Section 6101.181. Appropriation of property for sewer construction to address public health nuisance

(A) For the purposes of this section, either of the following constitutes a public exigency:

(1) A finding by the director of environmental protection that a public health nuisance caused by an occasion of unavoidable urgency and suddenness due to unsanitary conditions compels the immediate construction of sewers for the protection of the public health and welfare;

(2) The issuance of an order by the board of health of a health district to mitigate or abate a public health nuisance that is caused by an occasion of unavoidable urgency and suddenness due to unsanitary conditions and compels the immediate construction of sewers for the protection of the public health and welfare.

(B) If the board of directors of a conservancy district is unable to purchase property for the purpose of the construction of sewers to mitigate or abate the public health nuisance that is the subject of a finding of the director or an order of the board of health, the board of directors may adopt a resolution finding that it is necessary for the protection of the public health and welfare to appropriate property that the board of directors considers needed for that purpose. The resolution shall contain a definite, accurate, and detailed description of the property and the name and place of residence, if known or with reasonable diligence ascertainable, of the owners of the property to be appropriated.

The board of directors shall fix in its resolution what it considers to be the value of the property to be appropriated, which shall be the board's determination of the compensation for the property and shall be supported by an independent appraisal, together with any damages to the residue. The board shall deposit the compensation so determined, together with an amount for the damages to the residue, with the probate court or the court of common pleas of the county in which the property, or a part of it, is situated. Except as otherwise provided in this division, the power to appropriate property for the purposes of this division shall be exercised in the manner provided in sections 163.01 to 163.22 of the Revised Code for an appropriation in the time of public exigency. The board's resolution and a written copy of the independent appraisal shall accompany the petition filed under section 163.05 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 05-06-2005