On approval of a plan submitted in accordance with § 26–404 of this title, the county commissioners or county council shall appoint a board of viewers composed of at least three impartial individuals who reside in the vicinity of the area of the drainage association. A member of the board of viewers may not be a landowner. If a drainage project described in a plan is located in more than one county, at least one member of the board of viewers shall be from each county in which the drainage project is located. An individual who is appointed as a member of a board of viewers may not act in that capacity until the individual provides written notice of acceptance of the appointment to the county commissioners or county council. If any member of the board of viewers dies, moves from a county in which the area of the drainage association is located, or otherwise is unable to act, the county commissioners or county council shall appoint a replacement as soon as feasible. The appointment of a replacement does not affect the validity of any work of the board of viewers. Each member of a board of viewers and the engineer is entitled to receive compensation for each day spent on duties as agreed by the county commissioners or county council and the members and engineer appointed under § 26–503 of this subtitle.

At least 10 days before proceeding with its duties, the board of viewers shall: post a notice of its intention to proceed at four public places in the area described in the petition; publish a notice in a newspaper of general circulation published in each county in which the lands to be viewed are located; and send a copy of the notice to the county commissioners or county council, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the State Soil Conservation Committee in the Department of Agriculture.

On receipt of a copy of the plan from the county commissioners or county council, a board of viewers shall: engage the services of a private engineer; or use the services of an engineer of a local, State, or federal unit of government; enter and view, with the individuals described in item (1) of this subsection, the land described in the petition; make careful and thorough examination of the land described in the petition and of other land if necessary to locate properly the project that is the subject of the petition; include in the area of the proposed drainage association all land that would be benefited and exclude any land described in the petition that it determines would not be benefited by the proposed improvement; conduct surveys to determine the boundaries and elevations of the area and to develop a plan for the project; and lay out on the ground a plainly and substantially marked line of each ditch or drain or other improvement that it considers necessary. A board of viewers shall consider as damages, without regard to any benefit that would result from the proposed drainage project: the value of land taken for construction of the proposed drainage project; inconvenience imposed by the construction of the proposed drainage project; and other lawfully compensable damages.

A board of viewers: shall determine the amount sufficient to pay: the cost of constructing or improving a proposed drainage project; any damages awarded; any compensation for an existing drainage project that the board of viewers adopts in accordance with § 26–505 of this subtitle; the expenses of the board of viewers; and the costs of establishing the drainage association; shall subtract from the amount determined under item (1) of this subsection any amounts received from the county commissioners or county council or any other source; and shall assess each landowner, including the State or a political subdivision of the State, that will derive a benefit from the proposed drainage project a proportion of the amount described in item (2) of this subsection, based on the benefits that would accrue to the tract of land from the drainage project. Notwithstanding any other law, the county commissioners or county council may: contribute toward the costs of a drainage project authorized under this title from general funds of the county; or allocate toward the costs of any drainage project any other money that is available for the drainage project.

A board of viewers may adopt an existing drainage project as a whole drainage project or as a part of a drainage project, under this title. If an existing drainage project is adopted by the board of viewers, it shall pay fair compensation to each landowner for the value of work already done on the drainage project.

At the request of the board of managers, the county commissioners or county council shall appoint a board of viewers to determine if the original determination as to which lands have benefited from the improvements has changed. The board of viewers appointed under this section shall have the same qualifications, rights, powers, privileges, and duties as the original board of viewers. The board of viewers shall report its findings to the county commissioners or county council. The county commissioners or county council shall consider the report in the same manner as the original report, and the report shall be subject to a public hearing and the right to judicial review as provided under § 26–513 of this subtitle. Any revision in the original determination as to which lands benefit from the drainage project shall become the basis for all future assessments for paying for the drainage project, including related expenses such as damages and the maintenance of the drainage project. Notwithstanding the requirements of this section, the board of managers, at any time after the creation of a drainage association, may determine which land in the association is classified as woodland, cropland, commercial, industrial, or residential.

At the earliest feasible date, the board of viewers shall submit three copies of a written report to the county commissioners or county council and to the State Soil Conservation Committee in the Department of Agriculture. The report shall state: whether the proposed drainage project: is feasible; will benefit the public or promote the public health, safety, or welfare; and will benefit the land to be affected by the drainage project sufficiently to warrant the probable expenditure; the name of each person entitled to damages and the amount of the damages; the name of each person entitled to compensation for a drainage project adopted under § 26–505 of this subtitle and the amount of the compensation; the amount determined under § 26–504(a)(1) of this subtitle; and the amount for which each landowner shall be assessed as a share of the total cost of the drainage project and its proportion of the whole. The board of viewers shall file with the report three copies of maps and profiles that show: the location of the proposed drainage project on a map, drawing, or aerial photograph to a suitable scale; a general delineation of the boundary of the area affected, with the general location in the county indicated; a general delineation of the boundaries of each landowner’s tract, with an estimate of the acreage that each tract contains; and the dimensions and profiles of the proposed drainage project.

The county commissioners or county council shall examine a report submitted by a board of viewers under § 26–507 of this subtitle at the first meeting after receiving the report. If the county commissioners or county council find that a report under § 26–507 of this subtitle is not in proper form or not in compliance with the law, the report shall be returned to the board of viewers to be corrected and resubmitted. If the county commissioners or county council find that a report under § 26–507 of this subtitle is in proper form and in compliance with the law, the county commissioners or county council shall set a date for a public hearing on the report. At least 30 days before a hearing under this section, the county commissioners or county council shall: publish notice of the time and place of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in each county in which the land affected is located; and mail a notice to each person named in the report. Notice of the hearing shall state that a copy of the report is available for inspection in an office of the designated officer. A copy of the report of the board of viewers shall be: available for inspection in an office of the designated officer; and sent to the Secretary of Agriculture and the State Soil Conservation Committee in the Department of Agriculture.

At a hearing under § 26–508 of this subtitle: the board of viewers and engineers shall be present; and any person may appear in person or by counsel and object to any part of the report. The county commissioners or county council shall consider carefully each objection presented under subsection (a) of this section. If possible at the hearing, the board of viewers may make changes to the report necessary to treat each concerned person equitably. The county commissioners or county council may: disapprove the report; return the report to the board of viewers for amendment or reconsideration in view of an objection presented; or approve the report as submitted or as amended. On approval of the report by the county commissioners or county council, the board of managers may install, operate, and maintain the drainage project described in the report.

If a report is disapproved, the county commissioners or county council shall pay the expenses properly incurred in making the survey and report and in publishing notices. To reimburse the county for the expenses described in subsection (a) of this section, the county commissioners or county council may impose a special assessment in equal amounts on the property of the landowners who signed the petition filed under Subtitle 2 of this title.

The county commissioners or county council or circuit court for the county in which proceedings are pending may, on application of any party and at any time before a final decision is made, grant leave to the party to amend the petition or any part of the proceedings that may be defective or informal to bring the merits of the case before the county commissioners or county council for a decision or before a jury of the circuit court for trial. The county commissioners or county council or circuit court for the county may award costs.

A person who may be adversely affected by the making of any ditch or drain or who may be assessed for any part of the costs of a ditch or drain may apply for an order of review to the county commissioners or county council at any time before the approval of the report. The county commissioners or county council may grant an order of review and appoint another board of viewers to redo the work done by the original board of viewers.

A person who is aggrieved by a determination of the county commissioners or county council or by any proceedings under this title relating to drains may appeal to the circuit court of the county in which the determination was made or proceedings were conducted. Either party may elect a trial by jury and the judgment in the trial shall be final between the parties.