Title 9

The counties and municipalities located within the boundaries of the irrigation district or districts to be established by the provisions of this article are hereby authorized and empowered to contribute to the work of the agency any amount or amounts of money that their respecti…

The county commission of any county of this state is hereby authorized to declare by the adoption of an appropriate resolution the need for the formation of a county water conservation and irrigation corporation or other such corporation as provided for in this article. Upon the …

(a) The certificate of incorporation of the corporation shall state: (b) The certificate of incorporation shall be signed and acknowledged by the incorporators before an officer authorized by the laws of the state to take acknowledgments of deeds, and the certificate of incorpora…

The certificate of incorporation with the documents attached shall be filed with the judge of probate of the county and the Secretary of State, who shall forthwith receive and record the same. When such certificate is so filed the corporation referred to therein shall come into e…

All powers of the corporation shall be exercised by the board of directors or pursuant to its authority. The directors shall be elected by the county commission for staggered terms of office as follows: two years, three years, four years, five years and six years. Thereafter the …

A corporation organized and established under the provisions of this article shall have the following powers, subject only to the limitations described in Section 9-10-35 following: (1) To adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business; (2) To adop…

(a) Before any construction work on any project may be undertaken by any corporation created under the terms of this article, said corporation shall apply to the Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources for a permit authorizing the proposed development. The corporation …

(a) Any such corporation is hereby authorized to provide by resolution for the issuance of bonds of the corporation for any of its corporate purposes, including the refunding of its bonds. The principal of and the interest on any issue of such bonds shall be payable solely from, …

(a) The corporation may provide by resolution for the issuance of refunding bonds for the purpose of refunding any bonds then outstanding which shall have been issued under the provisions of this article, including the payment of any redemption premium thereon and any interest ac…

(a) At the discretion of the corporation, any bonds issued under the provisions of this article may be secured by a trust agreement by and between the corporation and a corporate trustee, which may be any trust company or bank having the powers of a trust company within or withou…

Bonds issued by the corporation under the provisions of this article are hereby made securities in which the state and all political subdivisions of this state, their officers, boards, commissions, departments or other agencies, all banks, bankers, savings banks, trust companies,…

No bond or other obligation of such a corporation shall be deemed to be the obligation of or a claim against the state or a county thereof. (Acts 1955, No. 539, p. 1186, §12.)

The exercise of the powers granted by this article will be in all respects for the benefit of the people of the state for the purpose of conserving natural resources, for the increase of commerce and prosperity and for the improvement of health and living conditions. Since the op…

All counties, cities, towns and other political subdivisions and all public departments, agencies and commissions of the State of Alabama, notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, are hereby authorized and empowered to lease, lend, grant or convey to the corporation at its …

Before construction is started on any project, the corporation shall advertise for sealed bids once each week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the project or undertaking is to be located. The corporation may also advertise i…

Each project constructed or operated by such corporation shall be maintained and kept in good condition and repair. (Acts 1955, No. 539, p. 1186, §15.)

No officer of the corporation shall have any interest, directly or indirectly, in any contract awarded or to be awarded or in the profit to be derived therefrom. The violation of this section shall constitute a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall work a forfeiture of office a…

The authorized agents and employees of the corporation may enter upon any lands, waters and premises in this state for the purpose of making surveys, soundings, drillings and examinations as it may deem necessary or convenient for the purposes of this article, and such entry shal…

In the event that a state agency other than the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources may hereafter be charged with such responsibility as is in this article charged to the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the term “said Commissioner of Con…

Proper management of the watersheds of the state is necessary to insure the health, safety and welfare of our citizens. Improper land use and water use practices upon our watersheds have caused or contributed to and will continue to cause and contribute to critical flooding, eros…

If an original director who is required to reside in a particular county is to be selected by means of an election, the board of supervisors who determined that an election would be the method of selection shall call the election. Said election shall be held, within 30 days after…

The successor of a director who must reside in a particular county shall be either elected or appointed. The method of selection shall be determined by the board of supervisors who determined the method of selecting the incumbent director whose term is expiring. The method of sel…

(a) The board of directors of the watershed management authority shall annually elect from its membership a chairman, secretary and treasurer. The treasurer shall execute an official bond for the faithful performance of the duties of his office to be approved by the board of dire…

Members of the board of directors shall receive no salaries but may be reimbursed by the authority for actual and necessary expenditures incurred in the performance of their duties. (Acts 1991, No. 91-602, p. 1119, §13.)

The board of directors of a watershed management authority shall have power to: (1) Acquire, by purchase, gift, grant, bequest or devise, or through condemnation proceedings held in the manner provided by Chapter 1A of Title 18, such lands or rights-of-way as are necessary for th…

Bonds authorized by Section 9-10A-14 shall not be issued until proposed by order or resolution of the board of directors of the watershed management authority specifying the purpose for which the funds are to be used and the proposed undertaking, the amount of bonds to be issued …

(a) At any time, a watershed management authority’s board of directors may file a petition with the Secretary of State, the joint boards of supervisors who authorized the establishment of the authority and the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee praying that the existence…

Every watershed management authority established under the authority of this chapter shall be subject to audits by the state Examiners of Public Accounts. (Acts 1991, No. 91-602, p. 1119, §17.)

Officers and employees of a watershed management authority established pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to the State Ethics Law. Members of the board of directors of a watershed management authority for the purposes of Chapter 25 of Title 36, shall be c…

(a) Any person who is regularly employed by a watershed management authority established pursuant to this chapter shall be deemed to be an “employee” of the State of Alabama, as defined in Section 36-27-1. From the date he assumes his duties, any such person shall be deemed to be…

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings indicated unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning: (1) WATERSHED MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY. A governmental subdivision of this state and a public body, corporate and politic, org…

(a) Full-time employees of a watershed management authority shall be included in the definitions of “employee” as provided in Section 36-29-1(1), and shall be entitled to the same health insurance benefits and required to make the same contributions as other state employees. The …

Every watershed management authority established pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be considered a state authority for the purposes of applying the provisions of Chapter 16 of Title 41, regarding competitive bidding on public contracts. (Acts 1991, No. 91-602, p. 1…

The property and interests acquired by any watershed management authority organized under the provisions of this chapter shall be exempt from all state, county or other taxation. (Acts 1991, No. 91-602, p. 1119, §22.)

Watershed management authorities may be formed in any watershed area of the state for the purpose of developing and executing plans and programs relating to any phase of conservation of water, water usage, flood prevention, flood control, water pollution control, wildlife habitat…

Any management guidelines developed by watershed management authorities to protect forested watersheds shall follow the best management practices established by the Alabama Forestry Commission as they pertain to forested watersheds. (Acts 1991, No. 91-602, p. 1119, §4.)

The land area embraced in any watershed management authority must encompass at least 50 square miles, must be contiguous and must lie within a defined watershed. The area may include lands within any soil and water conservation district. Such authorities may embrace lands lying i…

When 25 or more residents, who are 18 years of age or older, within each county located on a defined watershed desire to form a watershed management authority, said residents shall file a petition with the board of supervisors of the soil and water conservation district in which …

If the proposed watershed management authority lies in more than one soil and water conservation district, the petition shall be presented to the board of supervisors of all such soil and water conservation districts, and the supervisors of all such districts shall act as a joint…

(a) Within 30 days after said petition has been filed with the board of supervisors, it shall cause due notice to be given of a proposed hearing upon the practicability and feasibility of creating said watershed management authority. All interested parties shall have the right to…

If the board of supervisors determines the authority is needed, it shall determine the number of directors who shall comprise the board of directors of the watershed management authority. The board of directors of the watershed management authority shall include at least one resi…

This chapter shall be cited as the “Alabama Water Resources Act.” (Acts 1993, No. 93-44, p. 78, §2.)

The division chief may establish such technical or other advisory committees to assist the commission or the Office of Water Resources in the performance of its functions and duties. (Acts 1993, No. 93-44, p. 78, §11.)

The division chief shall, with the approval of the director and subject to the provisions of the state Merit System, determine the number of employees needed for the efficient and economical performance of the functions and duties of the Office of Water Resources. (Acts 1993, No.…

There is hereby created the Alabama Water Resources Commission. The commission shall consist of 19 members who are citizens of this state as follows: (1) Seven of the members of the commission shall be appointed by the Governor with one member being a resident of each congression…

The terms of the initial members of the commission shall begin on February 23, 1993 and shall be as follows: (1) Five of the members appointed by the Governor shall be selected by the Governor to serve for a period of two years; (2) Four of the members appointed by the Governor s…