161A.47 - INSPECTION OF LAND ON COMPLAINT.
161A.47 INSPECTION OF LAND ON COMPLAINT.
1. The commissioners shall inspect or cause to be inspected any
land within the district to determine if land is being damaged by
sediment, from soil erosion occurring on neighboring land in excess
of the limits established by the district's soil erosion control
regulations. If the land is privately owned, the commissioners shall
make or cause to be made the inspection, upon receiving a written
complaint signed by an owner or occupant of land claiming that the
owner's or occupant's land is being damaged by sediment. If the land
is subject to a public interest, the commissioners shall make or
cause to be made the inspection upon a majority vote of commissioners
at an open meeting held pursuant to chapter 21. Land is subject to a
public interest if the land is publicly held, subject to an easement
held by the public, or the subject of an improvement made at public
expense.
2. If, after the inspection, the commissioners find that sediment
damages are occurring to land which is owned or occupied by the
person filing the complaint or subject to a public interest, and that
excess soil erosion is occurring on neighboring land, the
commissioners shall issue an administrative order to the landowner or
landowners of record, and to the occupant of the land if known to the
commissioners. The order shall describe the land and state as nearly
as possible the extent to which soil erosion on the land exceeds the
limits established by the district's regulations.
3. The order shall be delivered either by personal service or by
restricted certified mail to each of the persons to whom it is
directed, and shall:
a. In the case of erosion occurring on the site of any
construction project or similar undertaking involving the removal of
all or a major portion of the vegetation or other cover, exposing
bare soil directly to water or wind, state a time not more than five
days after service or mailing of the notice of the order when work
necessary to establish or maintain erosion control practices must be
commenced, and a time not more than thirty days after service or
mailing of the notice of the order when the work is to be
satisfactorily completed.
b. In all other cases, state a time not more than six months
after service or mailing of the notice of the order, by which work
needed to establish or maintain the necessary soil and water
conservation practices or erosion control measures must be commenced,
and a time not more than one year after the service or mailing of the
notice of the order when the work is to be satisfactorily completed,
unless the requirements of the order are superseded by the provisions
of section 161A.48. Section History: Early Form
[C73, 75, 77, 79, 81, § 467A.47] Section History: Recent Form
87 Acts, ch 23, § 33; 92 Acts, ch 1057, § 1
C93, § 161A.47
2009 Acts, ch 41, §202
Referred to in § 161A.48, 161A.49, 161A.61, 161A.64, 161A.66,
161A.71, 161A.74