Title 38, AGRICULTURE AND HORTICULTURE

A conservation district organized under the provisions of this chapter shall constitute a governmental subdivision of this state, and a public body, corporate and politic, exercising public powers, and such district, and the supervisors thereof, shall have the following powers, i…

A conservation district and its supervisors shall at least three weeks before the dates specified by law for the setting up of official budgets, estimate the total cost of operating and maintaining the district for the ensuing fiscal year and the amount of moneys that may be avai…

If the State Conservation Commission shall determine after a hearing pursuant to § 38-8-2 , after due consideration of the relevant facts mentioned in § 38-8-3 , that there is no need for a conservation district to function in the territory considered at the hearing, it shall mak…

A conservation district, and the supervisors thereof, shall have the power, in addition to others granted in other sections of this chapter, to develop annual and long range ten - year comprehensive plans, which plans may be prepared with the cooperation and assistance of the Sta…

The supervisors of a conservation district may invite the governing body of any political subdivision of this state located near or within the territory comprising the district to designate a representative to advise and consult with the board on all questions of program and poli…

A conservation district may join together with one or more political subdivisions to plan, consult, and coordinate their efforts to implement area - wide waste treatment under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 (P.L. 92-500) within designated water quality…

The supervisors of any two or more districts organized under the provisions of this chapter may cooperate with one another in the exercise of any or all powers conferred in this chapter. Source: SL 1937, ch 19 , § 12; SDC 1939, § 4.1514.

There is hereby created the conservation district special revenue fund to be used for the purpose of aiding, assisting, and cooperating with conservation districts of the state in securing by purchase, or otherwise, necessary equipment, trees, and other planting materials, and su…

The conservation district special revenue fund shall be made available to watershed districts of the state on a reimbursable basis, by watershed districts participating in such special revenue funds, for the purpose of obtaining options, easements and rights - of - way for waters…

A conservation district, and the supervisors thereof, shall have the power, in addition to others granted in other sections of this chapter, to make loans from the State of South Dakota from funds available through the conservation district special revenue fund on a reimbursable …

The conservation districts may borrow funds to meet the necessities arising from the operation and maintenance of the conservation district, and may pledge the credit of the district for the payment of the obligations. Source: SL 1979, ch 263 .

The board of county commissioners may contribute funds to conservation districts. The funds shall be used to hire employees, purchase supplies, and carry out district programs, for the conservation of natural resources that will protect the tax base of the county and provide for …

The power granted by § 38-8-55 can only be exercised after at least one public hearing on the matter. The board of county commissioners shall give at least ten days' notice of such hearing by publication and by posting a copy of such notice at three of the most public places in t…

Any conservation district receiving funds under §§ 38-8-55 and 38-8-56 shall file with the county commissioners an itemized annual financial report within sixty days following the end of the district's fiscal year. Within thirty days of receiving the financial report, the county …

A conservation district, and the supervisors thereof, shall have the following powers, in addition to others granted in other sections of this chapter: (1) To obtain options upon and to acquire by purchase, exchange, lease, gift, grant, bequest, devise, or otherwise, any property…

No provisions with respect to the acquisition, operation, or disposition of property by other public bodies shall be applicable to a district organized under this chapter unless the Legislature shall specifically so state. Source: SL 1937, ch 19 , § 8; SDC 1939, § 4.1510 (3).

After the State Conservation Commission has made and recorded a determination that there is need for the organization of a district in a particular territory and has defined the boundaries thereof, it shall consider the question whether the operation of a district within such bou…

A conservation district, and the supervisors thereof, shall have the power, in addition to others granted in other sections of this chapter, to construct, improve, operate, and maintain such structures as may be necessary or convenient for the performance of any of the operations…

A conservation district, and the supervisors thereof, shall have the power, in addition to others granted in other sections of this chapter, to carry out soil erosion preventive and control measures and works of improvement for flood prevention or the conservation development, ut…

A conservation district and its supervisors may: (1) Take over, by purchase, lease, or otherwise, and administer any natural resources conservation, flood prevention, and agricultural water management, erosion control, or erosion prevention project located within its boundaries u…

A conservation district, and the supervisors thereof, shall have the power, in addition to others granted in other sections of this chapter, to cooperate, or enter into agreements with, and within the limits of appropriations duly made available to it by law, to furnish financial…

A conservation district and its supervisors may make available, on terms as it prescribes, to land owners within the district, equipment, material, or supplies as may be available to assist the land owners to carry on operations for the conservation of natural resources and for t…

As a condition to the extending of any benefits under this chapter to, or the performance of work upon, any lands not owned or controlled by this state or any of its agencies, the supervisors of a conservation district may require contributions in money, services, materials, or o…

To assist the State Conservation Commission in the determination of the administrative practicability and feasibility of a conservation district, the commission shall hold a referendum within the proposed district upon the proposition of the creation of the district, and shall ca…

The elections held under § 38-8-7 shall be conducted at the next general election within the county or counties comprising the territory of the proposed conservation district. Source: SL 1959, ch 3 , § 7; SDC Supp 1960, § 4.1507-1; SL 1994, ch 316 , § 4.

The conduct of any election held under § 38-8-7 shall be governed by the general election laws of South Dakota. The results of the election shall be certified to the State Conservation Commission by the county commission of each county in which the election is conducted. Source: …

After five years following the organization of a district under the provisions of this chapter, but before April first of the year in which the general election is to be held, any ten percent of the voters registered for the last general election within the boundaries of the dist…

In lieu of the petition process authorized in § 38-8-90 , a conservation district governing board may propose and adopt a resolution calling for the dissolution of the district and present it to the people for a vote at the next general election under the requirements of § 38-8-3…

The State Conservation Commission shall not entertain petitions for the discontinuance of any district nor conduct referenda upon such petitions nor make determinations pursuant to such petitions in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, more often than once in three yea…

Within one hundred twenty days after a petition pursuant to § 38-8-90 has been received by the State Conservation Commission and a finding by the commission of public support for a referendum, the Division of Resource Conservation and Forestry shall give due notice, as defined in…

The elections held under § 38-8-92 shall be conducted at the next general election. Source: SL 1959, ch 3 , § 7; SDC Supp 1960, § 4.1507-1; SL 1994, ch 316 , § 29.

The conduct of elections held under § 38-8-92 shall be governed by the general election laws. The county commission in each county in which the election is conducted shall certify the results of the election to the State Conservation Commission. Source: SL 1959, ch 3 , § 7; SDC S…

No informalities in the conduct of a referendum pursuant to § 38-8-92 or in any matters relating thereto shall invalidate said referendum or the result thereof if notice thereof shall have been given substantially as provided in subdivision 38-7-2(5) and said referendum shall hav…

The State Conservation Commission shall determine after a referendum pursuant to § 38-8-92 whether continued operation of the district is administratively practicable and feasible and shall certify such determination to the supervisors of the district. The commission may determin…

Upon receipt from the State Conservation Commission of a certification that the commission has determined that the continued operation of the district is not administratively practicable and feasible, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, the supervisors shall terminate the…

Upon compliance with § 38-8-97 , the supervisors shall file an application, duly verified, with the secretary of state for the discontinuance of the conservation district, and shall transmit with such application the certificate of the State Conservation Commission setting forth …

Upon issuance of a certificate of dissolution under the provisions of this chapter, all ordinances and regulations theretofore adopted and in force within the conservation district shall be of no further force and effect. All contracts theretofore entered into, to which the distr…

Terms as used in this chapter mean: (1) "Commission," the State Conservation Commission established by § 38-7-3 ; (2) "Conservation standards" or "standards," soil loss tolerance limits as developed pursuant to this chapter; (3) "Districts," conservation districts established pur…

The State Conservation Commission shall, within six months of receipt of a district's proposed standards, review and recommend any changes the commission deems necessary to the success of the district program. Source: SL 1976, ch 242 , § 7.

To carry out its program, each district, in cooperation with other local units of government, shall, within three months after the guidelines have been reviewed by the commission, adopt conservation standards consistent with the control of erosion and sediment resulting from land…

Revision of the conservation standards, in whole or in part, may be proposed by the conservation district governing board or by a petition signed by the number of voters equal to ten percent of the qualified voters in a district. Source: SL 1976, ch 242 , § 9; SL 1980, ch 269 , §…

A petition pursuant to § 38-8A-12 shall be filed with the conservation district supervisors. The filing of a petition shall require the submission of the named conservation district standards to an election of the qualified voters of the district. However, if the supervisors appr…

An election under the provisions of §§ 38-8A-12 and 38-8A-12.1 shall be conducted at the next general election within the counties comprising the territory of the conservation district. Unless otherwise provided for in this chapter, the conduct of any election held under §§ 38-8A…

If proposed land - disturbing activities are to be performed on state lands or by or on behalf of a state or local unit of government, plans for erosion and sediment control shall be in accordance with standards for erosion and sediment control established pursuant to this chapte…

Land - disturbing activities, carried out under contract with an agency of the state or with any of its local political subdivisions, shall be subject to the enforcement action of such agency or subdivision. Source: SL 1976, ch 242 , § 16.

Neither the State Conservation Commission nor the conservation districts may issue permits under the provisions of this chapter. Source: SL 1976, ch 242 , § 12.