Upon acceptance of a petition requesting the construction of an improvement, the supervisors of a soil and water conservation district shall begin to prepare, as a guide to the board of county commissioners and the petitioners, a preliminary report regarding the proposed improvement. The supervisors shall present the completed preliminary report at the hearing that is held on the proposed improvement.

The preliminary report shall include a preliminary estimate of cost, comments on the feasibility of the project, and a statement of the supervisors' opinion as to whether the benefits from the project are likely to exceed the estimated cost. The preliminary report shall identify all factors that are apparent to the supervisors, both favorable and unfavorable to the proposed improvement, so that the petitioners may be informed concerning what is involved with the construction of the improvement.

In addition to reporting on the improvement as petitioned, the supervisors may submit alternate proposals to accomplish the intent of the petition. The preliminary report and all alternate proposals shall be reviewed and receive concurrence from an engineer who is employed by the department of agriculture or by the natural resources conservation service in the United States department of agriculture and who is responsible for providing technical assistance to the district or from any other registered professional engineer whom the supervisors choose.

Added by 131st General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 64, §101.01, eff. 1/1/2016.