North Dakota Century Code Title 61. Waters § 61-16.1-02. Definitions

1. “Affected landowners” means landowners whose land is subject to special assessment or condemnation for a project.

2. “Assessment drain” means a drain financed in whole or in part by special assessment.

3. “Benefited property” means property that has accrued a benefit from a project.

4. “Benefits” means the degree to which a society or an economy subject to a project is improved through lower costs, fewer damages, or enhancements.

5. “Cleaning out and repairing a drain” means deepening and widening a drain and removing obstructions or sediment, and any repair necessary to return the drain to a satisfactory and useful condition.

6. “Commission” means the state water commission.

7. “Conservation” means planned management of water resources to prevent exploitation, destruction, neglect, or waste.

8. “Costs of the frivolous complaint” means all reasonable costs associated with the requisite proceedings regarding the removal of obstructions to a drain, removal of a noncomplying dike or dam, or closing a noncomplying drain, including all reasonable construction costs; all reasonable attorney's fees and legal expenses; all reasonable engineering fees, including investigation and determination costs; compliance inspections; necessary technical memorandum and deficiency review; and all costs associated with any hearing conducted by a district, including preparation and issuance of any findings of fact and any final closure order.

9. “District” means a water resource district.

10. “Drain” means any natural watercourse opened, or proposed to be opened, and improved for drainage, and any artificial channel constructed for drainage. The term includes dikes and appurtenant works and may include more than one watercourse or artificial channel when the watercourses or channels drain land within a practical drainage area.

11. “Frivolous” means allegations and denials in any complaint filed with a district made without reasonable cause and not in good faith.

12. “Lateral drain” means a drain constructed after the establishment of an original drain or drainage system and which flows into the original drain or drainage system from outside the limits of the original drain.

13. “Practical drainage area” means, for assessment drains, the practical drainage area determined by the survey and examination required under section 61-16.1-17.

14. “Project” means any undertaking for water conservation; flood control; water supply; water delivery; erosion control and watershed improvement; drainage of surface waters; collection, processing, and treatment of sewage; discharge of sewage effluent; or any combination of purposes in this subsection, and includes incidental features of the undertaking.

15. “Water resource board” or “board” means the water resource district's board of managers.