CHAPTER 9. WATERWAY MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS
IC 8-10-9
Chapter 9. Waterway Management Districts
IC 8-10-9-1
Application of chapter
Sec. 1. This chapter applies to a city having a population of more
than thirty-two thousand (32,000) but less than thirty-two thousand
eight hundred (32,800).
As added by P.L.56-1994, SEC.2. Amended by P.L.170-2002,
SEC.65.
IC 8-10-9-2
Definitions
Sec. 2. (a) The definitions in this section apply throughout this
chapter.
(b) "Confined disposal facility" means a structure, an enclosure,
a receptacle, or a disposal area established:
(1) by an agency or instrumentality of the state or federal
government; and
(2) for the purpose of storing, retaining, disposing of, isolating,
or holding dredgings or excavated material from the banks or
bottom of a waterway;
within a district created by this chapter.
(c) "District" means a waterway management district established
under section 3 of this chapter.
(d) "Waterway" means a canal, river, channel, or stream that is
navigable for a substantial portion of its length by boats, barges,
ships, or other watercraft for both commercial and recreational
purposes.
As added by P.L.56-1994, SEC.2.
IC 8-10-9-3
Establishment of district; boundaries
Sec. 3. (a) There is established in each city to which this chapter
applies a waterway management district.
(b) The district includes all territory, including both dry land and
water, within a distance of one-half (1/2) mile on either side of the
center line of any waterway within the city in which the district is
established, excluding the land and water occupied by any marina
owned by a unit of government located in the corridor (as defined in
IC 14-13-3-2).
(c) The district boundary is formed by an imaginary line one-half
(1/2) mile distant from the center line of a waterway in all directions.
However, the boundary of the district does not extend beyond the
boundaries of the city in which the district is located in those areas
where the city boundary is located less than one-half (1/2) mile from
the center line of a waterway.
As added by P.L.56-1994, SEC.2. Amended by P.L.1-1995, SEC.57.
IC 8-10-9-4
Powers and jurisdiction of district
Sec. 4. (a) The district is a body corporate and politic that may sue
or be sued and plead and be impleaded. The district has the powers
and jurisdiction provided in this chapter.
(b) The exercise by the district of the district's powers is an
essential governmental function of the state and the city in which the
district is located, but the district is not immune from liability.
As added by P.L.56-1994, SEC.2.
IC 8-10-9-5
Purposes of district
Sec. 5. The district is established for the following purposes:
(1) To manage and supervise, in conjunction with other state
and federal authorities, the industrial, commercial, and
recreational development of the waterways in the city in which
the district is formed.
(2) To assist other agencies of local, state, and federal
governments to manage, maintain, and promote the use of the
waterways in the city in which the district is formed.
(3) To foster use of the canal in an environmentally responsible
manner.
(4) To provide for the orderly planning for waterways.
(5) To plan for, develop, and maintain roads, bridges,
approaches, locks, gates, and other structures in connection with
a waterway within the jurisdiction of the district consistent with
the obligations and jurisdiction of other agencies of the federal
or state government.
(6) It is the goal of the waterway projects and activities
performed under this chapter to improve the commercial and
recreational use of waterways in an environmentally sound
manner, and to promote the economic development of the city
in which the district is located.
As added by P.L.56-1994, SEC.2.
IC 8-10-9-6
Board of directors; members
Sec. 6. (a) The district shall be governed by a board of directors
consisting of seven (7) members, four (4) of whom are appointed by
the executive of the city in which the district is formed, two (2) of
whom are appointed by the governor, and one (1) of whom is
appointed by the legislative body of the city in which the district is
formed.
(b) Members of the board serve terms of three (3) years. A
member's term may be extended by any partial term to which the
member was appointed to fill a vacancy.
(c) Five (5) members of the board of directors must be qualified
electors of the city in which the district is formed. Two (2) members
need not be residents of the city in which the district is formed but
shall be representatives of property owners of land that borders
waterways within the district. One (1) of the two (2) members shall
be among the members appointed by the mayor, and one (1) shall be
among the members appointed by the governor.
(d) The appointing authority shall fill all vacancies of members
appointed by that authority.
As added by P.L.56-1994, SEC.2.
IC 8-10-9-7
Board of directors; meetings; records; quorum
Sec. 7. (a) The board of directors shall meet in a public place
within the city in which the district is formed after giving notice.
(b) The board shall annually elect one (1) of its members as
president and another member as vice president. The board shall
designate a secretary who need not be a member of the board.
(c) The board shall cause a detailed written record to be kept in
the form of minutes of all of the board's meetings, and the board shall
meet at least four (4) times annually.
(d) A majority of the board members actually serving constitutes
a quorum for any purpose.
As added by P.L.56-1994, SEC.2.
IC 8-10-9-8
Board of directors; powers and duties
Sec. 8. The board of directors of a district has and may exercise
the following powers and duties:
(1) To manage and supervise, to the extent permitted by the
laws of the state or the United States, the development of
waterways and of related roads, highways, bridges, locks, and
structures within the jurisdiction of the district.
(2) To assist other agencies of state and local government
having jurisdiction over the waterways within the district.
(3) To enter into contracts in furtherance of the district's
purposes including, without limitation, the construction and
maintenance of waterway related facilities, including
wastewater pre-treatment plants, pumps, wells, locks, wharves,
piers, bridges, roads, highways, confined disposal facilities, and
similar structures.
(4) To employ a professional staff to assist the board in carrying
out its duties and to engage consultants, attorneys, accountants,
and other professional personnel who are necessary to carry out
the duties of the board.
(5) To prepare a budget annually, and to appropriate funds for
the discharge of the district's purposes and duties; provided that
the district shall neither appropriate nor expend any funds to
support the construction, operation, or maintenance of any
casino gaming boat, dock, or related facility.
(6) To raise funds by the imposition of user fees for waterways
and public facilities in the district's jurisdiction subject to the
following:
(A) The fees shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars
($100,000) per year for the state fiscal years beginning July
1, 1994, and July 1, 1995.
(B) The fees shall not exceed two hundred thousand dollars
($200,000) per year for the state fiscal year beginning July
1, 1996.
(C) The fees shall not exceed three hundred thousand dollars
($300,000) per year for the state fiscal year beginning July
1, 1997.
(D) The fees shall not exceed four hundred thousand dollars
($400,000) per year for the state fiscal year beginning July
1, 1998.
(E) The fees shall not exceed five hundred thousand dollars
($500,000) per year thereafter.
(F) The fees shall be deposited into a nonreverting fund to be
expended by the district in the discharge of its functions.
These fees shall be imposed on all owners of property adjacent to
waterways and users of waterways and may not exceed seventy-five
thousand dollars ($75,000) per year for any single owner or user.
(7) To act as a local sponsoring agency under contract or
memorandum of understanding with any private party or any
agency of the state government or the government of the United
States in furtherance of the purposes, powers, and duties of the
district.
(8) To accept grants, transfers, payments, or other conveyances
of money or property in the capacity of a trustee or fiduciary in
a special nonreverting fund under terms agreeable by the district
and by the person, entity, individual, or agency providing the
money or property for the purpose of:
(A) managing funds for the cleanup, environmental
remediation, and closure of any real property on or adjacent
to the waterway within the district; or
(B) establishing waste water pre-treatment plants, pumps,
related equipment, and other structures, equipment, and
fixtures required to maintain a confined disposal facility or
similar structure on or near any waterway within the
jurisdiction of the district.
(9) To perform studies and establish plans for the use and
development of waterways within the district's jurisdiction in an
environmentally responsible manner.
(10) To acquire and dispose of real or personal property by
grant, gift, purchase, lease, devise, or otherwise.
(11) To hold, use, improve, maintain, operate, own, manage, or
lease (as lessor or lessee) real or personal property, or any
interest in that property.
(12) To act, when requested, as a coordinating agency for
programs and activities of other public and private agencies that
are related to its purposes.
As added by P.L.56-1994, SEC.2.