Drainage board approves Artesian Place encroachment, requires hold-harmless and recording

The Borden County Drainage Board on May 5 approved a developers request to encroach into the Hilldale Cemetery Drain regulated drain easement at Artesian Place and separately approved an outlet pipe design, with the developer required to sign a recorded hold-harmless agreement and meet engineering specifications.

The approvals came after StructurePoint engineer Joshua Scribe Kreibar laid out two exhibits showing the proposed disturbance and outlet. "Exhibit 1, the red line, is the regulated drain limits of their easement, the 75 foot easement line from the top of the bank," Kreibar said, describing the extent of the regulated drain easement and the developers plan to place a mostly subsurface pipe and detention facilities outside the easement where possible.

Board members said the encroachment leaves roughly 30 to 32 feet from the top of bank to the edge of the detention facility at the headwaters. The design includes an emergency overflow armored with riprap that will cross the easement and discharge into the regulated drain; board members asked that the overflow be armored and that spoils not be placed in overflow routes.

Bill, the surveyor presenting the item, said the board would require the developer to sign a hold-harmless agreement and record the documents. "They'll have to sign a hold harmless agreement," Bill said, and the board directed the developer to record both the encroachment instrument and the outlet design and deliver recorded copies to the county office.

Residents and the developer discussed site access and the presence of easements through backyards. One resident asked, "Who am I calling?" expressing concern about heavy equipment entering what would be private yards above the drain; board staff and surveyor representatives explained the existing drainage easement and where equipment would access the site, including from Artesian Avenue and from a 30-foot drainage easement north of Lot 6.

On separate motions, the board voted to accept exhibit 1 (the setback/encroachment) and, later, exhibit 2 (the outlet alignment and depth). The board recorded the motions and vocal ayes; both motions passed. The board also required the outlet structure to be set at an angle and armored to reduce the chance that debris would snag the outlet.

Board members noted engineering constraints at the top of the headwaters that limit excavation depth and spoil placement. Kreibar said the detention design limits excavation depth because the site is at the top of the system, and he described an emergency overflow notch intended to route excess stormwater into the drain without allowing future spoil to block the path.

The developer was told to record the plat language as requested by the surveyor: remove the separate 30-foot building setback-line notation along the stream to avoid confusion and label the regulated drain easement as the "Morgan County regulated drain easement" on the recorded plat. The board said it would keep a recorded copy on file and that the developer is liable if the engineering assumptions (including 2 feet of cover over the pipe) prove insufficient.

The boards action concludes the review stage at the drainage-board level; the recorded documents must be provided to the county office before construction work under these approvals begins.