Oklahoma § 82-1021.5 - Receipt of petition – Verification – Approval of

§ 82-1021.5. Receipt of petition – Verification – Approval of

petition.

A. After receipt of the petition, the county commissioners and

the county commissioners of any participating adjacent county shall:

1. Verify the authenticity of each signatory whose address is

located within the county;

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 82. Waters and Water Rights

2. Coordinate with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board and, if

necessary, the adjacent counties to verify that ten individual

permit holders within the proposed district have signed the

petition; and

3. If, upon consideration, it shall be found that such petition

is in conformity with the requirements of this act, and that such a

district should be created, the board of county commissioners shall

thereupon immediately declare the land described in the petition or

any part thereof to be incorporated as a district under the name of

"____ Groundwater Irrigation District" (inserting unique name of

irrigation district) and thereupon the district shall be a body

politic and corporate and an agency and legally constituted

authority of the State of Oklahoma for the public purposes set forth

in this act. The board of county commissioners shall thereupon

enter upon its records full minutes of such hearing, together with

its order creating the district under the corporate name for the

purposes of this act. Such districts shall not be political

corporations or subdivisions of the state within the meaning of any

constitutional debt limitations, nor shall the districts have any

power or authority to levy any taxes whatsoever or make any

assessments on property, real or personal.

B. After the county commissioners and the county commissioners

of any participating adjacent county have submitted a request for

the formation of a groundwater irrigation district, each county

board of commissioners shall assign members of the initial district

board. A county board of commissioners shall select three members

representing groundwater irrigation users within the county. If

multiple counties reside within the district, each county shall have

equal representation on the district board. Each of the three

members of the initial district board shall be groundwater permit

holders who irrigate in the county. District board members shall

serve without compensation.

Added by Laws 2019, c. 324, § 5, eff. Nov. 1, 2019.