Opinion No. (2009)

Dear State Senator Brown,

This office has received your request for an official Attorney General Opinion in which you ask, in effect, the following questions:

1. Is a board of county commissioners authorized to clear blockages from creeks/waterways located on private property for the purpose of public safety/flood mitigation?

2. If commissioners are so authorized, must the board obtain a waiver or easement from the landowners in order to enter onto their property to clear the blockages?

Your first question concerns whether county commissioners have the authority to clear blockages from…