N.C. Gen. Stat. § 156-56
A petition signed by a majority of the resident landowners in a proposed drainage district or by the owners of three fifths of all the land which will be affected or assessed for the expense of the proposed improvements may be filed in the office of the clerk of the superior court of any county in which a part of the lands is located, setting forth that any specific body or district of land in the county and adjoining counties, described in such a way as to convey an intelligent idea as to the location of such land, is subject to overflow or too wet for cultivation, and the public benefit or utility or the public health, convenience or welfare will be promoted by draining, ditching, or leveeing the same or by changing or improving the natural watercourses, and setting forth therein, as far as practicable, the starting point, route, and terminus and lateral branches, if necessary, of the proposed improvement.
The petition will also show whether or not the proposed drainage is for the reclamation of lands not then fit for cultivation or for the improvement of land already under cultivation. It shall also state that, if a reclamation district is proposed to be established, such lands so reclaimed will be of such value as to justify the reclamation.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 156-56