14-116-501. Proposed improvement plan for assessment-based water district projects.

14-116-501. Proposed improvement plan for assessment-based water district projects. (a)(1) Upon the securing of a petition described in subsection (b) of this section, a water district may develop an improvement project plan for any purpose contained in § 14-116-102 that would benefit the lands within the district. (2) All such improvement plans for improvement project areas shall be appropriately identified by a number or a name selected by the district. (3) The district may employ an independent engineer or seek the assistance of federal or state agencies in developing the plan. (4) The plan must include a preliminary survey and a report and should include the following as a minimum: (A)(i) The territory which will be benefited by the proposed improvement. (ii) The territory need not consist of contiguous parcels of land; (B) The general character of the improvements; (C) An estimate, in reasonable detail, of the expenses involved; (D) The proposed works of improvement and their proposed locations as can be estimated; (E) The general nature, purposes, utility, and need of the proposed improvements and their feasibility; (F) An estimate, to the extent it is known, of the method of financing for works of improvement; (G) The amount, if any, proposed to be assessed generally against the benefited lands; (H) Whether, and if so, to what extent, any lands, lakes, or natural watercourses, rivers, tributaries, or streams within the project improvement area are likely to be damaged by or as a result of the acquisition or construction of improvements constituting part of the plan of improvement; and (I) The plan for compensating landowners for damages, if any. (b) Upon the securing of a petition by a majority of the owners of the benefited lands and the owners of a majority in value of the benefited lands, as shown by the last assessment of real property within a proposed improvement project area within the water district, the district shall update and complete a final improvement plan which shall contain a final survey and report. (c) The petition shall describe generally the proposed improvement plan as contained in the preliminary survey and the report. (d)(1) Upon completion of the final improvement plan for an improvement project area, a copy of the final survey and report shall be submitted to the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission for its approval and to other appropriate federal and state agencies for comment. (2)(A) The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission shall solicit written comment from appropriate federal and state agencies on the items described in the final survey and report, including, but not limited to, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission, the Division of Arkansas Heritage, and the Division of Environmental Quality. (B) Upon receipt of comments from such agencies, the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission shall make such comments available to the public and shall solicit comments from the public, giving notice by publication in a newspaper published and having a general circulation in the water district, once a week for two (2) weeks, of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission's intent to hold a hearing, to be held not less than twenty (20) days after first publication of such notice, at which hearing comments from the public will be heard. (C) The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission shall duly consider all comments received from such agencies and the general public, if any, and shall thereafter approve, modify, or disapprove such final report and survey and notify the district's board of directors of its action in the matter. (e) If the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission approves the report, or approves the report with modifications, and after the board reviews comments, the board of directors of a regional water distribution district may adopt the final improvement plan, with any necessary amendments or revisions, or both, to the final survey and report.