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WV Code § 19-21-39 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21. Drainage Districts|§19-21-39. Maintenance and Preservation of Ditches, etc.; Maintenance Tax; Collection Thereof by Sheriff

To maintain and preserve the ditches, drains, levees or other improvements made pursuant to this article and to strengthen, repair and restore the same, when needed, and for the purpose of defraying the current expenses of the district, the board of supervisors may, upon the completion of such improvements, and on or before July 1, in each year thereafter, levy a tax upon each tract or parcel of land and upon corporate property within the district, to be known as a "maintenance tax." Such maintenance tax shall be apportioned upon the basis of the net assessments of benefits accruing for original construction, shall not exceed ten percent thereof in any one year, and shall be certified to the sheriff of each county in which lands of such districts are situated in the same manner and at the same time as the annual installment tax is certified. The sheriff of the county shall demand and collect the maintenance tax and the return thereof at the same time and in the same manner as is provided herein for the annual installment tax.
WV Code § 19-21-40 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21. Drainage Districts|§19-21-40. Consolidation of Adjacent Districts

Any two or more adjacent districts, whether incorporated in the same or different counties, may be united and consolidated in one district, and such new district and the board of supervisors thereof shall have the rights, powers and privileges of any districts organized under this article. In order to effect such consolidation, the board of supervisors of each of the original districts shall call an election in the same manner as elections of supervisors, stating the time, place and object of such election. If a majority of the acreage voting in each district vote in favor of the proposition to unite and consolidate such districts, the board of supervisors of each district shall present a petition to the circuit court of the county in which the greatest amount of the land is located, accompanied with a complete return of such election, in which petition shall be stated the name of the original district, when established, the names of the owners of the lands and boundaries of the district. When such petition has been filed, the circuit clerk shall give notice of such filing in the manner provided for giving notice in section four of this article, which notice shall state the contents of such petition and the objects sought and the term of court at which such matter is to be heard. Any person owning land in either of such districts, on or before the first day of such court, may file objections to the regularity or sufficiency of any of the proceedings had in the premises, and if such objections are overruled, or if no objections are made, the court shall enter an order that any two or more of the several districts so asking shall be united and consolidated as one district, under some appropriate designation, with all the rights, powers and privileges of such districts organized under this article, and the lands so included in the new district shall be subject to all liens, liabilities and obligations of the original districts, and a new board of supervisors shall be elected, as now provided in case of election of supervisors, and all orders made in regard to extension of time, boundaries, or united districts shall be spread on the records of the circuit court, and a certified copy thereof shall be filed with the recorder of deeds of each county in which any of such lands are located.
WV Code § 19-21-41 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21. Drainage Districts|§19-21-41. Penalty for Obstructing Drain or Damaging Drainage Work

Any person who shall obstruct a drain or damage drainage works constructed under the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined $100, and he shall also be liable to the district for double the cost of removing such obstructions and repairing such damage.
WV Code § 19-21A-4a (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21A. Conservation Districts|§19-21A-4a. Administration of West Virginia Conservation Agency Programs; Legislative Rules

(a) If a conservation district supervisor applies to participate in a West Virginia Conservation Agency financial assistance program, then his or her application for that particular program shall be evaluated for approval or denial by the West Virginia Conservation Agency.(b) A conservation district supervisor may not vote for the authorization, approval or ratification of a contract in which he or she or an immediate family member is beneficially interested.(c) The State Conservation Committee shall propose rules for legislative approval pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to establish:(1) The criteria, ranking and standards required for an applicant to qualify to participate in West Virginia Conservation Agency programs;(2) A process to disclose the recipients of the award; and(3) The process for an unsuccessful qualified applicant to appeal an award.(d) The State Conservation Committee may propose emergency rules as necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
WV Code § 19-21A-5 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21A. Conservation Districts|§19-21A-5. Continuation of Conservation Districts

The conservation districts formed throughout the state under the prior enactments of this section are continued and shall remain in effect until reformed or reorganized as provided in section fourteen of this article.
WV Code § 19-21A-6 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21A. Conservation Districts|§19-21A-6. Election of Supervisors for Each District; Filling Vacancies

(a) Each county in a district shall elect two nonpartisan supervisors: Provided, That any county with a population of one hundred thousand based on the most recent decennial census shall elect one additional supervisor and any county with a population over one hundred thousand based on the most recent decennial census shall elect one additional supervisor for each fifty thousand residents over one hundred thousand.(b) A candidate for supervisor must be a landowner and an active farmer with a minimum of five years' experience or a retired farmer who has had a minimum of five years' experience and must have the education, training and experience necessary to carry out the duties required by this article. The State Conservation Committee shall propose for promulgation in accordance with the requirements of article three-a, chapter twenty-nine of this code legislative rules to establish criteria for the necessary education, training and experience.(c) All registered voters in the district are eligible to vote in the election for candidates from the county within the boundaries of the district in which the voter resides. The candidates in each county who receive the largest number of votes cast in the election shall be elected supervisors for that county.(d) Supervisors shall be elected in the primary election and serve a term of four years. The provisions of chapter three of this code apply to election of supervisors.(e) Persons holding the position of supervisor, regardless of the expiration of the designated term of office, continue to serve until the election and qualification of his or her successor.(f) Any vacancy occurring in the office of supervisor shall be filled by the committee by appointment of a person from the county in which the vacancy occurs. Within fifteen days after the vacancy occurs, the district shall submit a list of names of persons qualified to be a supervisor. If the unexpired term is for less than two years and six months, the appointed person holds office until the expiration of the term. If the unexpired term is for more than two years and six months, the appointed person holds the office until a successor is elected in the next primary or general election and qualified.
WV Code § 19-21A-9 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21A. Conservation Districts|§19-21A-9. Cooperation Between Districts

The supervisors of any two or more districts organized under the provisions of this article may cooperate with one another in the exercise of any or all powers conferred in this article.
WV Code § 19-21A-10 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21A. Conservation Districts|§19-21A-10. Cooperation Between State Agencies and Districts

Agencies of this state which have jurisdiction over or be charged with the administration of any state-owned lands, and of any county, or other governmental subdivision of the state, which have jurisdiction over or be charged with the administration of any county-owned or other publicly owned lands lying within the boundaries of any district organized hereunder may cooperate with the supervisors of the districts in the effectuation of programs and operations undertaken by the supervisors under the provisions of this article. When such cooperation is undertaken, the supervisors of the districts shall be given free access to enter and perform work upon the publicly owned lands.
WV Code § 19-21A-11 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21A. Conservation Districts|§19-21A-11. Authority of Governmental Divisions to Expend Money for Works of Improvement; Levy

The governing body of any governmental division which may reasonably be expected to receive a benefit from the construction, improvement, operation or maintenance of any works of improvement may expend money for such construction, improvement, operation or maintenance if this expectation exists as to any part of the governmental division and even though such works of improvement are not located within the corporate limits of the governmental division or are not within this state: Provided, That if the expenditure is not made directly by the governmental division for such purpose, it shall be made only through a conservation district or watershed improvement district organized under the laws of this state, but it shall not be necessary that any part of the governmental division be within the limits of the district through which the expenditure is made. The governing bodies or governmental divisions may set up in their respective budgets funds to be spent for such purposes and municipalities and counties may levy and collect taxes for such purposes in the manner provided by law: Provided, however, That in case sufficient funds cannot be raised by ordinary levies, additional funds may be raised by municipalities and counties as provided by section sixteen, article eight, chapter eleven of this code.
WV Code § 19-21A-12 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21A. Conservation Districts|§19-21A-12. Assurances of Cooperation by Governmental Division

(a) By vote of the governing body, any governmental division authorized to expend money on works of improvement by section eleven of this article may alone, or in combination with any other governmental division or divisions authorized to expend money on works of improvement, give assurances, by contract or otherwise, satisfactory to agencies of the United States, congressional committees or other proper federal authority and to conservation districts or watershed improvement districts organized under the laws of this state that the governmental division or divisions will construct, improve, operate or maintain works of improvement or will appropriate a sum or sums of money and expend it for such purposes as provided in section eleven of this article.(b) The assurances, whether by contract or otherwise, shall be reduced to writing and before final approval of the governing bodies involved shall be submitted to the Attorney General for approval. After approval by the Attorney General and by the governing body or bodies concerned, certified copies of the assurances shall be filed in the office of the county clerk of the county or counties in which the governmental division is located and in the office of the State Tax Commissioner.(c) Any assurance hereunder may be valid and binding for a period of time not to exceed fifty years.
WV Code § 19-21A-13 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21A. Conservation Districts|§19-21A-13. Contracts With District for Construction of Flood Control Projects; Power to Borrow Money; Levy

The county commission of each county and the governing body of each municipality in the state are hereby authorized and empowered to enter into a contract or agreement with the conservation district or districts for the purpose of constructing flood control projects within their respective counties or municipalities or adjacent thereto and to use the projects as recreational areas or public parks. For the purpose of defraying the cost of any such project or projects, the county commission or the governing body of any municipality is hereby authorized to borrow from the federal government or from any federal agency having money to loan, a sum sufficient to cover the cost of such project or projects. For the purpose of retiring any indebtedness incurred under the provisions of this section, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the county commission or the governing body of any municipality is hereby authorized to lay and impose a county or citywide levy as the case might be.
WV Code § 19-21B-1 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21B. Watershed Improvement Districts|§19-21B-1. Definitions

The term "landowners" or "owners of land" as used in this article includes any person, firm or corporation, other than a public body corporate, who shall hold title to any lot or tract of land lying within a district organized or to be organized under the provisions of this article, whether or not such land lies within the corporate limits of any town or city.
WV Code § 19-21B-2 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21B. Watershed Improvement Districts|§19-21B-2. Establishment of Watershed Improvement Districts

Whenever within a soil conservation district or districts, soil conservation or the conservation, development, utilization, or disposal of water will be promoted by the construction of improvements for such purpose or purposes, a watershed improvement district may be established within such soil conservation district or districts in accordance with the provisions of this article.
WV Code § 19-21B-3 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21B. Watershed Improvement Districts|§19-21B-3. Petition for Establishment

Any twenty-five owners of land lying within the limits of a proposed watershed improvement district, or a majority of such owners if their number be less than fifty, or any municipality or county any part of which lies within the proposed watershed improvement district, may file a petition with the supervisors of the soil conservation district or districts in which the proposed watershed improvement district will be situated asking that a watershed improvement district be organized for the territory described in the petition. The petition shall set forth:(1) The proposed name of the watershed improvement district;(2) That there is need, in the interest of the public health, safety, or welfare, for a watershed improvement district for the territory described in the petition;(3) A description of the territory proposed to be organized as a watershed improvement district, which description shall be deemed sufficient if generally accurate;(4) That the territory described in the petition is contiguous and is in the same watershed;(5) A request that the territory described in the petition be organized as a watershed improvement district.Land lying within the limits of one watershed improvement district shall not be included in another watershed improvement district.
WV Code § 19-21B-4 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21B. Watershed Improvement Districts|§19-21B-4. Public Hearing on Petition; Determination of Need for District; Defining Boundaries

Within thirty days after such petition has been filed with the supervisors of the soil conservation district or districts, they shall hold a public hearing or hearings upon the practicability and feasibility of creating the proposed watershed improvement district. All owners of land within the proposed watershed improvement district and all other interested parties shall have the right to attend such a hearing and be heard. The supervisors may prescribe such rules and regulations governing the conduct of such hearings as they deem to be necessary.The supervisors shall thereafter determine whether there is need, in the interest of the public health, safety, or welfare, for the organization of the proposed watershed improvement district. They shall record such determination and shall define the boundaries of such watershed improvement district.
WV Code § 19-21B-5 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21B. Watershed Improvement Districts|§19-21B-5. Determination of Whether Operation of Proposed District Is Feasible

If the supervisors determine that need for the proposed watershed improvement district exists and after they define the boundaries of the proposed district, they shall consider the question of whether the operation of the proposed watershed improvement district is administratively practicable and feasible.
WV Code § 19-21B-6 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21B. Watershed Improvement Districts|§19-21B-6. Declaration of Organization of District; Certification

If the supervisors shall determine that operation of the proposed watershed improvement district is administratively practicable and feasible, they shall so notify the state soil conservation committee which may declare the watershed improvement district to be duly organized and shall record such fact in its official minutes. Following such entry in its official minutes, the committee shall certify the fact of the organization of the watershed improvement district to the Secretary of State, and shall furnish a copy of such certification for recordation to the clerk of the county court in each county in which any portion of the watershed improvement district is situated; and the watershed improvement district shall thereupon constitute a governmental division of this state and a public body corporate.
WV Code § 19-21B-7 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21B. Watershed Improvement Districts|§19-21B-7. Establishment of Watershed Improvement District Situated in More Than One Soil Conservation District

If a proposed watershed improvement district will be situated in more than one soil conservation district, copies of the petition shall be presented to the supervisors of all the soil conservation districts in which any part of such proposed watershed improvement district will be situated, and the supervisors of all such soil conservation districts affected shall act jointly as a board of supervisors with respect to all matters concerning such watershed improvement district, including its organization. Such watershed improvement district shall be organized in like manner and shall have the same powers and duties as a watershed improvement district situated entirely in one soil conservation district.
WV Code § 19-21B-8 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21B. Watershed Improvement Districts|§19-21B-8. Inclusion of Additional Territory Within Existing District

Petitions for including additional territory within an existing watershed improvement district may be filed with supervisors of the soil conservation district or districts in which the watershed improvement district is situated, and in such cases the provisions hereof with respect to petitions to organize a watershed improvement district shall be observed to the extent deemed practicable by such supervisors. No additional territory shall be included in an existing watershed improvement district without the approval of the state committee and certification of its inclusion to the officers indicated in section six of this article.
WV Code § 19-21B-9 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21B. Watershed Improvement Districts|§19-21B-9. Governing Body of District; Trustees

The supervisors of the soil conservation district or districts in which the watershed improvement district is situated shall be the governing body of the watershed improvement district. They may appoint three trustees, who shall be owners of land within the watershed improvement district, to carry on the business of the watershed improvement district. The trustees so appointed shall exercise such administrative duties and powers as may be delegated to them by the governing body of the district, and they shall hold office at the will of that body. A trustee shall receive no compensation for his services but may be reimbursed from funds of the district for actual and necessary expenses incurred by him in the performance of his duties. The trustees shall designate a chairman and may, from time to time, change such designation. One of the trustees may be selected as treasurer and shall then be responsible for the safekeeping of all the funds of the watershed improvement district.When a watershed improvement district lies in more than one soil conservation district, the supervisors of all such districts shall act jointly as the governing body of the watershed improvement district.
WV Code § 19-21B-10 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21B. Watershed Improvement Districts|§19-21B-10. Officers, Agents and Employees; Surety Bonds; Annual Audit

The trustees may, with the approval of the governing body of the district, employ such officers, agents, and other employees as they may require and shall determine their qualifications, duties and compensation. The compensation of such persons shall be paid out of funds of said district. The governing body shall provide for the execution of surety bonds for the treasurer and such other trustees, officers, agents, and employees as shall be entrusted with funds or property of the watershed improvement district and shall provide for the making and publication of an annual audit of the accounts of receipts and disbursements of the watershed improvement district.
WV Code § 19-21B-11 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21B. Watershed Improvement Districts|§19-21B-11. Status and Powers of District; Powers of Trustees

A watershed improvement district organized under the provisions of this article shall constitute a governmental division of this state and a public body corporate, and such watershed improvement district shall have all of the powers of the soil conservation district or districts in which the watershed improvement district is situated. These powers are set forth in article twenty-one-a, chapter nineteen of the code, and any reference therein to a "soil conservation district" shall be deemed for the purposes of this article to include a "watershed improvement district." The trustees shall exercise only such of the powers of the watershed improvement district as the governing body of the district may designate from time to time.
WV Code § 19-21B-12 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 19. Agriculture|Article 21B. Watershed Improvement Districts|§19-21B-12. Powers Granted to Be Additional to Powers of Soil Conservation District

The powers herein granted to watershed improvement districts shall be additional to the powers of the soil conservation district or districts in which the watershed improvement district is situated; and the soil conservation district or districts, and the supervisors thereof, are authorized, notwithstanding the creation of the watershed improvement district, to continue to exercise all of its powers within the watershed improvement district.