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<br />;:.i;\F'';;' <br /> <br />m <br />-:"'.} <br />('t"J <br />.... <br /> <br />'- -=-) <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />Aqenda Item 18 <br />January 2l. 1987 <br /> <br />Discussion <br /> <br />With respect to item l, i~riqation districts already have <br />the authority to levy assessments upon real estate within a <br />district. The only thinq that the pr~posed leqislation would <br />do is allow a district to levy a special assessment, as o~posed <br />to a qeneral assessment. In other words, assessments lev1ed <br />under current law must be applied equally to all property <br />within the district. A special assessment, on the other hand, <br />would permit a district to assess differentially the lands in <br />the district. <br /> <br />This power is necessary so that districts can avoid <br />inequitable treatment of land owners since not all lands will <br />receive the benefits of the improvements in laterals which the <br />salinity control proqram will result. in. This is particularly <br />so in the Mesa County and Palisade Irriqation Districts, where <br />sUbdivision of land has taken land out of irriqation, which <br />lands will not benefit from the improvements of the laterals. <br />This is why these two districts believe that this provision is <br />needed. <br /> <br />with respect to item 2, the draft bill has been reworded to <br />make it clear that the only thinq exempted from the review and <br />approval of the State Enqineer and the Irriqation District <br />Commission are lateral improvements. While it is not <br />anticipated, should a salinity control project ever include <br />provisions for dams and reservoirs, the rewordinq insures that <br />all of the authorities of the State Enqineer with respect to <br />dam safety will remain intact. <br /> <br />The districts feel that review of lateral improvements <br />planned and desiqned by the Bureau of Reclamation would serve <br />no purpose. Furthermore, imposinq such a requirement on <br />irriqation districts would be discriminatory in view of the <br />fact that other entities which will participate in the salinity <br />control proqram will not underqo such review because they are <br />not irriqation districts. <br /> <br />with respect to item 3, the power of eminent domain, which <br />the leqislation would qrant is not the power to condemn water <br />riqhts. It is a power which qoes only to the authority to <br />condemn .open ditch laterals in order that they miqht be placed <br />into pipe for the purposes of the salinity control proqram. <br />While both the irriqation districts and t would expect the <br />proqram to qo forward almost entirely on a voluntary basis, the <br />possibility un~ortunately exists that a sinqle lateral owner <br /> <br />-2- <br />