North Dakota Code 61-32-03.3 – Smaller subsurface water management systems – Notification and conditions – Penalty
1. A person may not install a subsurface water management system comprising less than eighty acres [32.37 hectares] of land area until the person has notified the board of the water resource district within which is found a majority of the land area of the system of the following information:
Attorney's Note
Under the North Dakota Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Infraction | up to $1,000 |
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 61-32-03.3
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute means the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Property: includes property, real and personal. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
a. The system’s total acreage and legal description of the land being drained; b. The outlet locations and types; and
c. The flow direction from each outlet location.
2. A person required to notify the board under subsection 1 shall install the subsurface water management system such that:
a. Pump and control structures at pump outlets are installed no closer than twenty-five feet [7.62 meters] from the top of the back slope of an assessment drain; b. Proper erosion controls are installed and maintained at all outlets; and
c. Pumps and control structures at project outlets are closed or turned off during critical flood periods.
3. If a subsurface water management system for which notification is required under subsection 1 will discharge into the watershed area of an assessment drain, the water resource board that receives the notice may require the relevant property to be included in the assessment district for the assessment drain in accordance with the benefits the property receives, provided the property is not assessed already for the assessment drain. The water resource district also may include the property in the assessment district and determine the benefits and assessment amounts under chapters 61-21 and 61-16.1, without conducting the reassessment of benefit proceedings under sections 61-21-44 and 61-16.1-26, provided the property is not assessed already for the assessment drain.
4. The board of the water resource district within which the subsurface water management system is located may order the system’s owner or operator to bring the system into compliance with subsection 2 if the board finds the system violates that subsection.
5. A person that violates this section is guilty of an infraction.
6. This section applies only to subsurface water management systems that drain, in whole or in part, platted or unplatted lands used for raising agricultural crops or grazing farm animals.
7. This section does not apply to a subsurface water management system that discharges into a body of water completely encompassed by land owned by the person that owns the land drained by the system.
8. The information that must be provided to a board of a water resource district under this section is an exempt record under section 44-04-18.