Montana § 85-7-1822 - Petition To Exclude Lands

§ 85-7-1822. Petition To Exclude Lands

Petition to exclude lands. (1) Whenever lands have been included within the boundaries of any irrigation district of the character designated in 85-7-1821 which from their location or conformation cannot be successfully irrigated by the irrigation works or system constructed for that purpose or when the cost of irrigating the same has or will become burdensome upon the landowners of the district, the owners of said lands, with the consent of the board of commissioners of said district and the secretary of interior of the United States or such other federal authority, instrumentality, or agency as may be appropriate, may petition the district court of the county in which such lands are situated for an order or decree changing the boundaries of the district by the elimination therefrom of such lands. The petition for this purpose must be signed by the owners of the land sought to be excluded and accompanied with the written consent of the board of commissioners of the district and the secretary of the interior of the United States or such other federal authority, instrumentality, or agency as may be appropriate. Such petition shall set forth: (a) the name of the district; (b) a particular description of the land sought to be excluded or eliminated from the district; (c) the names of the holders of title to the lands sought to be excluded; (d) a brief description of the character of works, water rights, canals, or works owned and acquired by the district; (e) a statement of the reasons why the lands sought to be excluded should be eliminated from the district; (f) a prayer for the exclusion of the lands sought to be eliminated therefrom. (2) The petition shall be accompanied with a map or plat of the district, showing thereon the lands sought to be eliminated therefrom, and a good and sufficient bond or undertaking to be approved by the district court or judge thereof of the county in which the petition is required to be filed under the provisions hereof, to pay all costs in and about the proceedings and hearing thereof in the event that said petition is denied.