Oregon Statutes - Chapter 549 - Drainage and Flood Control Generally

• 549.010   Definitions for ORS 549.020 and 549.030.
  As used in ORS 549.020 and 549.030, unless a different meaning appears from the context: (1) “Federal agency” includes the United States, the President of...
• 549.020   Contracts between counties and federal agencies.
  Any county may make contracts with any federal agency containing such terms, provisions and conditions as, in the discretion of the board of commissioners, may...
• 549.030   Agreement by two or more counties with federal agency.
  If two or more counties in the state desire jointly or severally to make any agreement with federal agencies relative to flood control, they may...
• 549.110   Application to county court for authority to build drainage ditch or levee, or to widen or straighten a stream.
  (1) When any person owns land which requires draining, or any incorporated city in which there is any ditch, standing water or surplus water requiring...
• 549.120   Procedure; appointment of commissioners; order to commissioners.
  Thereupon the court shall appoint three disinterested householders of the county as a commission and shall issue an order directing them to meet on a...
• 549.130   Commissioner’s oath.
  In the absence of an officer authorized to administer oaths, the commissioners may administer the oath to each other.
• 549.140   Duties of commissioners.
  The commissioners shall proceed to locate and mark out the route of the ditch so as to do the least damage to the lands the...
• 549.150   Considering benefits in assessing damages.
  In assessing damages, the commissioners shall take into consideration all benefits which will accrue to the lands from the work contemplated.
• 549.160   Report of commissioners to county court; payment to landowner; recording report; construction of improvement.
  The commissioners, or a majority of them, shall make a report to the county court at the next regular session thereof, stating the location of...
• 549.170   Appeal to circuit court from assessment of damages.
  Any person aggrieved by the assessment of damages may appeal within 20 days to the circuit court.
• 549.180   Bringing additional water into ditch without payment of compensation prohibited; civil liability.
  No person shall tap or bring additional water into any drainage district or drainage district ditch already dug without paying a reasonable compensation therefor and...
• 549.190   Other rights protected.
  ORS 549.110 to 549.180 shall not be construed so as to interfere with the rights of companies or individuals for mining, manufacturing, or watering towns...
• 549.310   Application of ORS 549.320 to 549.400.
  ORS 549.320 to 549.400 shall not be construed to interfere with or to prevent the right or power to construct drainage ditches under any other...
• 549.320   Petition by landowners to drain lands or improve drains.
  Whenever 60 percent or more of the owners of land contiguous to and crossed by some watercourse or drain desire to have such lands drained...
• 549.330   Survey of work; plats, plans; estimates of cost; assessment of damages; hearing and determination by county court.
  The county court shall direct the county surveyor, or county engineer if the county employs a registered professional engineer, to make a survey of the...
• 549.340   Construction; functions of county surveyor or county engineer; performance by landowner.
  If the county court authorizes the improvement, it shall be done under the direction and supervision of the county surveyor, or the county engineer, who...
• 549.350   Report as to work done; assessment of costs; unpaid assessments.
  On the completion of the work by the county, the county surveyor or the county engineer shall make and file with the county clerk a...
• 549.360   Extension of work across or under highway or railroad; duty as to construction and maintenance; cost.
  The drainage work may be extended across or under any highway and may also be carried under or through any railroad or tramway. The authority...
• 549.370   Maintenance of work; inspection; notice to landowners; when work ordered; assessment of cost.
  At least one member of the county court in the fall of each year shall inspect the improvements constructed under the provisions of ORS 549.310...
• 549.380   Acquisition of property necessary to improvement; condemnation; prior payment of compensation unnecessary.
  Whenever a county court finds it necessary, in order to carry out any of the purposes mentioned in ORS 549.310 to 549.370, to condemn, acquire...
• 549.390   Appeal from order authorizing work or assessing damages.
  Any person aggrieved by any order pursuant to the provisions of ORS 549.310 to 549.400 authorizing any construction work or by the assessment of any...
• 549.400   Obstruction, befoulment or pollution of ditch prohibited.
  No person shall throw, dump, place or allow to be thrown, dumped or placed, any rubbish, refuse or any article or thing in any ditch,...
• 549.510   Repair of dikes protecting contiguous tracts of different owners; refusal of one owner to repair; reconstruction by other; recovery of expense.
  Whenever two or more contiguous tracts of land, not in a diking district, the property of separate owners, have been protected by a common dike...
• 549.520   Complaint to county judge of neglect to repair; notice; examination; findings; direction to delinquent owner to repair dike.
  If anyone neglects to repair, rebuild or reconstruct a dike as specified in ORS 549.510, the owners of the contiguous tracts of land may complain...
• 549.530   Entry on land by complainant to repair dike; recovery of cost of repair.
  If such dike is not repaired or rebuilt accordingly, the complainants may repair or rebuild the dike, and for that purpose may go upon the...
• 549.540   Dikes constructed under agreement excepted.
  The provisions of ORS 549.510 to 549.530 shall not apply to dikes constructed under agreement between the owners of contiguous tracts of land, under which...
• 549.605   Definitions for ORS 549.605 to 549.645.
  As used in ORS 549.605 to 549.645, unless the context requires otherwise: (1) “Commission” means the Water Resources Commission. (2) “Federal flood control projects” includes...
• 549.610   Water Resources Commission to participate on behalf of state in federal flood control projects; powers and duties of commission.
  The Water Resources Commission is directed to carry out, for and on behalf of the state, the state’s participation in federal flood control projects. In...
• 549.615   Entering upon land.
  The Water Resources Commission and its agents and employees may enter upon lands to gather information when necessary for the performance of those duties imposed...
• 549.620   Acquisition of property.
  The Water Resources Commission may acquire property, as defined in ORS 35.550 (1), by purchase, donation or condemnation in the manner provided in ORS 35.550...
• 549.625   Powers of commission with respect to acquired property.
  As to any property acquired pursuant to ORS 549.605 to 549.645, the Water Resources Commission may sell, donate, exchange or lease it or grant easements...
• 549.630   Operation and maintenance of projects.
  After the completion of a flood control project or a portion thereof and, in the case of projects constructed by the federal government, after such...
• 549.635   Agreements for joint participation or aid.
  The Water Resources Commission may enter into agreements with the federal government, public and quasi-public bodies, including but not limited to drainage and irrigation districts...
• 549.640   Disposition of moneys received by commission.
  Except as provided in ORS 536.500, all moneys received by the Water Resources Commission under the provisions of ORS 549.605 to 549.645, including any allotment...
• 549.645   Waiver of state’s immunity to suit or action.
  Except upon contracts providing for arbitration under the provisions of ORS 36.600 to 36.740, a suit or action may be maintained against the State of...
• 549.710   Powers of counties with populations in excess of 50,000.
  In any county having a population in excess of 50,000, according to the latest federal decennial census, the county court or board of county commissioners...
• 549.720   Procedure for removing or destroying drifts and drifting materials.
  When removing or destroying drifts or drifting material in rivers or streams or on land that has been flooded the county shall: (1) Have the...
• 549.730   Budgeting and appropriating money for water conservation and flood control.
  The county court of each county may include in its budget and appropriate out of moneys in the general fund of the county not otherwise...
• 549.990   Penalties.
  (1) Subject to ORS 153.022, violation of ORS 549.180 is a Class D violation, and the violator shall be compelled to restore the drainage to...

Last modified: August 7, 2008