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WV Code § 19-21-3 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21. Drainage Districts|§19-21-3. Petition to Establish District

Proceedings to establish and organize a drainage, levee or reclamation district shall be commenced by three or more owners of real property within the proposed district, whose lands will be affected by the proposed improvement, filing a petition in the circuit court, or before the judge thereof in vacation, of the county wherein such lands and other property proposed to be organized into a drainage, levee or reclamation district are situated. Upon the filing of such petition the court, or the judge thereof in vacation, shall require a bond in sufficient penalty to be given and filed, with good and sufficient surety, and conditioned for the payment of all preliminary costs and expenses that may be incurred in case the district is not formed. If the lands to be included in the proposed district are situated in two or more counties, then the petition may be filed in the office of the clerk of the circuit court, or before the judge thereof in vacation, of either of the counties in which such lands are situated, and such court shall retain jurisdiction thereafter regardless of county lines.The petition shall describe in a general way, and by reference to roads, streams, railroads and other landmarks, the body of land or other property proposed to be reclaimed, drained, leveed, improved and embraced within the district, and shall set forth in a general way the conditions existing and the advantages that will result from the proposed improvement. It also shall indicate opposite the name of each signer the approximate acreage of each signer which will be affected. Said petition also shall contain a prayer that the lands described therein be declared a drainage district under the provisions of this article. The petition may be amended or supplemented at any time before the drainage, levee or reclamation district is fully and completely organized.The petition may be signed by any landowner, male or female, married or single; guardians or committees may sign for their wards, and trustees, executors and administrators may sign for the estates represented by them. If the signature of any corporation, by its authorized officer or officers, is attached thereto, attested by the corporate seal, the same shall be sufficient evidence of the assent of the corporation to such petition. Any person having signed the petition shall have no right to have such proceedings dismissed as to him without the written consent of the majority in acreage of the owners who signed the petition.
WV Code § 19-21-5 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21. Drainage Districts|§19-21-5. Objections to Formation of Drainage District; Action of Court; Appeal; Filing of Decree in Office of Clerk of County Court [County Commission]

Any owner of real estate or other property in such proposed district who may not have signed the petition and who objects to the organization and formation of the proposed drainage district shall, on or before the first day of the term of court at which the cause is to be heard, file his objection or objections to the organization of such proposed drainage district. Such objection or objections shall be limited to a denial of the statements in the petition and shall be heard by the court in a summary manner without unnecessary delay, and in case all such objections are overruled, if the court shall be of the opinion that the establishment of a drainage district will be to the advantage of the owners of real property therein, or will be conducive to the public health, utility, convenience and public welfare, it shall, without making further inquiry, enter an order establishing a district, which district shall have the power and authority to acquire, hold and convey property, levy taxes and collect the same, and shall have all the powers and authority necessary to carry out the provisions of this article, and may sue and be sued under the name and style of .............. drainage district. Such order shall have all the force and effect of a judgment. If the court finds that the property set out in the petition should not be organized into a drainage district, it shall dismiss such proceedings and adjudge the costs against the signers of the petition in proportion to the acreage represented by each petitioner. Any owner of real property within the district may appeal from the judgment of the court within twenty days after the same has been made, but if no appeal is taken within that time such judgment shall be deemed conclusive and binding upon all the real property within the bounds of the district and upon the owners thereof, and any owner of property in the district may within a like time appeal from an order refusing to establish such district. Such appeals must be accompanied by a bond approved by the court conditioned for the payment of costs if the appeal should be decided against the appellant. If the court orders the drainage district established, a copy of the findings and decree of the court shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the county court in each of the counties having lands and other property in such drainage district where the same shall become a permanent record.
WV Code § 19-21-6 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21. Drainage Districts|§19-21-6. First Meeting of Owners; Election of Board of Supervisors

Within thirty days after any drainage district shall have been organized and established under the provisions of this article the circuit clerk of the court organizing such district shall call a meeting of the owners of real estate or other property situate in such district, at a day and hour specified, in some public place in the county in which the district was organized, for the purpose of electing a board of three supervisors, to be composed of owners of real estate in such district, two of whom at least shall be residents of the county or counties in which such district is situate, or some adjoining counties. Notice of such meeting shall be given by such clerk by causing publication thereof to be made as a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall be each county in which lands of the district are situate. The last publication shall be at least ten days before the day of such meeting. The landowners, when assembled, shall organize by the election of a chairman and a secretary of the meeting who shall conduct the election. At such election each owner shall be entitled to one vote in person or by proxy for every acre of land or mile of right-of-way owned by him in such district, and the three persons receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected as supervisors. Such supervisors shall immediately by lot determine the terms of their office, which shall be respectively one, two and three years, and they shall serve until their successors shall have been elected and qualified.
WV Code § 19-21-7 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21. Drainage Districts|§19-21-7. Annual Meeting of Owners; Election of Supervisor

In the same month of each year after the election of the first board of supervisors, the board of supervisors shall call a meeting of the owners of land and other property herein described in the district by publication, in the same manner as provided for in section six, and such owners shall meet at the time and place fixed by the board of supervisors and elect one supervisor therefor in like manner as prescribed in the preceding section, who shall hold his office for three years or until his successor is elected and qualified; and in case of a vacancy in the office of supervisor, the remaining supervisors may fill such vacancy by appointment until the next annual meeting, when a successor shall be elected for the unexpired term: Provided, That after the report of the appraisers has been confirmed by the court under the provisions of section fifteen, only owners of land and other such property having benefits assessed against it shall be entitled to vote at the annual meetings held under the provisions of this section.
WV Code § 19-21-8 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21. Drainage Districts|§19-21-8. Oath of Supervisor; Effect of Failure to Qualify

Each supervisor before entering upon his official duties shall take and subscribe to an oath before some officer authorized by law to administer oaths, that he will honestly and impartially perform the duties devolving upon him in office as supervisor of the drainage district in which he was elected, and that he will not neglect any of the duties imposed upon him by this article. Any supervisor-elect who fails to qualify by taking such oath and filing the same in the office of the secretary of the drainage district within ten days after his election shall be deemed to have declined such election, and the vacancy shall be filled as herein provided.
WV Code § 19-21-9 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21. Drainage Districts|§19-21-9. Organization of Board of Supervisors; Duties and Compensation

The board of supervisors immediately after their election shall choose one of their number president of the board, and elect some suitable person secretary who may or may not be a member of the board. Such board shall adopt a seal with a suitable device, and shall keep a record of all its proceedings, as hereinafter provided, which shall be open to the inspection of all owners of real estate and other property herein described of the district, as well as to all other interested parties. The board shall report to the landowners at the annual meeting held under the provisions of section seven of this article what work has been done, either by the engineers or otherwise. The members of the board shall receive, for attending to business for and in behalf of such district, actual transportation expenses, which shall be audited by the board before payment and each member shall receive $4 dollars per day as compensation for his services while actually engaged in work for the district: Provided, however, That if the secretary be a member of the board, he shall be entitled to compensation as hereinafter provided.
WV Code § 19-21-10 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21. Drainage Districts|§19-21-10. Appointment, Powers and Duties of Chief Engineer; Adoption of Plan for Reclamation

Within thirty days after organizing, the board of supervisors shall appoint a competent civil and drainage engineer as chief engineer, who may be an individual, copartnership, or corporation. The chief engineer may, by and with the consent of the board of supervisors, consult any eminent engineer or engineers and obtain his or their opinion and advice concerning the reclamation of the lands in the district. He shall have authority to engage such assistants as may be needed. He shall make all necessary surveys of the lands within the boundary lines of such district, as described by the petition, and of all lands adjacent thereto that may or will be improved or reclaimed in part or in whole by any system of drainage or levees that may be outlined and adopted, and such engineer shall make a report in writing to the board of supervisors with maps and profiles of such surveys, which report shall present a plan for draining, leveeing and reclaiming the lands and property described in the petition or adjacent thereto from overflow or damage by water. Such maps and profiles shall also indicate as far as necessary the physical characteristics of the lands and location of any public roads, railroads, other public utilities, and other rights- of-way, roadways, and other property and improvements located on such lands. The chief engineer shall make a report in writing to the board of supervisors, showing the progress that has been made at such times as the board may require. When the final report of the chief engineer is submitted the board of supervisors shall have authority to employ a reputable consulting engineer or engineers to pass on the adequacy of the proposed improvements as covered in the chief engineer's report and plans. When the board is satisfied of the adequacy of the plans it shall adopt the report and plans and thereafter such adopted report shall be the plan for draining, leveeing or reclaiming such lands and other property from overflow or damage by water, and it shall after such adoption be known and designated as "the plan for reclamation," which plan shall be filed with the secretary of the board of supervisors and by him copied into the records of the district.
WV Code § 19-21-11 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21. Drainage Districts|§19-21-11. Tax Levy to Pay Preliminary Expenses; Delinquent Tax as Lien on Property; Disposition of Funds

For the purpose of paying expenses incurred or to be incurred in organizing such district, making surveys of the same, assessing benefits and damages, and to pay other expenses necessary to be incurred, before the board of supervisors shall be empowered by subsequent provisions of this article to provide funds to pay the total cost of works and improvements of the district, the board of supervisors of any drainage district organized under the provisions of this article shall, as soon as elected and qualified, levy a uniform tax of not more than 50¢ per acre upon each acre of land and each mile of right-of-way within such district, as shown by preliminary report of the engineer required by section four of this article. In case the boundary lines of the district shall be extended under the provisions of a subsequent section of this article so as to include lands and other property not described in the petition, the same uniform tax shall be made on such lands and other property as soon as the same shall have been made and included in the district. In case lands are included in the district and assessed in accordance with this provision which it subsequently develops should not have been included, taxes collected from such lands shall be returned to the owners of such lands. Such tax shall be due and payable as soon as assessed and if not paid within sixty days after the tax has been levied the same shall become delinquent. It shall become a lien on the land and other property against which it has been assessed and the delinquent list shall be certified by the secretary of the district to the sheriff of the county wherein the property so assessed is situated, and the same shall be collected by the sheriff in the same manner as state and county taxes, and bear the same penalty. In case the sum received from such assessment exceeds the total cost of items for which the same has been levied, the surplus shall be placed in the General Fund of the district and used to pay cost of construction: Provided, That if the district be dissolved before the improvements are completed, the amount of the surplus, if there be any, shall be prorated and refunded to the landowners paying such uniform tax.
WV Code § 19-21-12 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21. Drainage Districts|§19-21-12. Board of Appraisers

After the board of supervisors has adopted the plan for reclamation the secretary of such board shall file a certified copy of same, together with a copy of the order of such board approving "the plan for reclamation," with the clerk of the circuit court in which the district was organized. The court shall then in term time, or the judge in vacation, by an order, appoint a board of three appraisers who are in no way interested in such proceedings, for the purpose of assessing benefits and damages that may result from the making of the improvements described and set forth in "the plan for reclamation" approved by the board of supervisors. The secretary of the board of supervisors shall transmit to such board of appraisers a certified copy of the petition and of "the plan for reclamation," which has been approved by the board of supervisors. The members of the board of appraisers, at a meeting to be held within ten days after their appointment, shall each take and subscribe to an oath before the clerk of the court that they will faithfully and impartially discharge their duties and make a true report of the work done by them. If any person appointed as an appraiser fails to take the oath within the prescribed time, he shall be deemed as having declined the appointment and the court or judge shall make further appointment either in term time or vacation. They shall at the same meeting organize by electing one of their number as chairman. A majority of said board of appraisers shall constitute a quorum and shall control the action of the board on all questions. The secretary of the board of supervisors shall furnish to the board of appraisers a complete list of lands and corporate and other property described in the petition.
WV Code § 19-21-14 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21. Drainage Districts|§19-21-14. Publication of Appraisers' Report

Upon the filing of the report of the appraisers, the clerk of such court shall give notice thereof by causing publication of such report to be made as a Class II-O legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty- nine of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall be each county in the district. Notice shall be in form as follows:NOTICE OF FILING OF APPRAISERS' REPORT.For ............ Drainage District.Notice is hereby given to all persons interested in any land and property included within ............... Drainage District in ................ county (or counties), West Virginia, that the appraisers heretofore appointed to assess benefits and damages to the property and lands situated in such drainage district and to appraise the cash value of the land necessary to be taken for rights-of-way and other works of such district, within or without the limits of such district, filed their report in this office on the ........ day of ..........., 19 ....., as follows: (Here insert report of appraisers.) And you and each of you are hereby notified that you may examine such report and file exceptions to all or any part thereof, as provided by law.................................Clerk of the Circuit Court of ............. County, West Virginia.Provided, That where lands in different counties are contained in such report, it shall not be necessary to publish in each county the appraisers' report on all of such lands in such district, but only that part relating to property situate in the respective counties.
WV Code § 19-21-16 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21. Drainage Districts|§19-21-16. Assessment of Damages by Jury

Any property owner may accept the assessment of damages in his favor made by the appraisers, or acquiesce in their failure to assess damages in his favor, and shall be construed to have done so unless he gives to such board of supervisors, within thirty days after the assessment is filed, notice in writing that he demands an assessment of damages by a jury, in which event the board of supervisors shall institute in the circuit court an action to condemn the lands that must be taken or damaged in the making of such improvement, which action shall be in accordance with the proceedings for condemnation of rights-of-way by railroad, telegraph and telephone companies, with the right of paying into court a sum to be fixed by the circuit court or judge and of proceeding with the work before assessment by the jury. If there is more than one claimant to the lands and to the fund paid into court, all claimants may be made parties defendant in such suit, leaving the claimants to contest in that action their respective rights to the fund.
WV Code § 19-21-17 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21. Drainage Districts|§19-21-17. Powers of Board of Supervisors; Letting of Contracts; Persons to Whom Contract May Not Be Awarded; Payments to Contractors

The board of supervisors of such district shall have full power and authority to build, construct, excavate and complete all or any works and improvements which may be needed to carry out, maintain and protect "the plan for reclamation." To accomplish that end such board of supervisors is hereby authorized and empowered to employ men and teams and to purchase machinery, employ men to operate the same and directly have charge of and construct the works and improvements, or by the use of other or more efficient means than provided for in the plans adopted. They may, in their discretion, let contracts for such works and improvements, either as a whole or in sections, and when such contract or contracts are to be let, they shall be advertised and let to the lowest and best bidder, who shall give a good and approved bond, in an amount equal to the contract price, with ample security, conditioned that the contractor will well and promptly carry out the contract for such work and improvements. The contract shall be in writing, and there shall be attached thereto and made a part thereof complete plans and specifications of the work to be done and the improvements to be made under such contract, which plans and specifications shall be prepared by the chief engineer, and before the work is commenced the contract shall be approved by the board of supervisors and signed by the president of the board and the contractor, and shall be executed in duplicate. No supervisor, secretary, treasurer, or engineer of any drainage district shall be awarded any such contract, or have any interest in the profits thereof, either directly or indirectly. The chief engineer shall be the superintendent of construction of all the works and improvements, and shall, whenever required, and at least once each year, make a full report to such board of all work done and improvements made, and make such suggestions and recommendations to the board as he may deem proper.It shall be the duty of the board of supervisors to have the amount of work performed by any contractor estimated from time to time, as may be desirable, by the chief engineer, and the board shall draw its warrants in favor of the contractor for not more than eighty percent of the amount of work so required, reserving the remainder until it has been ascertained that the work has been completed according to contract, and is free from liens.