MAPLE RIVER WATER RESOURCE DISTRICT WHEATLAND CHANNEL ASSESSMENT DISTRICT NOTICE OF HEARING The Maple River Water Resource District (the "District") will conduct a public hearing on Thursday, June 3, 2021, at 9:00 a.

Published May 19, 2021 at 3:01 AM

MAPLE RIVER WATER
RESOURCE DISTRICT WHEATLAND CHANNEL ASSESSMENT DISTRICT NOTICE OF HEARING
The Maple River Water Resource District (the "District") will conduct a public hearing on Thursday, June 3, 2021, at 9:00 a.m., regarding the potential formation of the WHEATLAND CHANNEL ASSESSMENT DISTRICT. This hearing is a statutory hearing regarding the District's creation of an assessment district for purposes of generating funds from properties that benefit from the Wheatland Channel to fund and finance proper operation and maintenance of that segment of the Wheatland Channel improved by a federal agency.
The Soil Conservation Service (now known as the Natural Resources Conservation Service, or "NRCS") previously constructed improvements to portions of the Wheatland Channel in Wheatland, Gill, and Everest Townships (the "Wheatland Channel Improvements"). NRCS does not maintain those improvements. Under North Dakota law, if a federal agency constructs any water infrastructure improvement, but no longer operates or maintains the improvement, the improvement automatically becomes the jurisdiction and responsibility of the water resource district where the improvement is located. In this case, the NRCS does not operate or maintain the Wheatland Channel Improvements and, therefore, the Maple River Water Resource District is responsible for operating and maintaining the Wheatland Channel Improvements.
However, despite this legal obligation, NRCS left no mechanism for the District to generate funds to properly operate and maintain the Wheatland Channel Improvements. Unfortunately, without a revenue source to maintain the Channel, the Channel will deteriorate and will no longer benefit the watershed and the properties that rely on the Channel for drainage. The District recognizes the benefits the Wheatland Channel Improvements provide for the landowners, ag producers, residents, and communities in the watershed. With that in mind, the District is seeking to create the WHEATLAND CHANNEL ASSESSMENT DISTRICT, an assessment district under North Dakota law, for purposes of generating funds to properly operate and maintain these improvements.
North Dakota law provides a mechanism for the District to create a federal project assessment district for purposes of generating funds to properly operate and maintain the Wheatland Channel Improvements. The process for creating the WHEATLAND CHANNEL ASSESSMENT DISTRICT requires the District to conduct a meeting preceded by published notice. The purpose of the hearing is to discuss the Wheatland Channel Improvements and to explain the legal process for creating the WHEATLAND CHANNEL ASSESSMENT DISTRICT, for the benefit of the landowners in the watershed who benefit from the Wheatland Channel Improvements, and who the District would include in the proposed WHEATLAND CHANNEL ASSESSMENT DISTRICT. Following the meeting, the District and the Cass County Commission must both approve creation of the WHEATLAND CHANNEL ASSESSMENT DISTRICT. The maximum amount the District can levy against benefitted properties for purposes of the federal project assessment district is $4 per acre for ag lands in any given year, and $2 per $500 of taxable valuation for non-ag property in a given year. The District could only utilize funds generated by the WHEATLAND CHANNEL ASSESSMENT DISTRICT for purposes of maintaining and operating the Wheatland Channel Improvements; the District could not use those dollars for any other project or purpose. As an additional safeguard, the District could not collect more than the equivalent of six years of maximum levies without utilizing at least a portion of the funds for operation and maintenance purposes; in other words, the District can only assess annual levies based on need and cannot simply assess annual levies continuously without using those dollars for operation and maintenance purposes.
The District will conduct a hearing regarding the potential creation of the WHEATLAND CHANNEL ASSESSMENT DISTRICT on Thursday, June 3, 2021, at 9:00 a.m. During the hearing, the District will discuss the Wheatland Channel Improvements and explain the proposed assessment district. Members of the public may appear at this hearing and may offer comments regarding the potential creation of the WHEATLAND CHANNEL ASSESSMENT DISTRICT. Following the hearing, the District will consider any input provided, and the District, as well as the Cass County Commission, will determine whether or not the District should create the WHEATLAND CHANNEL ASSESSMENT DISTRICT.
The Maple River Water Resource District will conduct the June 3 hearing via video conference and conference call. The public may participate in the hearing via Microsoft Teams or by conference call.
For a hyperlink to join the full Teams Meeting with video, call: (701) 298-2381 at least 24 hours in advance of the hearing to request the hyperlink be emailed to you.
To join the meeting via phone/audio only, call: (701) 526-4298, Conference ID#: 350 205 290#
Contact the Maple River Water Resource District at (701) 298- 2381 or at wrd@casscountynd .gov if you have questions about participating in the meeting.
In addition, the Maple River Water Resource District is required by law to offer a physical location where the District will have a speakerphone or computer available for members of the public to view or participate in the meeting; with that in mind, if you prefer to utilize the District's speakerphone or computer to participate in the hearing, you can do so at the District's office at 1201 Main Avenue West in West Fargo.
Dated this 17th day of May, 2021.
MAPLE RIVER WATER
RESOURCE DISTRICT
Rodger Olson, Chair
Gerald Melvin
Chad Miller
(May 19, 2021) 2888257