PETITION TO COURT FOR DRAINAGE
§ 721. Petition to quarter sessions.
§ 722. Viewers.
§ 723. Report and expenses of viewers.
§ 724. Proceedings before viewers.
§ 725. Confirmation of report of viewers; construction and repair of drains; overflow of lands.APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSIONERS
§ 731. Drainage of lands of several owners.
§ 732. Commissioners; appointment; powers, etc.
§ 733. Estimate of damage.
§ 734. Method of assessment.
§ 735. Portion of expense to be borne by township.
§ 736. Appeal from verdict of commissioners.
§ 741 to 744. [Repealed.]
When the owner or owners of wet or spouty land shall desire to improve the same for agricultural purposes by surface or under drains, or both, and when for any cause it becomes necessary to extend said drains upon or over the land of other owners in order to render them effectual, the person or persons, so desiring to drain, may present a petition to the court of quarter sessions of the county wherein such land may be, setting forth the situation thereof, and the necessity for an extension of the proposed drain or drains upon or over the land of such other owners, and specifying the probable extent.
Thereupon the said court shall appoint three viewers, from the board of county viewers, to view the proposed drain or drains, and, if they or a majority shall agree that there is occasion for an extension of such drain or drains in order to effect the agricultural improvement and development of said land, they or a majority of them shall proceed to lay out the same, having respect to the shortest distance and the best ground for the location thereof, and in such manner as shall do the least injury to private property.
The viewers shall make report of their proceedings to the next term of said court, and shall, in such report, assess the damages on behalf of the person entitled thereto, if any, in their opinion, will ensue from such extension. The report shall also be accompanied with a plot or draft of the drain or drains by them laid out, specifying whether the same shall be surface or under drains. The expense of the said view shall be paid by the persons applying for the same.
The proceedings before the said viewers, the assessment of damages for property injured, and the proceedings, upon said report, in the court in which it is filed, shall be in conformity with the law provided for the laying out and opening of public roads.
Upon the production of proof before the court that the damages so assessed have been paid to the party to whom the same were awarded, or to the clerk of the court of quarter sessions for the use of such party, the court may confirm the report and thereupon issue and order authorizing the party petitioning to excavate and construct said drain or drains in the manner as laid out and directed in and by said report.
The petitioner, his heirs and assigns, are empowered and required to keep and maintain said drain or drains in good order and repair, and, in default thereof, the court shall have power upon due proof of the facts to them made, and after full hearing, to order and direct the said drain or drains to be closed up and vacated.
Nothing contained in this act shall authorize the overflowing of any land not specifically provided for in the report.
Any swampy or wet lands, belonging to several owners, disjointly, may be drained at the common expense, under the following regulations.
Upon the petition of a majority of said owners of such wet or swampy lands, forming a continuous swamp or marsh, the court of quarter sessions of the county, or if lying within two counties, the nearest court, shall appoint three disinterested persons, who shall be commissioners, with power to view the wet lands described; and if in their judgment to drain them shall be practicable, they shall proceed to lay out a drain, measuring the length and ascertaining the depth, as near as may be with ordinary facilities; they shall also have power, and it shall be their duty, to make a survey of such swampy or wet land, to get its contents and quantity owned by each landholder, and make an estimate of the cost of constructing said drain.
Said commissioners shall also estimate the damage sustained by any of said landholders, or any other person, by the construction of such drain; also the proportion of the cost of construction to be borne by each landowner owning land.
In assessing the amount to be borne by each landowner of the cost of opening such drain, the estimate shall be made with reference to, and based upon, both the amount of land made useless by such swamp and the benefits which will result from such improvement, and in no case to exceed the estimated benefits.
If, in the judgment of the commissioners, the swamp is a public nuisance, then they shall have power to say what portion of the expense shall be borne by the township or townships in which said swamp lies.
If any one of the parties shall feel aggrieved by the assessment and verdict of the commissioners, then, upon his appeal and petition, the court shall appoint six disinterested commissioners to review the whole case and report, and their report, when confirmed by the court, shall be final.
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