The clerk of the board of county commissioners shall certify to the county engineer immediately, after the requirements of section 6131.12 of the Revised Code have been met, a copy of the findings and orders of the board of county commissioners in favor of an improvement. The engineer shall make the necessary survey for the proposed improvement. The engineer shall make plans for structures, maps showing the location of the land proposed to be assessed, and profiles showing the cuttings and gradient of the improvement and shall make an estimate of the cost of the construction of the improvement, which shall include actual construction cost, the cost of engineering, and the cost of notices, publication, and other incidental expenses. The engineer shall recommend the maintenance district in which the improvement shall be placed. The assessment of the improvement for maintenance for one year shall be added to the cost of construction in making the actual assessment and shall be credited to the maintenance fund of the district.

The county engineer shall set proper construction stakes and shall note the intersection of the line of the improvement with the apparent land boundaries of separate owners, township and county lines, natural landmarks, road crossings, or other lines or marks. The engineer shall take and note any necessary levels off the line of the improvement to determine the area of the land subject to drainage.

The engineer shall also establish, at intervals of not less than one in each mile, in the most practicable permanent form, and in locations where destruction or disturbance is improbable, bench marks from which the original levels of the improvement can be established. The bench marks and all levels of the improvement shall be based upon some established elevation of the geological survey of the United States, if any, in the county, and the relation of any assumed elevation used by the engineer in the work upon any improvement to the elevation established by the geological survey shall be accurately stated in the engineer's report. The engineer shall make a plan of the work proposed to be done, which shall show the grade, the depth, the excavating to be done, the location of the permanent bench marks and their actual elevation above or below the base elevation used, and such other data as in the judgment of the engineer will aid in retracing lines, levels, or other features of the improvement. The plan shall indicate the profile and the nature of the excavation.

As soon as the engineer has completed the maps, profiles, and plans for the improvement, the engineer shall transmit copies thereof to the director of natural resources, the director of transportation when a state highway is affected, and the board of directors of any conservancy district within which any part of the lands or streams affected by the proposed improvement may lie. The director of natural resources, the director of transportation, and the directors of the conservancy district shall review the plans submitted and within thirty days file with the county engineer a report indicating approval or, in case that approval cannot be given, a report with recommendations.

The approval or report with recommendations, which, where appropriate, shall include recommendations regarding the use of best management practices that are consistent with the prayer of the petition, shall be transmitted by the engineer to the board of county commissioners, who shall take notice of the approval or recommendations and shall authorize the engineer to make any changes or alterations that in the judgment of the board are necessary or desirable.

Upon receipt of approval of the plans by the director of natural resources, the director of transportation, and the directors of any conservancy districts affected, or upon completion of any changes authorized by the board of county commissioners, the engineer shall file with the clerk of the board of county commissioners all maps, profiles, and plans as provided by this section.

The engineer shall prepare specifications for the construction of the improvement. The engineer shall specify a width of temporary easement for construction purposes. The specifications shall provide for spreading and leveling of spoil banks and shall provide for erosion and sediment control through the establishment of a sod or seeded strip not fewer than four feet nor more than fifteen feet wide, measured at right angles to the top of the ditch bank, on both sides of the ditch, except where suitable vegetative cover exists. The strip or other such controls shall be considered a part of the permanent improvement. Sod or seeded strips established and maintained in excess of four feet shall be compensated for by their removal from the taxable valuation of the property of which they are a part. The engineer shall make estimates of the cost of excavating and of the cost of material and may divide the construction of the improvement into construction areas as considered expedient. The engineer shall make a note of all fences, floodgates, culverts, or bridges that will be removed in constructing the improvement and of all culverts or bridges that must be adjusted or the channel of which must be enlarged to construct the improvement.

In estimating the cost of an improvement, the engineer may include the cost of installing gates in fences on the reserved right-of-way where needed to provide access for maintenance. The gates shall be kept locked when requested by the owner and shall be considered a part of the original improvement and subject to maintenance as provided by sections 6137.01 to 6137.12 of the Revised Code. The engineer shall make an estimate of the cost of inspecting the work as it progresses and shall, with the assistance of the prosecuting attorney, prepare forms for contracts with bidders and forms of bid guaranties that meet the requirements of section 153.54 of the Revised Code. Upon the acceptance of the contract work, the engineer shall file with the county recorder a property plat showing the general location of the improvement and a statement describing the width of permanent easement for maintenance as provided for in section 6137.12 of the Revised Code. The engineer shall make an itemized bill of the costs and expenses incurred in the proper discharge of duties set forth in this section and shall file the maps, profiles, plans, schedules, and reports with the clerk of the board of county commissioners upon completing them.

Effective Date: 10-20-1999 .