§ 82-568. Protection, reclamation or irrigation of lands - Petition and notice of action.

A.  In order to effect the protection, reclamation or irrigation of the land and other property in the district, the board of directors is authorized and empowered to:

1.  Clean out, straighten, widen, alter, deepen or change the course or terminus of any ditch, drain, sewer, river, water course, pond, lake, creek or natural stream in or out of the district;

2.  Fill up any abandoned or altered ditch, drain, sewer, river, watercourse, pond, lake, creek or natural stream;

3.  Concentrate, divert or divide the flow of water in or out of the district;

4.  Construct and maintain main and lateral ditches, sewers, canals, levees, dikes, dams, retardation dams, irrigation dams, sluices, revetments, reservoirs, holding basins, floodways, pumping stations and siphons and any other works and improvements deemed necessary to construct, preserve, operate or maintain the works in or out of the district;

5.  Construct or enlarge or cause to be constructed or enlarged any and all bridges that may be needed in or out of the district;

6.  Construct or elevate roadways and streets;

7.  Construct any and all works and improvements across, through or over any public highway, canal, railroad right-of-way, track, grade, fill or cut, in or out of the district;

8.  Remove or change the location of any fence, building, railroad, canal or other improvements in or out of the district; and

9.  Hold, encumber, control, acquire by donation, purchase or condemnation, construct, own, lease, use and sell real and personal property, and acquire, construct, own, lease, use or sell any easement, riparian right, railroad right-of-way, canal, cemetery, sluice, reservoir, holding basin, mill dam, water power, wharf, holding basin or franchise in or out of the district for right-of-way, or for any necessary purpose, or acquire, own, lease, use and sell any real estate for material to be used in constructing and maintaining said works and improvement, replat or subdivide land, open new roads, streets and alleys, or change the course of any existing one.

B.  All engineering, planning, design and execution, the operations of the district, and the construction, operation, and maintenance of infrastructure to serve the purpose for which the district was established, or to serve any purposes as may have been amended from time to time as provided for in this act, may be implemented at the discretion of the board of directors under the administration of the district manager.  Except for engineering, operations, and the construction, operation and maintenance of infrastructure to implement its approved purposes, the board of directors shall not exercise any of the powers specified in this section without first filing in the court having jurisdiction a full and complete petition stating in detail the acts intended to be done.  Upon the filing of the petition, a notice shall be published in the county or counties in the district, as hereinbefore provided, setting forth the nature of the relief prayed for, which notice shall be published for not less than thirty (30) days, and shall specify a date on which the petition will be heard by the court.  In the event a protest is filed, the court shall hear all parties interested and make its decree.  The court shall base its decision on the petition, granting the relief sought in whole or in part, or denying the relief prayed for, upon whether the proposed action of the district lies within the scope of its authority pursuant to this act and the agreements and decrees establishing the district and governing its operation.  The decree may be appealed to the Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma, as is provided in the statutes relating to civil procedure.

Added by Laws 1923-24, c. 139, p. 170, § 16.  Amended by Laws 1927, c. 70, p. 95, § 8; Laws 2010, c. 175, § 2, emerg. eff. April 26, 2010.