(1) Any 25 or more landowners or the owners of more than 70 percent of the acres of land lying within the limits of the territory proposed to be organized into a district may file a petition with the State Department of Agriculture asking that a soil and water conservation district be formed to function in the territory described in the petition. Such petition shall set forth:

(a) The proposed name of the district.

(b) That there is need, in the interest of the general welfare, for a soil and water conservation district to function in the territory described in the petition.

(c) A description of the territory proposed to be organized as a district. A description is sufficient if generally accurate and need not be given by metes and bounds or by legal subdivision.

(d) A request that the department duly define the boundaries for the district, that a referendum be held within the territory so defined on the question of the formation of a district in such territory, and that the department determine that a district be formed.

(2) If more than one petition is filed covering parts of the same territory, the department may consolidate all or any such petitions. [Amended by 1981 c.92 § 7; 2009 c.220 § 3]