The Benton County drainage authority met Nov. 4 to consider a petition filed under Minnesota Statutes §103E.805 seeking removal of 0.33 acres from the benefited area of County Ditch 12.

Cale, the drainage authority attorney, summarized the petition and the legal standard: if the board finds the property "is not and will not be benefited by the drainage system," the statute authorizes removal. He described the practical effect: removed acreage would no longer be subject to assessments for construction, repair or maintenance of Ditch 12.

County Engineer Chris Byrd presented maps and stated the petition parcel (parcel ID 08-00376-1) is a 16.67-acre parcel with only 0.33 acres currently listed in the benefited area on the 2022 redetermination of benefits. Byrd said the viewers recommended removing the 0.33 acres after earlier removals of roughly 54.97 acres from the watershed due to private drainage to the north.

During public comment, Eugene Stopnecker, who said he farms adjacent land, opposed removing the parcel from the benefited area. "There's at least 15 to 20 acres that drain to the east off of this piece of ground," Stopnecker told the board, and he warned that granting the petition could open "the floodgates" for similar requests.

Staff and commissioners discussed next steps. Staff confirmed they had not been able to go on the Schmidt property for a site visit and indicated petitioners asserting they benefit from the ditch may need to provide evidence such as a topographic survey. Staff also stated that $135,150 has already been spent for reestablishment of drainage records and related work; that amount will be assessed.

The drainage authority voted to set the public hearing on the petition for Dec. 16 at 10:00 a.m. The board instructed staff to notify the petitioner of required costs for the process and to prepare draft findings for the authority to consider at the continued hearing.

What’s next: The authority will accept public testimony at the Dec. 16 hearing, receive staff’s draft findings, and then decide whether to remove the 0.33 acres from the benefited area, deny the petition, or continue the hearing for additional work.