Title 10, Title 10: Conservation and Development

§ 705. Chair, quorum, compensation, surety bonds The Council shall designate its chair, and may, from time to time, change the designation. A member of the Council shall hold office so long as the member retains the office by virtue of serving on the Council. A majority of the Co…

§ 706. Funds; allocation of by Council Unless otherwise provided by law, any funds appropriated by the State or any federal agency to the State Natural Resources Conservation Council for allocation to districts organized under the provisions of this chapter shall be available for…

§ 708. Districts; unions; expenditure statement; duties of Council (a) The supervisors of the respective districts and directors of the respective unions, twice during each fiscal year, shall submit statements to the Council as to expenditures made and estimates as to expenditure…

§ 709. Petition to organize district Any 25 owners of land lying within the limits of the territory proposed to be organized into a district may file a petition with the State Natural Resources Conservation Council asking that a natural resources conservation district be organize…

§ 710. Hearing on petition Within 30 days after such a petition has been filed with the State Natural Resources Conservation Council, it shall cause due notice to be given of a proposed hearing upon such petition as to the necessity, in the interest of the public health, safety, …

§ 711. Determination of need; boundaries of proposed district (a) After hearing thereon, if the Council shall determine that there is need, in the interest of the public health, safety, and welfare for a district, it shall make and record such determination, and shall define the …

§ 712. Referendum (a) If after the Council has found and recorded a determination that there is need, in the interest of the public health, safety and welfare, for the organization of a district in a particular territory and has defined the boundaries thereof, it shall hold a ref…

§ 713. Publication of results of referendum; determination of feasibility The Council shall publish the result of such referendum and, if a majority of the votes cast at the referendum is for the establishment of a district, and the Council determines that the operation of such d…

§ 714. Appointment and election of supervisors; application for creation of district (a) When a district is established, the Council shall appoint two supervisors to act, with three supervisors elected by the landowners as the governing body of the district. (b) The two appointed…

§ 715. Establishment of district as governmental subdivision; certificate The Secretary of State shall file and record the application and statement in an appropriate book of record in his or her office. When the application and statement have been filed and recorded, the distric…

§ 716. Subsequent petition may be filed; when After six months shall have expired from the date of entry of a determination by the council that the operation of a proposed district is not administratively practicable and feasible, and denial of a petition pursuant to such determi…

§ 717. Additional territory; petition to include Petitions for including additional territory within an existing district may be filed with the Council, and the proceedings herein provided for in the case of petitions to organize a district shall be observed in the case of petiti…

§ 718. Certificate as proof of validity of district In any suit, action or proceeding involving the validity or enforcement of, or relating to any contract, proceeding or action of the district, the district shall be deemed to have been established in accordance with the provisio…

§ 719. Elections After the issuance of a certificate by the Secretary of State certifying to the organization of a natural resources conservation district, nominating petitions shall be filed with the districts and shall be submitted to the Council once the nominee is approved by…

§ 720. Supervisors as governing body of district; qualifications The governing body of the district shall consist of five supervisors, elected or appointed under this chapter. The supervisors shall be persons residing within the district who are by training or experience, or both…

§ 721. Terms, vacancies, compensation The supervisors shall designate a chair and, from time to time, may change the designation. One supervisor shall be elected each year for a term of five years. A supervisor shall continue to hold office until a successor has been elected or a…

§ 722. Duties of supervisors; bonds; records; removal (a) The supervisors shall provide for the execution of surety bonds for all employees and officers who shall be entrusted with funds. They shall keep a full record of all proceedings and of all resolutions, rules, and orders i…

§ 723. Powers of supervisors The supervisors shall have the following powers: (1) To conduct surveys, investigations and research relating to the character of soil erosion and its prevention and control measures and natural resources conservation; (2) To conduct demonstration pro…

§ 724. Land-use, erosion control, and natural resources conservation rules; approval The supervisors of any district shall have authority to formulate rules, as set forth in this chapter, governing the use of lands within the district in the interest of conserving soil, controlli…

§ 725. Uniformity of rules The rules shall be uniform throughout the district, except that the supervisors may classify, prior to the adoption of such ordinances, the lands within the district with reference to such factors as soil type, degree of slope, degree of erosion threate…

§ 726. Ordinances prescribing rules; referendum A referendum shall be conducted as follows: (1) The ordinances proposed to be enacted shall be delivered by the supervisors or by agents authorized by them, or by mail to the last known address of such owners of land within the dist…

§ 727. Conduct of referendum The supervisors shall prescribe appropriate rules governing the conduct of the referendum, and shall publish and record the result of the ballot. All owners of lands within the district shall be eligible to vote in such referendum. (Amended 2019, No. …

§ 728. Amendment or repeal of rules Any owner or person in possession of land within a district may at any time file a petition with the supervisors asking that any or all of the land-use rules prescribed in any ordinance adopted by the supervisors under the provisions of this ch…

§ 729. Termination of district At any time after five years after the organization of a district under the provisions of this chapter, any 25 owners of land lying within the boundaries of the district may file a petition with the State Natural Resources Conservation Council prayi…

§ 730. Effect of termination Upon issuance of a certificate of dissolution under the provisions of this chapter, all ordinances and rules previously adopted and in force within such districts shall be of no further force and effect. All contracts previously entered into, to which…

§ 731. Failure to observe land-use ordinance; conferences (a) In the event that the supervisors of a district find that the provisions of a land-use ordinance adopted according to the provisions of this chapter are not being observed on particular lands, and that such nonobservan…

§ 734. Supervisors may petition Superior Court If a landowner does not sign such stipulation, the supervisors may petition the Superior Court to require such landowner to bring his or her land into conformity with the ordinance, and the court shall order such relief as it may dee…

§ 735. Validation of defectively organized districts All natural resources conservation districts heretofore organized are hereby recognized and declared to be natural resources conservation districts subject to the provisions of this chapter, notwithstanding any defect in the pr…

§ 736. Division and combination of districts and unions — Generally Any district or union organized under the provisions of this chapter may be divided and the divided portions may become separate districts or unions or may be combined with one or more districts or unions as here…

§ 737. Not more than three towns When the portion to be separated from a district and combined with another district does not comprise more than three towns, and the State Council has declared the move to be effective, that portion will come under the jurisdiction of the district…

§ 738. More than three towns When the portion to be separated from a district and combined with another district consists of more than three towns, and the State Council has declared the move to be effective, the Council shall appoint two supervisors for each of the new districts…

§ 739. Divided portion as new district When the portion to be divided from a district consists of more than three adjacent towns, the divided portion may either become a separate district or be combined with an existing district as provided in section 738 of this title. When the …

§ 740. Assumption of commitments In any case where the boundaries of districts have been changed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, any commitments made by districts to landowners will be assumed by the districts in which their land is located after the changes in…

§ 747a. Limitation; liability (a) An action against the on-site sewage program provided by this subchapter, regarding the design, installation, or operation of any system, shall be brought against a conservation district only, and shall be brought within six years from certificat…