North Dakota districts form joint boards for shared water projects

Districts form and remain members of a joint water resource board by agreement. This applies to districts in the Red River, James River, Mouse River, Missouri River, and Devils Lake drainage basins. The districts must file their agreements and later amendments with the Department of Water Resources.

Districts from two or more counties create a joint board before building a project or assessing property for it. This applies to a project located in or benefiting more than one county. If districts do not agree to a joint project, a district in one of the five named basins may proceed after notifying the joint board and providing an engineer's report. The project must be found necessary, and its benefits must exceed its costs. The board or district follows the required procedures, including an assessment vote. The joint board must be created before construction begins and before property is assessed.

Joint board members seek help from the North Dakota mediation service when they cannot agree about a project or its assessments. This applies when joint board members disagree about whether a project is needed, how to carry it out, or how to assess benefits. Each board member must take part in mediation in good faith. If a majority does not accept the proposed agreement, a board member may appeal to the Department of Water Resources within 30 days. A member may appeal the department's decision to district court if a majority does not accept it. The mediation service issues a proposed agreement within 30 days after mediation ends. A department appeal must be filed within 30 days of that proposal; the department must decide within 60 days after receiving the appeal.

A water resource board may ask district court to review and confirm a contract, assessment, warrant, or other special action. This applies to water resource boards, including a board in a shared river basin when another board does not meet or cooperate in good faith as required. A request may include asking another board to cooperate under the cross-county project rules. The court may award reasonable legal fees and costs if a board fails to cooperate or act in good faith under those rules.