for a temporary or permanent change shall be accompanied by a fee of One Dollar ($1.00). All fees received by the board as herein prescribed shall be deposited in the General Fund of the state.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-7 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 5 / Section 9-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-7
Status: in_force

The commission shall be financed in all its activities from funds made available by each of the associated counties, and each such county is authorized and empowered to contribute any amount or amounts which the board of supervisors thereof shall deem advisable, acting in their sole discretion, to be paid from the general county fund of the respective counties.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-15 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 29 / Section 29-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-15
Status: in_force

When the chancery court or chancellor in vacation has established such district, he shall appoint three (3) owners of real property within the district to act as commissioners; and such persons, when so appointed, and their successors in office shall constitute, and are hereby declared to be, a body politic and corporate by the name and style selected as mentioned in this chapter, by the court or chancellor. Each of these commissioners shall take the oath of office as required by Section 268, Article 14 of the Constitution of the state, and shall also swear that he will not, directly or indirectly, be interested in any contract made by the board of commissioners save and except insofar as he may be benefited as a landowner, in common with other landowners, by the work contracted for, and that he will well and truly assess all benefits resulting from said improvements, and all damages caused thereby. Any commissioner failing to take oath within thirty (30) days after his appointment and to give bond in the sum of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), to be fixed by the court or chancellor, shall be deemed to have declined to act as commissioner, and his place shall be filled by the court or chancellor. Provided, however, where revenue for a drainage district is less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) per year from taxes or other sources, the chancellor, in his discretion, may reduce the bond to any amount he may deem sufficient.

All vacancies on the board shall be filled by the chancery court, or the chancellor in vacation, of the county; but, if a majority in number of the owners of real property in the district shall petition for the appointment of particular persons as commissioners, it shall be the duty of the court or chancellor to appoint the persons so designated. In the same manner, the commissioners shall be appointed at the expiration of the term of said commissioners. A majority of the commissioners shall constitute a quorum. The chancery court, or chancellor in vacation, shall remove any member of the board of commissioners, on the petition of the majority of the owners of land in the district, who shall own a majority of the acreage therein.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-93 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 31 / Section 31-93
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-93
Status: in_force

If, in the organization of any drainage district under this chapter, it shall appear that any railroad company will be benefited by the construction of the proposed work, the drainage commissioners shall have the right to assess the said railroad such amount as they may deem said railroad or railroad company benefited. Said assessment shall be made at the time of assessing the lands of said district, and said railroads shall have the right to appear and make objections as land owners in said district at the time of hearing objections to such assessments.

In determining the amount of such benefits, the court or chancellor in vacation may take into consideration the improvements that might be made by said railroad of a permanent character, and the increased revenue to be gained by the improvement of the lands in said district for agriculture and sanitation, if any can be shown by the construction of such proposed work.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-173 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 9 / Section 9-173
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-173
Status: in_force

For purposes of this article, unless the context requires otherwise, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed herein:

(a) “District” means the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District.

(b) “Qualified person” means a person who:

(i) Has met all the educational and training requirements of a course of study prescribed and conducted by the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers' Training Academy; and

(ii) Is of good moral character and has not been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-3 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 1 / Section 9-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-3
Status: in_force

The members shall serve without pay except they shall be reimbursed out of county funds provided by this article for their actual traveling expenses and other necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties, in an amount equal to travel and subsistence expenses allowed state employees under law. Upon appointment, said members shall meet and organize at some place designated by the governor, which shall be in one of the participating counties; and the members shall set a regular time and place for the members of the commission to meet, secure offices and all necessary equipment, and employ such engineering, professional, clerical, stenographic, and other assistance as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this article. An executive director may be appointed by the board if this is deemed advisable, and salaries of all personnel may be paid out of funds provided under the terms of this article in an amount agreeable to the commission.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-19 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 17 / Section 29-19
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-19
Status: in_force

The said commissioners may adopt a common seal of the drainage district and alter the same at pleasure. They may, from time to time, make such bylaws, rules, and regulations, and alter and change the same as they may deem proper, not inconsistent with this chapter and the laws of this state, for the purpose of carrying into effect the object of their incorporation. They shall elect a president from their own number and appoint such other officers, agents, and attorneys, and employ such persons as they may think necessary for the efficient management of their business, and remove them at pleasure. They may do all acts and things not inconsistent with this chapter and with the laws of the state, and proper to effect the purpose and objects of this chapter.

Upon their qualification, the board of commissioners shall prepare plans for the improvement within the district, as prayed for in the petition, and shall procure estimates from a competent engineer or engineers as to the cost thereof. For that purpose, the board of commissioners may employ such engineers and other agents as may be needful, such engineer to give bond in the sum of at least one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), payable to the drainage district and conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties required of the engineer, which bond shall be approved by the board of commissioners, or the president. Said board of commissioners may employ the services of an attorney or a firm of attorneys as may be needed in the prosecution of the work for which the drainage district is organized, may employ such other agents as may be needed, may purchase such material and supplies, and pay for such publications and printing necessary or incidental in the prosecution of the work. Said board of commissioners shall provide for reasonable compensation to the engineer or engineers, attorneys, and other agents, and for the cost of such material, supplies, publications, and printing, and the same shall be taken as a part of the costs of the improvements; or said board of commissioners may borrow money necessary to pay for the services of the engineer or engineers, attorneys, and other agents, and for the cost of such material, supplies, publications, and printing, at a rate of interest not exceeding six per cent, per annum, and may execute a note or notes or other evidences of indebtedness therefor and may renew the same as may be necessary, and the money borrowed for such purposes shall be taken as a part of the costs of the improvements.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-63 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 25 / Section 31-63
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-63
Status: in_force

On or before the first Monday of September of each year, the drainage commissioners shall levy a tax on the amount of the original or supplemental assessment of benefits, which shall be in the same proportion as the installment authorized and directed by the court to become due that year, and shall certify their levy to the board of supervisors of the county in which the land lies. It shall thereupon become and be the duty of the said board or boards of supervisors to make a levy in accordance with such assessment sufficient to meet the bond obligations issued by the drainage commissioners and the interest accruing thereon, with ten per cent of the amount of such annual payment added for contingent expenses and liabilities in accordance with the decree of the chancellor. The ten per cent additional levy herein provided may be omitted in any one year when it shall appear that the contingent expense fund on hand exceeds twenty per cent of the total amount of bond and interest obligations falling due during the fiscal year. The said levy shall be apportioned and levied on each tract of land or other property in the district in proportion to the benefits assessed, and not in excess thereof. As soon as said levy is made, the secretary of the commissioners, at the expense of the district, shall prepare an assessment record of the district. It shall be a copy of the “assessment roll” provided above, and may contain any number of columns therein in which may be inscribed the levy made each year. He shall place therein the amount of the levy for the year, including interest accruing on the unpaid installments, and the said record shall be certified by the board of drainage commissioners, attested by the seal of the district, and filed with the tax collector of the county in which the land is located. The said secretary shall make a copy for each county in which the lands of the district may be situated, but only the lands situated in such county need be inscribed therein. At the time of confirming such assessment as herein provided, it shall be competent for the court or chancellor in vacation in such order to provide for all details connected with the fixing of the date, form, maturity, and amounts of any and all bonds that are ordered to be issued, and the fixing of the installments for the payment of such bonds. The court or chancellor in vacation may take the matter of such details under advisement for such further orders and decrees in vacation as may be necessary or advisable to perfect the details of same.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-176 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 8 / Section 9-176
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-176
Status: in_force

At the request of a Mississippi municipality, county, other legal political subdivision of the state or a Mississippi state agency, federal agency, or under a declaration of a state of emergency or disaster by the Governor or the President of the United States, the officers of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Reservoir Police may render law enforcement services including search and rescue using Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Reservoir Police equipment. Officers of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Reservoir Police may also participate in joint multijurisdictional training exercises, multijurisdictional law enforcement operations and multijurisdictional search and rescue operations. The officers may exercise the law enforcement authority granted under Section 51-9-175 in the jurisdiction of the training, operation or emergency. The Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Reservoir Police, with the approval of the governing board, may enter into agreements with jurisdictions regarding the circumstances in which emergency assistance may be provided and administered. Unless otherwise directed by an agreement, officers will remain under the authority of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Reservoir Police Chief or to whomever and to what level of authority is delegated by the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Reservoir Police Chief or by assignment through the National Incident Management System or by the stated declaration of disaster or emergency. The Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Reservoir Police may seek reimbursement for services and related expenses if available.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-111 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 3 / Section 9-111
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-111
Status: in_force

The board of water commissioners shall make a written report on the preliminary study or plans furnished them and shall, within thirty days after receipt of the said study, file such report with the chancery court setting forth their recommendations concerning the proposed water supply district. After the filing of the report of the board of water commissioners, and upon motion of the petitioners, the chancellor shall enter an order fixing the date for a hearing of the cause on the original petition, the exhibit, the report and recommendations of the board of water commissioners, and any answers filed or other pleadings. The chancery clerk shall give notice of such hearing to all persons interested by posting notices thereof at the door of the courthouse of the county or counties in which the district is situated and in at least ten public places in said proposed district, and also by publishing said notice at least once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper published in Hinds County and in a newspaper published in each of the other counties proposed to be included in such water supply district. If there is no newspaper published in any such county, then it shall be sufficient to publish said notice in a newspaper having a general circulation in such county. Such notice shall be addressed to the property owners and qualified electors of such proposed district and all other persons interested, shall state when and in what court said petition was and is filed, shall state the counties included in such district, and shall command all such persons to appear before the chancery court, or the chancellor in vacation, at the Chancery Court Building in the First Judicial District of Hinds County, upon the date fixed by the chancellor to show cause, if any they can, why the proposed water supply district should not be organized and established as prayed for in said petition. The date of such hearing shall not be less than twenty-one days nor more than forty days after the last publication of such notice. It shall be sufficient in describing the lands to be included in the water supply district to name the counties to be included therein in the publication or notice hereinbefore mentioned.

If the court or chancellor finds that the notice or publication was not given as provided for in this article, it shall not thereby lose jurisdiction, but the court or chancellor shall order due publication or notice to be given and shall continue the hearing until such publication or notice shall be properly given, and the court or chancellor shall thereupon proceed as though publication or notice had been properly given in the first instance.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-122 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 7 / Section 9-122
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-122
Status: in_force

(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.

(2) At any time after the first fifteen (15) years of the term of any residential lease, the then present lessee may obtain from the district a new sixty-year lease on the terms and conditions contained in the then current lease form approved for use in residential leases with the exception of rent. Rent under such sixty-year leases will be payable on the same annual payment date as rent under the lease being renewed. The maximum annual rental under the new lease will be determined by the district as follows:

(a) Renewal of Leases with Fixed Rental (non-escalating): The district will recompute the annual rental due under the lease being renewed as if the lease had contained annual rents at the fixed amount stated in the lease for the first ten-year period, escalating thereafter at ten percent (10%), rounded to the nearest Five Dollars ($5.00), every five-year period. The annual rental which would have been payable as of the renewal date will be the annual rent payable for the first ten-year period of the renewed lease. Annual rental will escalate thereafter at ten percent (10%), rounded to the nearest Five Dollars ($5.00), every five (5) years. Recomputed annual rental will be payable from and after the first day of the renewed lease term and not for the period prior to renewal.

(b) Renewal of Leases with Escalating Rental: Annual rental will remain payable in accordance with the terms of the lease being renewed with rental continuing to escalate at ten percent (10%), rounded to the nearest Five Dollars ($5.00), every five (5) years during the renewed term.

(3) The district will charge a reasonable non-refundable fee for preparation of the renewal lease. The Lessee will be responsible for obtaining the consent of any mortgage holder to the lease modification.

(4) At any time a lessee is found to be in default or in breach of the terms and conditions contained in the lease, the district shall give thirty (30) days written notice to such lessee before terminating the lease. Such notice shall be by certified mail and shall specifically state the default or breach. If the lessee does not cure the default or breach within thirty (30) days of such notice, then the district shall give written notice to the holder of any mortgage or deed of trust on the leasehold and such holder shall thereupon have thirty (30) days to cure the default or breach before the lease is terminated.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-8-61 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 3 / Section 8-61
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-8-61
Status: in_force

Within ninety (90) days after the close of each fiscal year, the board of commissioners shall publish in a newspaper of general circulation in the county a sworn statement showing the financial condition of the district, the earnings for the fiscal year just ended, a statement of the water and sewer rates being charged and a brief statement of the method used in arriving at such rates. Such statement shall also be filed with the local governmental units creating the district.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-157 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 17 / Section 29-157
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-157
Status: in_force

Said consolidated drainage district shall have the same authority, power and jurisdiction over the combined territory of said separate districts, and over the integrated system of drainage thereof, as if it were a district organized and existing under and by virtue of this chapter. Such district shall have the further and additional power, authority, and jurisdiction to assess said combined territory, or any part thereof, with additional benefits and to levy taxes thereon for the purpose of raising money to preserve the said integrated system of drainage thereof, to clean out, widen, maintain, extend, deepen, and maintain the main and lateral canals thereof, and to construct such other and new canals as the board of commissioners of said consolidated drainage district may find advantageous to the efficient drainage of the said combined territory. In the exercise of said authority, power, and jurisdiction, said consolidated drainage district shall not be bound by any assessment previously made in any of said separate drainage districts, and may assess the said combined lands with benefits without regard to any former assessment of benefits in any separate district. In making said assessments, levying taxes, and in exercising its authority, jurisdiction, and control, said consolidated drainage district shall, insofar as the same is not inconsistent with Sections 51-29-145 through 51-29-157 , follow the procedures which shall have the effect provided by this chapter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-43 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 25 / Section 29-43
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-43
Status: in_force

Any landowner feeling aggrieved at the decree of the chancellor shall have the right to appeal in the manner provided in this chapter. No appeal shall interfere with the right of the district to enter upon and take possession of the property sought to be taken, or hinder the district in the doing of any act necessary and proper in the construction of the proposed system and the carrying out of the purposes of its organization, provided, however, that the district shall have first paid into the court the amount of the appraisement. Drainage districts organized under the provisions of this chapter shall have the power to acquire any and all lands, lying either within or without the limits of such districts, necessary to the carrying out of the successful drainage of the district, in the manner above provided. In addition to the method above prescribed for the acquisition of lands for the purpose of the district, drainage districts shall have and are hereby given and granted the right of eminent domain, and they may proceed to acquire rights of way by proceeding under the code before the court of eminent domain.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-33-91 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 33 / Section 33-91
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-33-91
Status: in_force

Any drainage district operating under the provisions of any law of the State of Mississippi which has no unmatured bonded indebtedness and has constructed no levees, canals, or other drainage improvements may be dissolved by the chancery court of the county in which said district was organized, or by the chancellor of such court in vacation, in the manner hereinafter provided; but the proceedings for its dissolution shall not be commenced within three years after the date of the organization of such district.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-35-301 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 35 / Section 35-301
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-35-301
Status: in_force

This article may be cited as the Urban Flood and Drainage Control Law.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-45 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 25 / Section 29-45
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-45
Status: in_force

The chancery court or chancellor in vacation shall, at the same time that the assessment of benefits is filed or at any subsequent time when called upon by the board of commissioners of the district so to do, enter upon the minutes of the chancery court an order which shall have all the force of a judgment, providing that there shall be assessed upon the real property of the district a special assessment or levy to pay the estimated cost of the improvement, with not less than ten per cent added for unforeseen contingencies. The amount to be assessed upon each tract of land included within the district shall be such part of the estimated cost of the improvement as the assessment of benefits against such tract bears to the assessment of benefits against all the real property in the district. Said assessments are to be paid in annual installments, not to exceed ten per cent in any one year, as provided in such order; but if any landowner elects, he may pay the whole amount of the assessment against his land before it becomes due or at any time thereafter, or all or any part of said assessment at any time he sees fit, provided such payment is made before any bonds are issued by the district.

The assessment or assessments so levied shall be a lien on all of the real property of the district from the time that the same is levied by the chancery court or chancellor in vacation in an amount not to exceed the total amount of estimated benefits on all the real property in the district, shall be entitled to preference to all demands, executions, encumbrances, or liens whatsoever, and shall continue until such assessment, with any penalty and costs that may accrue thereon, shall have been paid. The remedy against such assessment shall be by appeal to the supreme court, and such appeal must be taken within twenty days from the time that said assessment has been made by the chancery court, or chancellor in vacation. On such appeal the presumption shall be in favor of the legality of the assessment.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-63 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 17 / Section 29-63
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-63
Status: in_force

For the purpose of constructing and maintaining the ditches and other improvements provided for under this chapter, for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this chapter, and for paying for the work incident thereto, the said board of commissioners shall have power to borrow money and to issue its negotiable evidence of indebtedness or serial bonds therefor, not exceeding in amount the total amount of benefits assessed against all the real property in the district. Such bonds shall be in such sums and denominations of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) each as the said board of commissioners may prescribe, shall each be signed by the members of the said board of commissioners and bear the seal of its drainage district, and shall be made payable, either within or without the limits of this state, to the person or persons to whom sold, or bearer, or bearer simply, at the discretion of said board. No bond issued under the terms of this chapter shall run for more than thirty (30) years; and said bonds may be made to mature serially in such numbers as the board may elect, so that a portion thereof may mature each year as the assessments are collected. Such bonds shall not bear a greater overall maximum interest rate to maturity than that allowed in Section 75-17-101 , for which interest coupons may be attached, payable at such time and place as the board may contract, which interest coupons shall bear the facsimile signature of each member of the board of commissioners lithographed thereon. The said bonds may be sold or negotiated in any market in or out of the state at not less than their par value, provided, however, that the cost of lithographing or printing and the necessary expenses of selling said bonds may be incurred.

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, bonds referred to hereinabove may be issued pursuant to the supplemental powers and authorizations conferred by the provisions of the registered bond act, being Sections 31-21-1 through 31-21-7 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-3 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 27 / Section 31-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-3
Status: in_force

The terms “benefits” and “betterments,” as used in this chapter are interchangeable and shall be construed as synonymous. The terms “ditches” and “drains” shall be construed to also include levees and closed drains, such as tiling, as well as open ditches.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-5-1 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-5-1
Status: in_force

(1) Every person, firm and corporation desiring to engage in the business of drilling and developing wells for underground water, including drilling any wells or boreholes that may penetrate water-bearing formations, in the State of Mississippi, shall file an application with the Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality (commission) for a water well contractor's license, using forms prepared by the commission, setting out qualifications therefor and providing such other information, including test scores from any examination, oral or written, as may be required by the commission. Developing wells shall include the installation and servicing of pumps and well equipment, but shall not include the installation and servicing of above-ground pumps. The fee for such license and renewal thereof shall be One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) for each year.

(2) All licenses shall expire on June 30 of each year. Licenses shall not be transferable or assignable. A license may be renewed and shall be renewable without examination for the ensuing year by making an application not later than the expiration date, providing certification that the required continuing education units have been completed, and paying the applicable fee. Such application shall have the effect of extending the validity of the current license until the new license is issued or until the applicant is notified by the commission that the request for renewal has been denied. If an application has not been received by the commission by the expiration date, the license will expire and the licensee will be prohibited from performing any work for which the license is required until such time as the license has been reinstated. On application made after June 30 of each year, the license may be reinstated only upon compliance with all requirements for renewal, including payment of the applicable fee, plus a penalty of Ten Dollars ($10.00) for each month or fraction thereof the application is delinquent. Failure to request reinstatement within one (1) year after a license has expired may, in the discretion of the commission, be deemed a waiver of the licensee's right to reinstatement without examination; and if he should request reinstatement thereafter, the commission may require that he be considered a new applicant subject to all requirements for initial licensing including the requirement for examination.

(3) Nothing in this chapter shall prevent a person who has not obtained a license pursuant thereto from constructing a water well on his own or leased property intended for use only in a single family house which is his permanent residence, or intended for use only for watering livestock on his farm, and where the waters to be produced are not intended for use by the public or any residence other than his own. However, such person shall comply with all rules and regulations as to the construction of wells as set out by the provisions of this chapter.

(4) Nothing in this chapter shall prevent a person who has not obtained a license pursuant thereto from constructing a water well on his own or leased property intended for use only for irrigating crops on his farm. However, such person shall comply with all rules and regulations as to the construction of wells as set out by the provisions of this chapter.

(5) This section shall not apply to any person who performs labor or services at the direction and under the personal supervision of a licensed well contractor.

(6) Any person whose license has been revoked may, upon application for a new license, be required, in the discretion of the board, to take the examination and in all other ways be considered as a new applicant.

(7) As used in this chapter, the terms “ State Board of Water Commissioners ,” “ board ” and “ commission ” mean the Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-111 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 27 / Section 29-111
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-111
Status: in_force

In case assessment of benefits of a drainage district organized and operating under the provisions of this chapter is set up on the assessment roll of such drainage district by government survey subdivisions and any such land is thereafter conveyed so that the separate ownership thereof is in lesser quantities or units than that as set up on such assessment roll, or in case such assessed subdivision is divided into lesser fractions in its ownership so that there are several separate ownerships of the originally assessed subdivision and it is necessary that the said assessment and tax thereon be apportioned among the several owners thereof, the board of drainage commissioners in which such land is situated, at the request of any such owner or on its own motion, may by an order spread on its minutes apportion the assessment of benefit thereof to the several parts or fractions of such originally assessed government survey subdivision so as to provide on the assessment rolls for the particular land upon which the several owners thereof may pay the tax thereon; provided that the apportionment of such tax shall never increase or diminish the total assessment of such originally assessed government survey subdivision as set up on the assessment rolls of such district or impair in any wise the lien of the bonds or obligations of said district as issued against the same. Before any such change may be made, the clerk of the board of drainage commissioners shall give notice that such action is sought to be taken, which notice shall be published in a weekly newspaper published in the county in which such land is situated for three weeks preceding the meeting at which such action is to be taken. This notice shall state that it is proposed that such board will apportion the assessment of benefits as set up on the assessment rolls of the named drainage district on the date to be named at the place to be named, and shall carry a description of the lands to be affected as well as the name of the owner thereof as set up on said assessment roll. Such notice by publication, as provided herein, shall also be directed to all bondholders or persons interested in said drainage district or the lands embraced therein, and shall specifically give the date and place of said meeting. Upon the hearing of said matter before such drainage commissioners and all objections thereto, any party, person, firm, corporation, bondholder, other landowners within the drainage district, or persons in any wise interested or affected by the decision of such drainage commissioners in apportioning or refusing to apportion such assessment may appeal from the decision of such drainage commissioners by giving written notice to the said drainage commissioners within fifteen days after their decision. Such appeal shall be to the chancery court of the county in which the land involved shall be situated, and if the land involved is situated in more than one county, then to the chancery court of either county. When such appeal is requested by any party interested, it shall be the duty of the clerk of the board of drainage commissioners to file with the chancery clerk the petitions requesting the tax apportionment and all papers in connection with the cause, within thirty days after the request of said appeal, if made within the time hereinabove required. The chancery clerk shall file said papers and docket the case as any other cause in the chancery court, and it shall be heard accordingly. Costs shall be taxed as any other cases in the chancery court.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-3-7 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 1 / Section 3-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-3-7
Status: in_force

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter, a person using water for only domestic purposes shall not be required to obtain a permit to use water for domestic purposes, and no permit shall be required for the use of surface water in impoundments that are not located on continuous, free-flowing watercourses. No permit shall be required for any use of water obtained from a well with a surface casing diameter of less than six (6) inches; however, a permit shall be required of a person in the business of developing real property for resale who desires to withdraw water from a well, regardless of surface casing diameter, that is to be used for maintaining or enhancing an impoundment of surface water primarily for aesthetic purposes. If the commission declares and delineates a water use caution area as provided in Section 51-3-11 , the permit board may require permits for withdrawals of water in excess of twenty thousand (20,000) gallons per day, including withdrawals of water for uses exempted under this subsection.

(2) The board shall have the authority to permit the use of water of any stream only in excess of the established minimum flow as based upon records or computations by the commission. However, exceptions may be made for municipal users. The board may authorize any permittee to use the established minimum flow upon written assurance, supported by any data and reporting requirements that the board deems appropriate that the water will be immediately returned to the stream in substantially the same amount to insure the maintenance at all times of the established minimum flow. The board may authorize a permittee to use the established minimum flow for industrial purposes when the water shall be returned to the stream at a point downstream from the place of withdrawal, where the board finds that the use will not result in any substantial detriment to property owners affected thereby or to the public interest.

(3) The board shall have the authority to permit the use of water of any lake only in excess of the established average minimum lake level as based upon records or computations by the commission. However, exceptions may be made for municipal users. The board, upon affording a hearing to interested parties, may authorize any permittee to use below the established average minimum level when such use will not affect plans for the proper utilization of the water resources of the state, or the commission may establish a level above the established average minimum lake level, after affording an opportunity for a hearing, where plans for the proper utilization of the water resources of the state require it.

(4) No use of water shall be authorized that will impair the effect of stream standards set under the pollution control laws of this state based upon a minimum stream flow.

(5) No use of water shall be authorized or continued that will impair the navigability of any navigable watercourse.

(6) No use of water shall be permitted if the use shall cause mining of any aquifer unless the board shall find that the use is essential to the safety of human life and property or unless the applicant for a permit for such use can show to the satisfaction of the board that he or another person of sufficient financial capability has applied for permit or made any other definite commitment to a plan to acquire water from another source in lieu of the water being mined from the aquifer and which will not also result in mining of any other aquifer.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-67 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 29 / Section 31-67
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-67
Status: in_force

If the court, chancellor, or drainage commissioners have underestimated the amount or the costs of work necessary for any district, then on the recommendation of the commissioners, the court or chancellor may order such additional work done or such additional costs paid and may, with the approval of the commissioners and on their recommendation, reassess the several properties of the district in proportion to the benefits to accrue to such respective properties. In such case the commissioners shall report the facts as they are required to report the benefits and assessments in the first instance, and the court or chancellor shall hear their report and all objections thereto on the same notice to the parties interested as in the first instance of approving assessments and benefits. Appeal shall lie from decree as in the first instance, and they shall be final only as decrees are final in the first instance.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-67 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 26 / Section 29-67
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-67
Status: in_force

Said board of commissioners may also issue to the contractor or other persons who do the work, or any part thereof, negotiable evidences of debt of the district, bearing interest at a rate not to exceed six per cent per annum, secured in like manner as the bonds above provided for.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-129 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 3 / Section 9-129
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-129
Status: in_force

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, as provided for in Section 51-3-31 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-157 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 1 / Section 9-157
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-157
Status: in_force

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 shall not be required to pay any tax or assessment on the project and related facilities or any part thereof, and the interest on the bonds issued hereunder shall at all times be free from taxation within this state. The state hereby covenants with the holders of any bonds to be issued hereunder that the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District shall not be required to pay any taxes or assessments imposed by the state or any of its political subdivisions or taxing districts.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-83 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 29 / Section 31-83
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-83
Status: in_force

The commissioners, from the time such petitions to organize a district are referred to them by the court or chancellor in vacation, shall have the right and authority to go upon any and all of the lands lying within said district for the purpose of examining the same and making plans, surveys, profiles, and estimates of the kind, character, and cost of said proposed system of drains, and may go upon said lands at any time for the purpose of removing obstructions, cleaning out, and keeping in repair the said ditches. No landowner shall have any power or authority to prevent, hinder, or delay the commissioners in the discharge of their lawful duties in that behalf; and in case such landowner or any other person shall undertake to interfere with, hinder, obstruct, or delay the commissioners in the discharge of their duties, the said commissioners or either of them may file his or their complaint in the chancery court or before the chancellor in vacation. Thereupon said court or chancellor shall cite said party to appear and show cause, if any he has, why he should not be fined for said hindrance or obstruction, and the court or chancellor may fine such party not exceeding twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per day for every day's hindrance caused by him to said commissioners, as for a contempt of the chancery court.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-31 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 26 / Section 29-31
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-31
Status: in_force

Upon the filing of such assessment, the chancery court, or the chancellor in vacation, shall enter an order directing the clerk of the chancery court to give notice by publication for two (2) weeks by two (2) insertions in some newspaper published and having a general circulation in each of the counties within which the lands of the district may lie, stating that the owners of lands assessed for drainage purposes in said district, if they desire, may appear before the chancery court, or chancellor in vacation, on the date and time and place fixed by said order, which date shall be not less than ten (10) days after the last publication of said notice, and present complaints, if any they have, against the assessment of land in the district.

The clerk of the chancery court shall publish said notice as directed by said order. The said notice shall give description of the lands assessed in as large tracts as the description will permit and shall state that said lands have been assessed for drainage purposes in said district; that any owner of real property, or the improvements thereon, within the district who conceives himself to be aggrieved by the assessment of benefits or damages or deems that the assessment of other lands in the district is inadequate shall file his written complaint or objection, in specific terms, with the clerk of said court prior to the time designated for said hearing.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-155 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 1 / Section 9-155
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-155
Status: in_force

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 supply district herein provided for shall not be subject to regulation or control by the public service commission.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-11-105 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 7 / Section 11-105
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-11-105
Status: in_force

The following provisions related to the Lower Pearl River Restoration Project (“project”) are contingent upon the development of an agreement, or an amendment to the existing agreement, between the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (“MDEQ”), the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (“DWFP”) and the district, removing the district from the agreement, and possibly adding a new cooperating partner or partners and possibly removing the MDEQ and/or the DWFP from the agreement.

From and after July 1, 2018, the project, currently being managed as a joint effort of the MDEQ, the DWFP, and the district, shall continue as per existing agreements, which may be amended to reflect the dissolution of the district and its removal from those agreements. The obligations of the district under the current agreements for the project may be assumed by the MDEQ, or other entity, as the designated state entity for the continuing obligation of maintenance of the water control structures as set forth in the original agreements. The parties to the agreement may identify necessary maintenance activities needed to preserve the integrity of project structures and other ordinary maintenance activities as the parties may agree need to be performed. Funding to perform those maintenance activities shall come from the Lower Pearl trust account currently on deposit with a depository or depositories in the name of the Pearl River Basin Development District, which funds are a special fund set aside solely for the operation and maintenance of the project. From and after July 1, 2018, the parties to the agreement, may assume ownership, in trust, of those funds, and the funds shall be known as the “Lower Pearl River Restoration Trust Fund.” Monies from this fund shall be a special fund set aside for the purpose(s) set forth in the amended or reformed agreement between the parties and shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and may not be expended for any purpose other than operation and maintenance activities under the purview of the project.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-95 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 31 / Section 31-95
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-95
Status: in_force

If in the construction of such ditches the same shall cross any public road, it shall be the duty of the drainage commissioners to notify the board of supervisors of such county in which such public road is located, at some regular meeting of said board held prior to a day which is thirty days next before the time fixed in such notice for the time at which the proposed work shall be constructed across said public road, stating in such notice the width and depth of such proposed work. It shall be the duty of the board of supervisors to cause to be removed and constructed, at the expense of the county, all bridges necessary to be removed or constructed, same to be done at such time as is reasonable, with a view to the convenience of the public and without unreasonable delay to the prosecution of such work.

Contracts may be made by the board of supervisors for such removal and construction of such bridge or bridges, without first advertising for bids where the cost of any one bridge does not exceed one hundred dollars.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-29 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 26 / Section 29-29
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-29
Status: in_force

Said commissioners shall proceed to assess the land within the district and shall inscribe in a book the description of each tract of land, the benefit to accrue to each tract by reason of such improvement, and shall enter such assessments of benefits opposite the description, together with an estimate of what the landowner will probably have to pay on such assessment for the first year. The assessment shall embrace not merely the land, but all railroad and other improvements on lands which will be benefited by the drainage system. In preparing the description of the lands so assessed, the commissioners may use either (1) the descriptions of lands and subdivisions thereof as shown on the official United States Government surveys and plats of lands within the district; (2) the descriptions of lands and subdivisions thereof as shown upon any plat of lands within the district and recorded upon the land records of the county in which said lands are located; (3) any metes and bounds descriptions found in the latest filed conveyance of said lands and of record in the records of deeds of the county in which said lands are located, and in such case it shall be sufficient to describe said lands by stating the number of acres and the general location of the land within the section, together with the book and page numbers of said conveyance. They shall place opposite each tract of land the name of the supposed owner, as shown by the last county land assessment roll; but a mistake in the name shall not vitiate the assessment. If any landowner or private corporation or any other drainage district has dug ditches or made drainage work that can be profitably used as a part of the general proposed system, the value of such ditches or drainage work to the district shall be assessed by said commissioners and shall appear upon the assessment and be paid for by the district, either in cash or by reduction of assessment. The commissioners shall also assess and place upon said roll or book of assessment, opposite each tract of land, all damages that will accrue to any landowner by reason of the proposed improvement, including all injury to lands taken or damaged; and when said commissioners return no assessment of damages as to any tract of land, it shall be deemed a finding by them that no damages will be sustained. If the commissioners, at any time either before or after the organization of the district, find that other land not embraced within the boundaries of the district will be benefited by the proposed improvement or improvements already made, they shall assess the estimated benefit to such lands and shall specially report to the chancery court, or chancellor in vacation, the assessments which they have made on land beyond the boundaries of the district, as already established. It shall thereupon be the duty of the clerk of the chancery court to give notice by two (2) weekly insertions in a newspaper published in the county where such lands lie describing the additional lands which have been assessed; and the owners of real property so assessed shall be allowed not less than ten (10) days after the last publication of such notice in which to file with the clerk of the chancery court their protest against being so assessed, or included within the district. The chancery court, or chancellor in vacation, shall, at its next succeeding session after the time for filing of such protest shall have expired, investigate the question whether the lands beyond the boundaries of the district so assessed by the commissioners will in fact be benefited by the making of the improvement, and from its finding in that regard, either the property owner or the commissioners of the district may, within twenty (20) days appeal to the supreme court. If the finding is in favor of the commissioners, the limits of the district shall be extended so as to embrace any lands that may be benefited by the making of the improvement. When their assessment is completed, the commissioners shall subscribe such assessment and deposit it with the clerk of the chancery court where it shall be kept and preserved as a public record; provided that, for the purpose of providing funds with which to clean out, restore, repair and rehabilitate the whole or any part of the drainage system of such district or for the purpose of cooperating with the United States or any agency thereof in such works, there may be imposed a uniform assessment on each acre of unsubdivided land lying within the district, and a uniform assessment by lot on subdivided land lying within the district, and the records required in this chapter shall show the amount of the assessment in lieu of the amount of benefits to accrue to each tract. Taxes levied hereunder are hereby declared to be taxes for maintenance purposes and shall not diminish in any manner the amount of assessed benefits in any such district which is otherwise available for the payment of any outstanding bonds of such district.

The assessments provided for in this section may be made even though evidences of indebtedness have been issued or validated or both prior thereto, but the lien of the holders of any such indebtedness shall not be impaired thereby.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-127 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 31 / Section 31-127
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-127
Status: in_force

The drainage commissioners and the treasurer of the main drainage district shall keep a separate account of all funds and expenses and payments of a subdrainage district, so that at any time the account will show the exact financial condition of such subdrainage district, both as to receipts and disbursements.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-8-1 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 4 / Section 8-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-8-1
Status: in_force

(1) Any two (2) or more local governmental units, being defined herein to mean a county or municipality, may create a joint water management district in the manner set forth in this chapter.

(2) If any local governmental unit is located within an existing water management district, then the local governmental unit shall petition the district to provide a service or function needed by the petitioning unit, provided the service or function is one which the district has the power and authority to perform. Upon receipt of the petition, the existing district shall have ninety (90) days within which to respond affirmatively to the petition, setting forth its intent to meet the need or perform the service or function and its proposal or plan for meeting the need or performing the service or function. If the existing water district does not affirmatively respond in a timely fashion, then any two (2) or more local governmental units may create a joint water management district in the manner set forth in this chapter.

(3) The joint water management district may include any geographic area within the boundaries of the interested governmental units.

(4) A joint water management district may be created although adequate water supply, flood control, drainage or other water or wastewater management activities are being undertaken by one or more of the local governmental units interested in creating a joint water management district or by another corporate agency existing and operating within the geographical area of the joint water management district. The term “corporate agency,” as used herein, means any agency or subdivision of the state or federal government, any body politic and corporate created under the laws of this state, any utility, or any public or private profit or nonprofit corporation.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-176 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 7 / Section 9-176
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-176
Status: in_force

At the request of a Mississippi municipality, county, other legal political subdivision of the state or a Mississippi state agency, federal agency, or under a declaration of a state of emergency or disaster by the Governor or the President of the United States, the officers of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Reservoir Police may render law enforcement services including search and rescue using Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Reservoir Police equipment. Officers of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Reservoir Police may also participate in joint multijurisdictional training exercises, multijurisdictional law enforcement operations and multijurisdictional search and rescue operations. The officers may exercise the law enforcement authority granted under Section 51-9-175 in the jurisdiction of the training, operation or emergency. The Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Reservoir Police, with the approval of the governing board, may enter into agreements with jurisdictions regarding the circumstances in which emergency assistance may be provided and administered. Unless otherwise directed by an agreement, officers will remain under the authority of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Reservoir Police Chief or to whomever and to what level of authority is delegated by the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Reservoir Police Chief or by assignment through the National Incident Management System or by the stated declaration of disaster or emergency. The Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Reservoir Police may seek reimbursement for services and related expenses if available.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-11 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 5 / Section 9-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-11
Status: in_force

The board of supervisors of any of the several counties of this state bordering on the Pearl River, or through which the Pearl River flows, and the governing authority of any municipality within any such county are each respectively hereby authorized and empowered, in their sole discretion, to appropriate and donate such a sum of money as said board of supervisors or governing authority shall deem reasonable and advisable to assist any nonprofit, nonshare corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Mississippi for the purpose of planning and developing the resources and industrial, agricultural, and recreational potentials of the Pearl River. Any donation made by the board of supervisors of any county or the governing authority of any municipality under the authority of this section shall be evidenced by an order spread upon the minutes of said board or governing authority, and shall be paid out of general funds in their respective treasuries, to be drawn by warrant thereon payable directly to such a nonprofit, nonshare corporation.

Any additional tax levy made to support any appropriations or donations under authority of this section shall not be refundable under the homestead exemption laws of this state.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-35-327 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 33 / Section 35-327
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-35-327
Status: in_force

Such elections shall be held, as far as is practicable, in the same manner as elections are held in county bond elections. In conducting such elections, the flood and drainage control district shall be divided into election districts in accordance with the then existing election districts created under the provisions of Section 23-5-9 of the Mississippi Code of 1972; and there shall be one voting place in each election district, which voting place shall be within such election district and within such flood and drainage control district. The election commissioners shall furnish at each voting place a list of the qualified electors residing in the flood and drainage control district who are also qualified electors in such voting district. At such election, all qualified electors residing in said district may vote, the ballots used at such election shall have printed thereon a brief statement of the amount and purpose of the proposed bond issue and the words “FOR THE BOND ISSUE” and “AGAINST THE BOND ISSUE”, and the voter shall vote by placing a cross (x) or check mark (✓) opposite his choice on the proposition.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-8-37 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 1 / Section 8-37
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-8-37
Status: in_force

(1) The board of commissioners of any district created pursuant to this chapter may issue revenue or special improvement bonds of such district by resolution spread upon the minutes of such board. Bonds may be issued from time to time without an election being held upon the question of their issuance unless the board of commissioners of the district is presented with a petition for an election upon the question of issuance signed by twenty percent (20%) or fifteen hundred (1500), whichever is lesser, of the qualified electors residing within the district. The resolution authorizing any issue of bonds other than the initial issue shall be published in a manner similar to the publication of the resolution, as outlined in Section 51-8-11 . If an election is required, it shall be held in substantial accord with the election outlined in Section 51-8-11 . The cost of this election shall be borne by the district.

(2) All bonds shall be lithographed or engraved and printed in two (2) or more colors to prevent counterfeiting. They shall be in denominations of not less than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) nor more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), and may be registered as issued, and shall be numbered in a regular series from one (1) upward. Each such bond shall specify on its face the purpose for which it was issued, the total amount authorized to be issued, the interest on the bond, and that such bonds shall never constitute nor give rise to a pecuniary liability of the district or local governmental unit or a charge against the general credit or taxing powers of the local governmental unit.

(3) Such bonds shall contain such covenants and provisions; shall be executed; shall be in such form, format, type, denomination or denominations; shall be payable as to principal and interest, at such place or places; and shall mature at such time or times, all as shall be determined by such board of commissioners and set forth in the resolution pursuant to which such bonds shall be issued. The date of maturity of such bonds shall not exceed forty (40) years from the date of the bonds, except that on special improvement pollution abatement bonds, special improvement water bonds, or special improvement water and sewer bonds, the date of maturity shall not exceed twenty-five (25) years from their date.

(4) No bonds shall bear a greater overall maximum interest rate to maturity than that allowed in Section 75-17-103 ; no bond shall bear more than one (1) rate of interest; each bond shall bear interest from its date to its stated maturity date at the interest rate specified on the bonds; all bonds of the same maturity shall bear the same rate of interest from date to maturity. All interest accruing on such bonds so issued shall be payable semiannually, or annually, except that the first interest payment may be for any period not exceeding one (1) year. No interest payment on bearer bonds shall be evidenced by more than one (1) coupon and neither cancelled nor supplemental coupons shall be permitted. The lowest interest rate specified for any bonds issued shall not be less than sixty percent (60%) of the highest interest rate specified for the same bond issue.

(5) Such bonds shall be signed by the chairman and secretary-treasurer of the commission with the seal of the commission affixed thereto; however, the coupons may bear only the facsimile signatures of such chairman and secretary-treasurer.

(6) Any provisions of the general laws to the contrary notwithstanding, any bonds and interest coupons issued pursuant to the authority of this chapter shall be securities within the meaning of Article 8 of the Uniform Commercial Code , being Section 75-8-101 et seq.

(7) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, bonds referred to hereinabove may be issued pursuant to the supplemental powers and authorizations conferred by the provisions of the Registered Bond Act, being Sections 31-21-1 through 31-21-7 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-8-31 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 4 / Section 8-31
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-8-31
Status: in_force

Any district created pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, acting by and through the board of commissioners of such district as its governing authority, shall have, among others, the following powers:

(a) To sue and be sued;

(b) To acquire by purchase, gift, devise, lease or any other mode of acquisition, and to hold or dispose of, real and personal property of every kind within or without the district;

(c) To make and enter into contracts, conveyances, mortgages, deeds of trust, bonds, leases or contracts for financial advisory services;

(d) To incur debts, to borrow money, to issue negotiable bonds, and to provide for the rights of the holders thereof;

(e) To fix, maintain, collect and revise rates and charges for services rendered by or through the facilities of such district, which rates and charges shall not be subject to review or regulation by the Mississippi Public Service Commission except in those instances where a city operating similar services would be subject to regulation and review; however, said district shall obtain a certificate of convenience and necessity from the Mississippi Public Service Commission for operating water and/or sewer systems;

(f) To pledge all or any part of its revenues to the payment of its obligations;

(g) To make such covenants in connection with the issuance of bonds or to secure the payment of bonds that a private business corporation can make under the general laws of the state;

(h) To use any right-of-way, public right-of-way, easement, or other similar property or property rights necessary or convenient in connection with the acquisition, improvement, operation or maintenance of the facilities of such district held by the state or any political subdivision thereof; however, the governing body of such political subdivision shall consent to such use;

(i) To enter into agreements with state and federal agencies for loans, grants, grants-in-aid, and other forms of assistance, including, but not limited to, participation in the sale and purchase of bonds;

(j) To acquire by purchase, lease, gift, or otherwise, any existing works and facilities providing services for which it was created, and any lands, rights, easements, franchises and other property, real and personal, necessary to the completion and operation of such system upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon, and, if necessary as part of the acquisition price, to assume the payment of outstanding notes, bonds or other obligations upon such system; however, if any corporate agency owning such facilities desires to continue providing such services, the corporate agency shall so notify the district not later than ninety (90) days after the effective date of the creation of the district, and the district shall thereupon relinquish its right to provide such services until and unless the corporate agency elects otherwise or fails to adequately provide such services;

(k) To extend its services to areas beyond but within one (1) mile of the boundaries of such district; however, no such extension shall be made to areas already occupied by another corporate agency rendering the same service so long as such corporate agency desires to continue to serve such areas. Areas outside of the district desiring to be served which are beyond the one-mile limit must be brought into the district by annexation proceedings;

(l) To be deemed to have the same status as counties and municipalities with respect to payment of sales taxes on purchases made by such districts;

(m) To borrow funds for interim financing subject to receipt of funds as outlined in Section 51-8-35 ;

(n) To choose a location within the district as the central office of the district;

(o) To adopt a plan for management of the water resources of the district, provided that such plan first be submitted to and approved by the Commission on Natural Resources as consistent with the state water management plan or objectives;

(p) To hire such personnel and contract for such legal, technical, or other services as the board of commissioners deems necessary for the operation of the district and fulfillment of its water management objectives; and

(q) To secure connection to or participation in the services provided by the district, including the power to obtain mandatory or prohibitory injunctive relief; provided, however, that the authority of the board of commissioners shall not be exercised in conflict with the regulatory and enforcement authority of the Commission on Natural Resources.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-125 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 9 / Section 9-125
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-125
Status: in_force

The Pearl River Valley Water Supply 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 (f) of Section 51-9-121 , for such purposes, within the project area.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-8-25 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 4 / Section 8-25
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-8-25
Status: in_force

Every resident citizen of a local governmental unit in any district created pursuant to this chapter, of good reputation, being the owner of land or the conductor of a business situated within such district and being over twenty-one (21) years of age and of sound mind and judgment, shall be eligible to hold the office of commissioner.

Each person appointed as a commissioner, before entering upon the discharge of the duties of his office, shall be required to execute a bond payable to the State of Mississippi in the penal sum of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) conditioned that he will faithfully discharge the duties of his office; each such bond shall be approved by the clerk of the governing body of such unit and filed with said clerk.

Any commissioner who shall remove his residence from the local governmental unit from which he was appointed or elected shall be deemed to have automatically vacated his office.

Each commissioner shall take and subscribe to an oath of office prescribed in Section 268, Mississippi Constitution of 1890 , before the clerk of said governing body that he will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of commissioner, which oath shall also be filed with said clerk and by him preserved with such official bond.

The commissioners so appointed and qualified shall be compensated on a per diem basis for their services for each meeting of the board of commissioners attended, either regular or special, at the rates established by law for state boards and commissions. Commissioners shall also be reimbursed for all expenses necessarily incurred in the discharge of their official duties in such amounts as are allowed for members of state boards and commissions.

The board of commissioners shall hold regular monthly meetings and such other special meetings as may be called by the chairman or a majority of the commissioners.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-97 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 26 / Section 29-97
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-97
Status: in_force

Within sixty (60) days after the end of the fiscal year following the organization of said drainage district, and annually thereafter, the commissioners shall prepare and retain a copy of a sworn statement of the financial condition of the district to cover the preceding fiscal year. The report shall contain, among other things, a statement of the cash on hand the first of the year for which the report is made, together with all other assets of the district; the total receipts of the preceding year; the disbursement for administration, for construction, for maintenance, for bonds redeemed, and for interest due on outstanding bonds, together with all other indebtedness of the district. The commissioners are further authorized and empowered to do any and all things incident to the management and affairs and business of the district.

The State Auditor of Public Accounts or his assistant may annually audit the books, financial report and expenditures of the commission in the same manner that such officer audits other boards and commissions; and the same powers and duties which such officer exercises or enjoys with respect to other boards and commissions shall be exercised and performed in the same manner in his audit of drainage district commissions. A fee of not exceeding Thirty Dollars ($30.00) per man hour for the time required to conduct each audit shall be paid by each drainage district audited under this section. All such fees shall be paid into the State Department of Audit Fund. Upon the recommendation of the Director of the State Department of Audit, the State Auditor shall appoint auditors on a temporary or permanent status to perform drainage district audits. The State Auditor shall not audit dormant districts which have no income or disbursements during any year.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-122 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 1 / Section 9-122
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-122
Status: in_force

(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.

(2) At any time after the first fifteen (15) years of the term of any residential lease, the then present lessee may obtain from the district a new sixty-year lease on the terms and conditions contained in the then current lease form approved for use in residential leases with the exception of rent. Rent under such sixty-year leases will be payable on the same annual payment date as rent under the lease being renewed. The maximum annual rental under the new lease will be determined by the district as follows:

(a) Renewal of Leases with Fixed Rental (non-escalating): The district will recompute the annual rental due under the lease being renewed as if the lease had contained annual rents at the fixed amount stated in the lease for the first ten-year period, escalating thereafter at ten percent (10%), rounded to the nearest Five Dollars ($5.00), every five-year period. The annual rental which would have been payable as of the renewal date will be the annual rent payable for the first ten-year period of the renewed lease. Annual rental will escalate thereafter at ten percent (10%), rounded to the nearest Five Dollars ($5.00), every five (5) years. Recomputed annual rental will be payable from and after the first day of the renewed lease term and not for the period prior to renewal.

(b) Renewal of Leases with Escalating Rental: Annual rental will remain payable in accordance with the terms of the lease being renewed with rental continuing to escalate at ten percent (10%), rounded to the nearest Five Dollars ($5.00), every five (5) years during the renewed term.

(3) The district will charge a reasonable non-refundable fee for preparation of the renewal lease. The Lessee will be responsible for obtaining the consent of any mortgage holder to the lease modification.

(4) At any time a lessee is found to be in default or in breach of the terms and conditions contained in the lease, the district shall give thirty (30) days written notice to such lessee before terminating the lease. Such notice shall be by certified mail and shall specifically state the default or breach. If the lessee does not cure the default or breach within thirty (30) days of such notice, then the district shall give written notice to the holder of any mortgage or deed of trust on the leasehold and such holder shall thereupon have thirty (30) days to cure the default or breach before the lease is terminated.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-65 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 26 / Section 31-65
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-65
Status: in_force

It shall be the duty of the board of supervisors of each county in which land is located, on the recommendation of the drainage commissioners, to make a levy each year on the lands lying in their respective counties in accordance with such assessments and levies sufficient to meet bond obligations of any district issued by authority of law.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-11-101 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 3 / Section 11-101
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-11-101
Status: repealed

(1) On July 1, 2018, the Pearl River Basin Development District (the “district”) is dissolved, and all statutory authority granted to the district under Sections 51-11-1 through 51-11-87 is repealed as provided in Section 5 of Chapter 356, Laws of 2018.

(2) Through June 30, 2018, the district is authorized to continue to conduct such business as is necessary to settle any accounts and/or financial obligations of the district.

(3) From and after July 1, 2018, the Department of Finance and Administration (the “department”) shall be the agent-in-fact for the district for all purposes, and notwithstanding the repeal of the statutory authority of the district, the department shall have all of the authority that was granted to the district under Sections 51-11-1 through 51-11-87 as they existed on June 30, 2018, to the extent necessary and for as long as necessary for the department to complete the dissolution of the district and ensure that all obligations of the district are met.

(4) From and after July 1, 2018, the department is authorized to settle any outstanding operating accounts of the district, and the department shall have the use of all funds that were available to the district before July 1, 2018, in the State Treasury or in any approved depository, together with any net proceeds derived from the sale of any property of the district, in order to fulfill the district's outstanding financial obligations. Those funds may be expended by the department upon appropriation by the Legislature, and shall not lapse into the State General Fund at the end of any fiscal year. However, if there are any of those funds remaining after all expenditures relating to the dissolution of the district have been made, the department shall deposit the remaining funds into the State General Fund. The department shall maintain accurate records of all accounts and disbursals of those funds and shall periodically share those records with the Legislative Budget Office and the Office of the State Auditor as a part of any close-out audit.

(5) From any funds that were formerly available to the district as described in subsection (4) of this section or any funds appropriated to the department specifically for this purpose, the department is authorized, in any fiscal year, to engage on a contract basis the services of any former employee or contract employee of the district to the extent that the State Fiscal Officer deems such a contract to be beneficial to the administration of dissolution of the district and the performance of the department's obligations under Sections 51-11-101 through 51-11-107 .

(6) From and after July 1, 2018, the department is authorized to dispose of any personalty or equipment of the district as surplus property or through inventory transfer to another public entity, and is authorized to settle any existing lease or leases of the district, either by canceling, assigning or subleasing the same. For the vehicles of the district, the department may transfer any of the vehicles to other state agencies without any payment being required from the agency, or may sell any of the vehicles for such price as determined by the State Fiscal Officer, and shall deposit all funds received from the sale of the vehicles into the funds in the State Treasury that were formerly available to the district, as described in subsection (4) of this section.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-8-5 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 2 / Section 8-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-8-5
Status: in_force

Creation of a joint water management district shall be initiated by identical resolutions passed by each interested local governmental unit. Such resolution shall set forth in detail the geographic boundaries of the district, the function or functions to be performed by the district, a statement of the necessity for the creation of the district, the proposed corporate name of the district and any other information reasonably necessary to inform the constituency of the governmental unit of the purpose and obligations of the respective units proposing to form the district.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-33-85 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 33 / Section 33-85
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-33-85
Status: in_force

It shall be permissible for the landowner and the bond and judgment holders of such bonds as may be adjudicated a lien on unpaid assessed benefits to agree, in writing signed by them and filed with the receiver, to compromise and settle the amount assessed and fixed as a lien on any particular tract of land for such sum as they may agree on. In such event the receiver shall, upon the landowner paying to him the agreed sum, issue to the landowner a receipt for the amount so agreed in full satisfaction of such lien; and such receipt may be recorded by the chancery clerk when signed and acknowledged by the receiver. The bond and judgment holders of such bonds as may be adjudicated a lien on unpaid assessed benefits may act by a common agency appointed by them for this purpose, which appointment shall be in writing and duly acknowledged and recorded in the land deed records of such county.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-8-7 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 7 / Section 8-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-8-7
Status: in_force

Each governmental unit proposing to form a joint water management district shall hold a public hearing in the same manner as set out in Section 19-5-155 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-13-117 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 8 / Section 13-117
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-13-117
Status: in_force

(1) The board of directors of the district shall have the power to adopt and promulgate all reasonable regulations to secure, maintain, and preserve the sanitary condition of all water in and to flow into any reservoir owned by the district, to prevent waste of water or the unauthorized use thereof, and to regulate residence, hunting, fishing, boating, camping, and all recreational and business privileges along or around any such reservoir, any body of land, or any easement owned by the district.

(2) Such district may prescribe reasonable penalties for the breach of any regulation of the district.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-11 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 29 / Section 31-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-11
Status: in_force

Each person selected county drainage commissioner shall, before entering upon the discharge of the duties of the office, give bond, with sufficient surety, to be payable, conditioned and approved as provided by law, in a penalty not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00). Such commissioner shall take and subscribe to an oath of office before said clerk that he will faithfully discharge the duties of the office, which oath shall also be filed with the said clerk.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-175 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 2 / Section 9-175
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-175
Status: in_force

(1) The board of directors of the district may appoint and commission qualified persons as reservoir police officers of the district. Any such reservoir police officer so appointed shall be certified by the Board on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training or in accordance with the Board on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training and shall attain certification or recertification within one (1) year of appointment, and shall at all times be answerable and responsible to the board of directors of the district.

(2) A reservoir police officer appointed and commissioned as provided in subsection (1) of this section shall, before entering upon his duties as such officer, take the oath of office prescribed by Section 268, Mississippi Constitution of 1890 , which shall be endorsed upon his commission. The commission, with the oath endorsed upon it, shall be entered in the official minute book of the district.

(3) A reservoir police officer appointed and commissioned pursuant to the provisions of this article, shall, while engaged in the performance of his duties, carry on his person a badge identifying him as a reservoir police officer of the district and an identification card issued by the district. When in uniform, each such reservoir police officer shall wear his badge in plain view.

(4) A reservoir police officer may exercise the same powers of arrest and the right to bear firearms that may be exercised by any state, municipal or other police officer in this state, but only with respect to violations of law or violations of regulations adopted pursuant to Section 51-9-127 , which are committed on the property owned by the district. This includes property which is owned by the district but has been leased or rented to other parties. Any right granted under this subsection in no way relieves the requirements of appropriate affidavit and warrant for arrest from the appropriate jurisdiction and authority pursuant to the laws of this state.

(5) On behalf of each person who is trained as a reservoir police officer at the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers' Training Academy, the district shall be required to pay to the academy at least an amount equal to the per student cost of operation of the academy as tuition.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-59 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 25 / Section 31-59
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-59
Status: in_force

If on the hearing by the court or chancellor in vacation no written objections are filed, a decree confirming the appraisement shall be rendered. Upon payment of said amount to the chancery clerk for the party entitled thereto, the district may enter upon and take possession of said property and appropriate it to the use of said district; and the title to the easement thereof and thereover shall thereupon vest in said district. The clerk shall receipt upon said decree for the money paid, and said decree with the receipt of the clerk thereon shall be recorded in the records of deeds of the county in which the land lies. If written objections are filed on or before the time set for the hearing, the court or chancellor in vacation shall proceed to hear the objections filed and, on demand of the party making said objections, shall empanel a jury to determine the value of the land taken and the damage due the objector.

No decree pro confesso shall be entered against an owner or person interested residing in this state unless it appear that he has been duly served with summons at least two days prior to the return-day, and no decree pro confesso shall be rendered against any nonresident or unknown owner or person interested unless proper publication has been made.

At the hearing, the report and appraisement of the value of the land sought to be taken and the damages sustained by the owner thereof shall be prima facie correct.

The court or chancellor in vacation may, at such hearing, hear all objections in entirety or in severalty, may enter a decree confirming the entire report of the commissioners, or may enter any number of decrees confirming the report as to any land taken. At such hearing, the court or chancellor in vacation may direct the board to make such alterations in the appraisement as may be deemed just and equitable, by raising or lowering any appraisement; and payment of such amount fixed by the decree shall be made to the chancery clerk as hereinbefore provided. Said clerk shall receipt for same on the decree, and such decree with receipt thereon shall be recorded.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-3 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 4 / Section 9-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-3
Status: in_force

The members shall serve without pay except they shall be reimbursed out of county funds provided by this article for their actual traveling expenses and other necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties, in an amount equal to travel and subsistence expenses allowed state employees under law. Upon appointment, said members shall meet and organize at some place designated by the governor, which shall be in one of the participating counties; and the members shall set a regular time and place for the members of the commission to meet, secure offices and all necessary equipment, and employ such engineering, professional, clerical, stenographic, and other assistance as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this article. An executive director may be appointed by the board if this is deemed advisable, and salaries of all personnel may be paid out of funds provided under the terms of this article in an amount agreeable to the commission.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-35-21 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 33 / Section 35-21
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-35-21
Status: in_force

The board of supervisors of any county through any part of which any river or other stream may run, or any part of which any river or stream may touch or border, on which the United States of America or any agency thereof has authorized flood control improvements, including channel clearing, channel improvement, cut-offs, levees, dams or other flood control improvements, when any of the lands of said county will be benefited by flood control improvements so authorized by the United States of America or any agency thereof to be constructed or made outside the border of such county, is hereby authorized and empowered to contribute to the cost of acquisition of land, easements and rights-of-way necessary for the construction of such flood control improvements outside the border of such county, provided such contribution shall be made to that county, flood control district or other agency authorized by law to acquire lands, easements or rights-of-way for such improvements, which acquires the same pursuant to request therefor from the United States of America. However, this authority to purchase lands shall allow only purchase of lands in counties lying wholly or partly within a levee district.

Said board of supervisors is hereby authorized:

(a) To expend for such purposes not to exceed the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) from the county general fund, whether or not the expenditure thereof be in excess of the budget for the fiscal year adopted by such board;

(b) To fix and levy annually for such purposes, in addition to any tax that such boards are now authorized by law to levy and in excess of the limitations now provided by law for the levying of taxes by such boards, an ad valorem tax on all the lands and property in the county, not to exceed three (3) mills on the dollar on the assessed valuation on all real and personal property in the county, including railroads; and

(c) To borrow funds not in excess of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) at interest rates not to exceed five percent (5%) per annum and to issue bonds for such purposes.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-17 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 29 / Section 29-17
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-17
Status: in_force

The commissioners appointed as aforesaid shall hold their offices, one (1) for two (2) years, one (1) for four (4) years, and one (1) for six (6) years, from the date of their appointment and until their successors are appointed and qualified. On the expiration of their terms of office, their successors shall be appointed in like manner for the term of six (6) years thereafter. They shall hold their meetings at any time and place in the county or counties in which any part of the district is situated, upon the call of the president.

The commissioners herein provided for shall receive per diem compensation as provided by Section 25-3-69 , together with mileage as provided in Section 25-3-41 for the distance traveled from their homes to and from the place of meeting.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-13-105 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 2 / Section 13-105
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-13-105
Status: in_force

All powers of the district shall be exercised by a board of directors, to be composed of the following:

(a) Each member of the Tombigbee Valley Authority as created by virtue of Sections 51-13-1 through 51-13-9 , whose county becomes a part of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District shall be a member of the Board of Directors of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District, and each state-at-large member of the Tombigbee Valley Authority shall become a member of the Board of Directors of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District when one or more entire counties become members of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District. Such directors shall serve on this board during their term of office on the Tombigbee Valley Authority. In addition, the board of supervisors of each county within the Tombigbee River Basin which elects to become a member of the district shall appoint one (1) board member to serve for a term of four (4) years or until his successor is named. The Governor shall appoint one (1) member from each county added to the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District which county is not now a member of the Tombigbee Valley Authority, and such member shall serve for a four-year term or until his successor is appointed.

(b) The Department of Environmental Quality, the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, the Forestry Commission, and the State Board of Health of the State of Mississippi shall each appoint one (1) director from that department to serve on the board of directors of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District, to serve at the pleasure of the entity appointing him but not to exceed four-year terms.

(c) Each director shall take and subscribe to the general oath of office required by Section 268 of the Constitution of the State of Mississippi before a chancery clerk that he will faithfully discharge the duties of the office, which oath shall be filed with the said clerk and by him preserved.

(d) Each director shall receive compensation at a per diem rate as provided in Section 25-3-69 for each day or fraction thereof spent in actual discharge of his official duties and shall be reimbursed for mileage and actual expenses incurred in the performance of his official duties in accordance with the requirements of Section 25-3-41 .

(e) The board of directors shall annually elect from its number a president and a vice-president of the district and such other officers as in the judgment of the board are necessary. The president shall be the chief executive officer of the district and the presiding officer of the board, and shall have the same right to vote as any other director. The vice-president shall perform all duties and exercise all powers conferred by this article upon the president when the president is absent or fails or declines to act, except the president's right to vote. The board shall also appoint a secretary and a treasurer who may or may not be members of the board, and it may combine those offices. The treasurer shall give bond in the sum of not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) as set by the board of directors, and each director shall give bond in the sum of not less than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) with sureties qualified to do business in this state, and the premiums on said bonds shall be an expense of the district. The condition of each such bond shall be that the treasurer or director will faithfully perform all duties of his office and account for all money or other assets which shall come into his custody as treasurer or director of the district.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-39 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 29 / Section 29-39
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-29-39
Status: in_force

In lieu of the method provided in Sections 51-29-29 through 51-29-35 for acquiring land and making compensation for damages, the drainage commissioners may adopt the following method for acquiring lands and making compensation for damages, to wit:

The commissioners may, at any time after the organization of the district, appraise the value of any land taken or to be taken for the purposes of the proposed improvement, according to the plans of the district on file, and the damages resulting to the owners from such taking. The board may specify, in case of any property, the particular purpose for which and the extent to which easement is desired, and the assessment of property in such case shall represent only the damages resulting from the use so specified. They may make a complete appraisement of all such lands, taken or to be taken, at one time, or at any time make appraisements as it becomes necessary or desirable. When the commissioners have made their appraisement of lands taken, they shall certify to the same and file it with the clerk of the chancery court of the county in which the land lies. The court, or chancellor in vacation, shall enter an order designating the date, time, and place for the hearing of objections to such appraisement, either at a regular term of the court or in vacation. The clerk shall issue a summons directed to the sheriff of the county or counties of the state in which any landowner or other person interested may reside, commanding him to summon such owner or owners or interested persons to appear at the time and place named. If the owner of any land sought to be taken is an infant or person of unsound mind, the summons may be served on his guardian; and the guardian in such cases is authorized, subject to the approval of the chancellor in termtime or vacation, to sell and convey such property and dedicate it thus to the public use, or he may agree upon the damages and thereby bind the ward. If there is no guardian in such case, the chancellor in vacation may, on application of anyone in interest, appoint a guardian ad litem to represent such infant or person of unsound mind, whose acts and doings in the premises shall be valid and binding on the ward. The chancellor may require a bond of such guardian ad litem. The clerk of the court shall notify the guardian ad litem of his appointment and the amount of bond required, if any, by certified mail sent to the post office address of the guardian. If the owner of such land is a nonresident of the state or cannot be found, or if the owner is unknown, and this shall apply to any person interested, upon affidavit to that fact being made by the commissioners or by their agent or attorney, service of the summons may be delivered to any of his agents in charge of the land; or publication shall be made in the manner provided by law for publication for nonresident and unknown parties in chancery suits. If the land belongs to a deceased person whose estate is being administered, the summons may be served upon the executor or administrator, who shall, for all purposes of this chapter, be authorized to act for the owner, and shall be responsible on his bond accordingly. Such notice, when published, need only state that the hearing will be for the purpose of confirming the report of the commissioners as to the appraisement of land taken for the use of the district. The notice shall contain the names of the owners or persons interested in such land and their post office address, if known, and if unknown, that fact shall be so stated, and shall contain a list of the land, described by section numbers, belonging to such nonresident owners through which the ditches of the district are to run, or which such lands are to be taken for the uses of the district.

If any owner is not satisfied with the amount allowed by the commissioners for lands taken by reason of the construction of such proposed system according to the plans of the district, he shall file with the clerk of the court written objections, in specific terms, prior to the time designated for the hearing.

If no written objections are filed, a decree confirming the appraisement shall be rendered, and upon payment of the amount to the chancery clerk, the commissioners of the district may enter upon and take possession of the property and appropriate it to the public use of the district and the title of the property shall thereupon vest in the district. The clerk shall receipt upon the decree for the money paid, and the decree with the receipt thereon shall be recorded.

If written objections are filed prior to the time set for the hearing, the court or chancellor in vacation shall proceed to hear the objections filed, trying the cause or causes without the intervention of a jury.

No judgment by default shall be entered against an owner or person interested residing in this state unless it appears that he has been duly served with summons at least thirty (30) days before the return day, and no judgment by default shall be rendered against any nonresident or unknown person or persons interested unless proper publication has been made.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-77 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 29 / Section 31-77
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-77
Status: in_force

In case any damages shall be allowed to any landowner for the construction of ditches across his said lands, actual damages shall be allowed. Such damages shall be paid in cash by giving to the party entitled thereto an order for the amount thereof on said district treasurer, who shall pay the same on presentation.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-7-17 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 2 / Section 7-17
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-7-17
Status: in_force

As soon as said plans have been developed as hereinbefore provided, a report thereof shall be made by the commissioners, who shall file the same with the clerk of the chancery court. Such report shall include the approval thereof by the board of any levee district within which any master water management district shall be located in whole or in part. Such report shall contain an estimate of the local share of the cost of carrying out the works of improvement, together with an estimate of the total benefits that will accrue to the land in the proposed district. Upon the filing of said report and after fixing a time, date, and place of hearing by the chancellor, the clerk of the chancery court shall thereupon give notice by publication that a hearing will be held on said report and designating a date not less than twenty days and not more than thirty days after the last publication of notice on which such hearing will be held. Said notice shall be published in a newspaper in each county wherein a part of such district is situated, such newspaper to have a general circulation in the area in said county wherein such portion of such district may be located; and said notice shall be published for three weeks in such newspaper. If there be no newspaper published in such county, then the notice provided herein shall be posted for not less than fifteen days, with one copy being posted on the bulletin board at the county courthouse and two copies posted at public places in the area proposed to be included in the master water management district. The notice shall call upon landowners in the district to show cause, if any, against approval of the report by the chancery court.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-103 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 31 / Section 31-103
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-103
Status: in_force

Where a county farm owned by any county lies within any drainage district and would be benefited thereby, the board of supervisors are authorized in their discretion to pay out of the general county fund the pro rata of tax for which such county lands should be taxed if owned by individuals.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-7-5 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 1 / Section 7-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-7-5
Status: in_force

(1) Master water management districts may be organized from the territory of two or more existing drainage or water management districts, from the territory of parts of two or more of such existing districts, from territory in whole or in part of one or more of such existing districts and territory not now included in any such existing district, or from territory not now included in any drainage or water management district.

(2)(a) Whenever a proposed master water management district is to be composed of lands lying wholly within existing drainage or water management districts, whether or not such master water management district is to include all or parts of said existing districts, and the commissioners of such existing districts desire to form a master water management district, they shall petition the chancery court for the creation of such master water management district. Such petition shall be signed by the president or chairman and the secretary of the board of commissioners of each petitioning drainage or water management district; and there shall be affixed to said petition a certificate by the secretary of each such district, certifying that the execution of such petition by said officers in behalf of such drainage or water management district has been duly authorized by the commissioners thereof. Said petition shall be filed in the chancery court district in which the largest acreage of such proposed district is situated and in the county, or either of the judicial districts thereof, in such court district having the largest acreage in such court district.

(b) Whenever such proposed master water management district is composed of lands lying partly within and partly without one or more existing drainage or water management districts and the creation of such district is desired, a petition proposing the creation of such master water management district shall be filed in the chancery court; and such petition shall be signed by the president or chairman and secretary of the board of commissioners of each petitioning drainage or water management district as to the lands within each such district and by at least one half ( 1 / 2 ) of the landowners owning at least one third ( 1 / 3 ) of the lands or by at least one third ( 1 / 3 ) of the landowners owning at least one half ( 1 / 2 ) of the lands as to the lands not then within any such existing district, excluding lands owned by the state. There shall be affixed to said petition a certificate by the secretary of each such existing district, certifying that the execution of such petition in behalf of such drainage or water management district has been duly authorized by the commissioners thereof. Said petition shall be filed in the chancery court district in which the largest acreage of such proposed district is situated and in the county, or either of the judicial districts thereof, in such court district having the largest acreage in such court district.

(c) Whenever such proposed master water management district as composed of lands lying entirely without any existing drainage or water management district and the creation of such district is desired, a petition proposing the creation of such master water management district shall be filed in the chancery court; and such petition shall be signed by at least one half ( 1 / 2 ) of the landowners owning at least one third ( 1 / 3 ) of the lands or by at least one third ( 1 / 3 ) of the landowners owning at least one half ( 1 / 2 ) of the lands to be included within such district, excluding the lands therein owned by the state. Said petition shall be filed in the chancery court district in which the largest acreage of such proposed district is situated and in the county, or either of the judicial districts thereof, in such court district having the largest acreage in such court district.

(3) If the petition for creation of the master water management district includes any area lying in whole or in part within a levee district duly constituted under the laws of this state, there shall be attached to the petition a copy of a resolution adopted by the levee board of such levee district, approving the proposed petition for creation of the master water management district.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-47 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 26 / Section 31-47
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-31-47
Status: in_force

When the commissioners shall have completed their assessments of damages and benefits, they shall file the same with the clerk of the chancery court; and the clerk is authorized to set down and fix a time for the hearing of objections to such assessments, at the request of said commissioners, at any time that the court or chancellor in vacation may be able to hear the same as herein provided. The clerk shall cause a notice to be published at least once a week for two successive weeks, of the time set for hearing objections to such assessments, which time for hearing shall not be less than fifteen days nor longer than thirty days from the time of filing the same, unless a longer time shall be ordered by the court or chancellor or requested by the commissioners. Said publication shall be made in any newspaper published in the county, if there be one published in the county where the cause is pending; otherwise, by posting written notices in ten public places in the district, and shall be sufficient, and the only notice required of the filing of said assessment roll and the time set for hearing objections thereto.
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-135 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 7 / Section 9-135
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-9-135
Status: in_force

All bonds provided for by Sections 51-9-133 and 51-9-145 of this article shall be negotiable instruments within the meaning of the Uniform Commercial Code, shall be lithographed or engraved and printed in two (2) or more colors to prevent counterfeiting, shall be in denominations of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) nor more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00), shall be registered as issued, and shall be numbered in a regular series from one (1) upward. Each such bond shall specify on its face the purpose for which it was issued and the total amount authorized to be issued, it shall be payable to bearer, and the interest to accrue thereon shall be evidenced by proper coupons to be attached thereto. Such bonds shall bear interest at such rate or rates, not exceeding six percent (6%) per annum, as may be determined by the sale of such bonds. They shall mature annually in such amounts and at such times as shall be provided by the resolution of the board of directors. However, no bond issued under Section 51-9-133 shall have a longer maturity than forty (40) years from January 1, 1961, and the first maturity date thereof shall be not more than five (5) years from the date of such bonds. The denomination, form and place or places of payment of such bonds shall be fixed in the resolution of the board of directors of the district. Such bonds shall be signed by the president and secretary of such board with the seal of the district affixed thereto, but the coupons may bear only the facsimile signatures of such president and secretary. All interest accruing on such bonds so issued shall be payable semiannually, except that the first interest coupon attached to any such bond may be for any period not exceeding one (1) year.

Such bonds may provide that they may be called in, paid and redeemed in inverse numerical order on any interest date prior to maturity, upon not less than thirty (30) days' notice to the paying agent or agents designated in such bonds, and at such premium as may be designated in such bonds. In no case shall any premiums exceed six percent (6%) of the face value of such bonds.

All such bonds shall contain in substance a statement to the effect that they are secured solely by a pledge of the net revenues of such district, including the avails of the two-mill ad valorem tax levy provided for in Section 51-9-131 , and the avails of the special tax levy of two (2) mills provided for in Section 51-9-139 , and that they do not constitute general obligations of the state of Mississippi or of the counties comprising said district, and are not secured by a pledge of the full faith, credit and resources of said state or of such counties.

All such bonds as provided for herein shall be sold at public sale as now provided by law. No such sale shall be at a price so low as to require the payment of interest on the money received therefor at more than six percent (6%) per annum computed with relation to the absolute maturity of the bonds, in accordance with standard tables of bond values, excluding from such computation the amount of any premium to be paid on redemption of any bonds prior to maturity.

This article shall be full and complete authority for the issuance of the bonds provided for herein, and no restriction or limitation otherwise prescribed by law shall apply herein.

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, bonds referred to hereinabove may be issued pursuant to the supplemental powers and authorizations conferred by the provisions of the Registered Bond Act, being Sections 31-21-1 through 31-21-7 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-35-343 — MS Code / Title 51 / Chapter 33 / Section 35-343
Miss. Code Ann. § 51-35-343
Status: in_force

(a) The board of directors shall designate one or more banks within any county in which any part of the district shall lie to serve as depositories for the funds of the district, and all funds of the district shall be deposited in such depository bank or banks.

(b) Before designating a depository bank or banks, the board of directors shall issue a notice stating the time and place the board will meet for such purpose and inviting the banks in the counties in which any part of the district shall lie to submit applications to be designated depositories. The term of service for depositories shall be prescribed by the board. Such notice shall be published one time in a newspaper or newspapers having general circulation in the district and specified by the board.

(c) At the time mentioned in the notice, the board shall consider the applications and the management and condition of the banks filing them, and shall designate as depositories the bank or banks which offer the most favorable terms and conditions for the handling of the funds of the district and which the board finds have proper management and are in condition to warrant handling of district funds. Membership on the board of directors of an officer or director of a bank shall not disqualify such bank from being designated as a depository.

(d) If no applications acceptable to the board are received by the time stated in the notice, the board shall designate some bank or banks within or without the district upon such terms and conditions as it may find advantageous to the district.