The judges of the Conservancy Court of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District have reviewed the progress MWCD officials have made in preparation of the proposal to fund a 20-year, $270-million maintenance plan for improvement of water quality and enhancement of flood reduction in the Muskingum River Watershed. The Court directed the Board of Appraisers to hold a public meeting to allow comment on the assessment methodology.
During a meeting held Jan. 21 in the Tuscarawas County Courthouse at New Philadelphia, the 18-member Conservancy Court heard reports from the Conservancy District’s Executive Director, the Commander of the Huntington District of the United States Army Corp of Engineers, MWCD’s consulting engineer and an economist. The court also considered a legal memorandum submitted by MWCD Chief Legal Counsel James J. Pringle summarizing the legal framework for the appraisal of benefits and assessment process, including the opportunity for affected landowners to file an appeal to the Conservancy Court.
By law, the Board of Appraisers is responsible for development of the process and procedure for a conservancy district assessment, including an appraisal of benefits. Members of the MWCD Board of Appraisers are Thomas Roe of Wooster, James Navratil of Medina and Mark Waltz of Dover.
Probably the most significant information provided to the Court came from Michael Lawrence, an economist and president of Jack Faucett Associates, a nationally recognized firm with extensive experience in the area of cost-benefit analysis. Mr. Lawrence reported that his firm is nearing completion of its work and predicts a benefit to cost ratio of 15 to 1.
“For every assessment dollar MWCD spends in furtherance of this maintenance plan, fifteen dollars of benefit will be produced in the region,” Lawrence concluded. He added that employment impacts from project construction and operation, together with the tourism related industry could produce nearly 1000 jobs annually in the region.
Pringle reminded the judges that the Court is required by Ohio law to determine that the benefits must exceed the costs before the maintenance assessment can be levied.
The MWCD, the largest of the 21 conservancy districts in the state, is believed to be the only active district that does not collect an assessment for maintenance of its facilities, according to John Hoopingarner, Executive Director of the MWCD. Funding for the plan, as provided in Ohio law, would come from an assessment of the owners of the estimated 700,000 parcels of property in the watershed. Conservancy District officials have estimated the assessment will cost the owners of residential and agricultural properties in its 18-county jurisdiction about $12 per parcel annually. This compares favorably to the average assessment for the same class of property in the Maumee Conservancy District of $13.26, in the Miami Conservancy District of $86.00, and in the Hocking Conservancy District of $126.00. An estimate for commercial/industrial parcels continues to be developed.
Hoopingarner informed the Court of more than 40 public meetings MWCD has held to provide information to the residents and community leaders in the 18 county region about this plan for renewal of the Muskingum River Watershed.
“The Amendment to the Official Plan, properly funded, will allow MWCD to fulfill its mission and will provide benefits far beyond our comprehension today,” Hoopingarner stressed.
Colonel William E. Bulen, Jr., Commander, Huntington District, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, stressed the importance of ongoing maintenance of the dams and reservoirs in the Muskingum system.
“There are critical needs that must be met and this initiative will be an important step toward meeting those needs,” Bulen said.
Bulen also reminded the Court of the record levels of floodwaters retained by the dams and reservoirs in January 2005, preventing more than $400 million in damages.
In another report Jim Rozelle, a civil engineer with the firm Fuller, Mossbarger, Scott and May Engineers, presented information regarding the methodology for the assessment being considered by the Board of Appraisers. With more than 40 years experience in watershed management, Rozelle is considered by many as the state’s leading authority on conservancy districts. His firm has developed a geographic information system (GIS) that will organize and manage the data necessary to implement the maintenance assessment.
Near the conclusion of the more than three hour hearing, the Court agreed that it will reconvene again on February 25 in New Philadelphia to review the final methodology report of the Board of Appraisers. It also ordered the Board of Appraisers to hold a public meeting on February 16 to explain the methodology of the maintenance assessment and to allow public comment on the Plan. The time and location of the Feb.16 meeting will be announced. A transcript of the proceedings of the public meeting will be made and provided to the Conservancy Court for its review prior to the February 25 Conservancy Court hearing.
Thereafter, it is the intent of the Board of Appraisers to file the Conservancy Appraisal Record on or about February 28. After the required legal review period and an opportunity is given for property owners to formally object to the assessment on their individual parcels, the MWCD will present the assessment report to the Conservancy Court to consider in June or July.
If it is approved by the Conservancy Court, the Board of Directors may then levy the assessment. Collection of the assessment has been projected to begin in 2007.
Funds generated through collection of the assessment will be used for maintenance and improvements of the flood reduction system originally constructed in the 1930s. By law, funds cannot be used to pay for any improvements related to recreation programs, such as new boat launch ramps, campground facilities and others.
Since their inception, the dams and reservoirs in the MWCD region have prevented an estimated $6 billion worth of potential property damage from flooding. In the January 2005 flood alone, more than $400 million worth of property damage was averted.
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, which are showing the effects of sedimentation, erosion and other issues that can have a negative impact on flood reduction and water quality benefits.
In 2005, the MWCD Board of Directors and Conservancy Court approved the Amendment to the Official Plan of the MWCD, which is the $270-million maintenance plan to protect flood reduction benefits in the MWCD system of dams and reservoirs, as well as to promote water quality in the region.
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, 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, including a complete copy of the Amendment to the Official Plan, visit www.mwcd.org on the Internet.
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