N.C. Gen. Stat. § 156-17
The commissioners, or a majority of them, on a day of which each proprietor is to be notified at least five days, shall meet on the premises and view the land to be drained and the lands affected thereby, and shall determine and report whether the lands of the petitioner or petitioners ought to be drained exclusively by him or them, and if they are of the opinion that the same ought not to be drained exclusively at the expense of the petitioner or petitioners, they shall decide and determine the route of the canal, ditch, or embankment, the width thereof, and the depth and height, as the case may be, and the manner in which the same shall be cut or thrown up, considering all the circumstances of the case, and providing as far as possible for the effectual drainage of the petitioner's land, and the protection and benefit of the defendant's lands; and they shall apportion the labor to be done or assess the amount to be paid by each of the owners of the lands affected by such canal, ditch, or embankment, towards the construction and keeping the same in repair, and report the same to the court, which, when confirmed, shall stand as a judgment of the court against each of the parties, his executors, administrators, heirs and assigns.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 156-17