Section 22-20-4 Location and Extension of Cemeteries

Whenever it is proposed to locate a cemetery or to extend the boundaries of an existing cemetery, the party or parties so proposing shall make written application to the judge of probate and county commission or to the mayor and council of an incorporated city or town, according to whether said cemetery or extension of a cemetery is to be located in the jurisdiction of one or the other of these authorities, describing accurately the location and boundaries of the proposed cemetery or extension of a cemetery. Before acting upon the application, the judge of probate and county commission or the mayor and council of an incorporated city or town, as the case may be, shall refer the application to the board of health of the county for investigation from a sanitary standpoint. In making such investigation, the county board of health shall take into consideration the proximity of the proposed cemetery or extension of a cemetery to human habitations, the nature of the soil, the drainage of the ground, the danger of pollution of valuable springs and streams of water and such other conditions and surroundings as would bear upon the sanitary aspect of the situation. Having completed its investigation as promptly as can be done, the county board of health shall submit a report to the judge of probate and county commission, or to the mayor and council, as the case may be, and either approve or disapprove the application. If the latter, the board shall set forth at length its reasons for such disapproval. Having received the report from the county board of health, the judge of probate and county commission or the mayor and council, as the case may be, shall either grant or deny the application, giving due weight in reaching either conclusion to the views expressed by the County Board of Health. Should the application be granted, the judge of probate and county commission or the mayor and council, as the case may be, shall issue to the party or parties making the application, and in such form as they may prescribe, a license to establish or extend the cemetery in question. The said license shall, upon the payment of $.50 by the party or parties making the application, be recorded in the office of the judge of probate of the county.