Upon their qualification, the board shall prepare or cause to be prepared a plan for the improvements for which the district was created. Such plans shall include such maps, profiles, plans and other data and descriptions as may be necessary to set forth properly the location and character of the work, and of the property benefited or taken or damaged, with estimates of cost and specifications for doing the work.

In case the board of directors finds that any former survey made by any other district or in any other manner is useful for the purposes of the district, the board of directors may take over the data secured by such survey, or such other proceedings as may be useful to it, and may pay therefor an amount equal to the value of such data of such district. No construction shall be made under the authority of this act which will cause the flooding of any land, village or city or which will cause the water to back up into or on any land, village or city, unless the board of directors shall have acquired and paid for the right to use the land affected for such overflow purpose and shall have paid all damages incident thereto. No railroad shall be required to be constructed with a grade in excess of the ruling grade then existing upon that division of said railroad whereon said change is required, without just compensation. Upon the completion of such plan, the board shall file a copy of the plan with the court clerk of the court having jurisdiction of such district and cause the court clerk to give notice by publication as provided herein in each county of said district, of the completion of said plan, and shall permit the inspection thereof at his office, by all persons interested. Said notice shall fix the time and place for the hearing by the court of all objections to said plan, not less than ten (10) days nor more than thirty (30) days after the last publication of said notice. Any owner of land which will be benefited or directly affected by the construction, operation and maintenance of works proposed in said plan, whether inside or outside of said district, may object to the approval of said plan. All objections to said plan shall be in writing and be filed with the said court clerk at least five (5) days before the date of hearing fixed in said notice, provided, however, that the court, for good cause shown, shall have authority to extend the time for filing said objections in its discretion. If at said date the owners of a majority of the area of land in the said district shall file a protest and objection to the plan as a whole, then the court shall order an assessment of the properties in said district sufficient to pay the cost of the proceedings up to said time, said costs to be fixed by the court, and to be prorated equally upon the property included in said district, provided, however, that no assessment for said purpose shall be more than twenty cents ($0.20) per acre on agricultural lands. Upon the collection of said assessments the court shall order said district dissolved. If said district be not dissolved by the court, the court shall hear said objections and adopt, reject or refer back said plan to said board of directors. If said court shall reject said plan, then said board shall proceed as in the first instance under this section to prepare another plan.

If the court should refer back said plan to said board for amendment, then the court shall continue the hearing to a day certain without publication of notice.

If the court refers back said plan to said board, then a certified copy of said journal entry of said court shall be filed with the secretary of the board of directors, and by him be incorporated into the records of the district. The official plan may be altered in detail from time to time until the assessment roll is filed, and of all such alterations the appraisers shall take notice. But after the assessment roll has been filed in court, no alterations of the official plan shall be made except as provided herein.

Laws 1923-24, c. 139, p. 168, § 13; Laws 1955, p. 473, § 4; Laws 1959, p. 376, § 4; Laws 1967, c. 382, § 3, emerg. eff. May 23, 1967.