Hearings for MWCD Exception Filings to be Extended
New hearing dates will be assigned for property owners who have filed exceptions to the appraisal of benefits in the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District's assessment proposal.
The MWCD Conservancy Court previously scheduled court hearings for property owners who have filed exceptions in each of the 18 counties of the MWCD's jurisdiction. Hearings were scheduled to begin April 19. Exceptors do not need to appear for the originally scheduled hearing date.
In order to provide adequate time for individual cases to be heard, the Court has ordered that all property owners who have filed exceptions will receive two notices by regular mail from the Clerk of the Conservancy Court. The first notice, expected to be mailed soon, will inform all exceptors that they will receive a new hearing date and that they need not appear for the originally scheduled date. The second notice will inform exceptors of the date, time and place of their individual hearing.
The MWCD Board of Appraisers filed the Conservancy Appraisal Record last month, reporting that future benefits have been appraised at $2.5 billion in the 18-county conservancy district. The filing is required by Ohio law as part of the process to generate funding for a 20-year, $270-million plan to maintain and improve flood reduction and enhance water quality in the Muskingum River Watershed.
The Conservancy Appraisal Record, which describes all of the parcels affected, the amount of benefits appraised and the amount of estimated yearly assessments, was filed with the Conservancy Court Clerk, in the office of the Tuscarawas County Clerk of Courts. Copies of the Conservancy Appraisal Record for each county are on file in the offices of the Clerk of Courts of Ashland, Belmont, Carroll, Coshocton, Guernsey, Harrison, Holmes, Knox, Licking, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Richland, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas, Washington and Wayne counties.
MWCD also has placed the Conservancy Appraisal Record on its website at www.mwcd.org, where individual owners can review the estimated annual assessment related to their properties.
The assessment will generate funding for projects to maintain and improve flood reduction and water quality programs in the watershed. If final approval is given to the plan later this summer, collection of the assessment and projects in the work plan would begin in 2007.
Since its inception, the MWCD system of reservoirs and dams has prevented more than $6 billion worth of potential property damage from flooding, according to federal government estimates. An independent study of the potential benefits of the MWCD maintenance and improvement plan estimates that once enacted, the region will receive about $2.5 billion in future benefits compared to its initial $270-million investment. The plan also will lead to the protection and creation of jobs with contracts enacted with private firms for much of the work.
By law, funds collected from the MWCD assessment cannot be used to pay for improvements related to recreation programs, such as boat launch ramps, camping facilities and others.
Projects that have been identified to be addressed over the 20-year time period include working with the federal government for dam safety improvements, as well as work on sediment removal, shoreline protection, water quality improvements, watershed management and reservoir operations. The MWCD manages the reservoirs behind the dams in the system, while the federal U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates the dams.
MWCD officials have been discussing the plan and developing details of the assessment proposal since 2003, when the Court authorized work to begin. In 2005 alone, Conservancy District officials provided details about the plan in more than 40 public meetings and in dozens of presentations to business, social and professional groups and organizations.
Through its 70-plus-year history, the MWCD has operated on revenue generated primarily from the use of its facilities through various fee structures and the stewardship of its natural resources. However, this funding alone cannot address the large-scale needs and costs associated with the aging system.
The 14 MWCD reservoirs are: Atwood in Carroll and Tuscarawas counties; Beach City in Tuscarawas County; Bolivar in Stark and Tuscarawas counties; Charles Mill in Ashland and Richland counties; Clendening in Harrison County; Dover in Tuscarawas County; Leesville in Carroll County; Mohawk in Coshocton and Knox counties; Mohicanville in Ashland and Wayne counties; Piedmont in Belmont, Guernsey and Harrison counties; Pleasant Hill in Ashland and Richland counties; Seneca in Guernsey and Noble counties; Tappan in Harrison County; and Wills Creek in Coshocton and Muskingum counties. Two other reservoirs in the system, Dillon in Muskingum County and North Branch Kokosing in Knox County, were constructed after the original 14 and are operated exclusively by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The 18 counties wholly or partially contained in the MWCD region are Ashland, Belmont, Carroll, Coshocton, Guernsey, Harrison, Holmes, Knox, Licking, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Richland, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas, Wayne and Washington.
For more information, visit www.mwcd.org on the Internet.
