Title 10.1, Title 10.1. Conservation

The Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board is continued and shall perform the functions conferred upon it in this chapter. The Board shall consist of nine nonlegislative citizen members and one ex officio member with nonvoting privileges. The Director of the Department of Con…

The Director shall provide technical experts and other agents and employees, permanent and temporary, necessary for the execution of the functions of the Board. The Board may create an executive committee and delegate to the chairman of the Board, or to the committee or to the Di…

The Board shall designate its chairman and may, from time to time, change such designation. Five members of the Board shall constitute a quorum, and the concurrence of a majority of those present and voting shall be required for all determinations.

In addition to other duties and powers conferred upon the Board, it shall have the following duties and powers: 1. To give or loan appropriate financial and other assistance to district directors in carrying out any of their powers and programs. 2. To keep district directors info…

A. The Board shall have the power to (i) create a new district from territory not previously within an existing district, (ii) merge or divide existing districts, (iii) transfer territory from an existing district to another district, (iv) modify or create a district by a combina…

Petitions to modify or create districts, or relocate or define boundaries of existing districts, shall be initiated and filed with the Board for its approval or disapproval by any of the following methods: 1. By petition of a majority of the directors of any or each district or b…

The petition shall set forth: 1. The proposed name of the district; 2. That there is need, in the interest of the public health, safety, and welfare, for the proposed district to function in the territory described in the petition, and a brief statement of the grounds upon which …

If the Board disapproves the petition, its determination shall be recorded, and if the petitioners are the governing body of a district, county or city or a part of a county or city, the governing body shall be notified in writing. If the petitioners are the requisite number of r…

If the Board approves the petition, within sixty days after such determination, the Board shall provide due notice of the approval in a newspaper of general circulation in each county or city involved. The notice shall include notice of a hearing upon the question of the desirabi…

If it appears upon the hearing that it may be desirable to include within the proposed district territory outside of the area within which due notice of the hearing has been given, the hearing shall be adjourned and due notice of a further hearing shall be given throughout the en…

After a public hearing, if the Board determines that there is need, in the interest of the public health, safety, and welfare, for the proposed district to function in the territory considered at the hearing, it shall record its determination, and shall define, by metes and bound…

If the Board determines after the hearing, and after due consideration of the relevant facts, that there is no need for a soil and water conservation district to function in the territory considered at the hearing, it shall record its determination and deny the petition.

After the Board has made and recorded a determination that there is need for the organization of the proposed district in a particular territory, and has defined the boundaries, it shall consider whether the operation of a district within such boundaries is administratively pract…

If the Board determines that the operation of the proposed district within the defined boundaries is administratively practicable and feasible, and the proposed district is created, then its governing body shall be a board of district directors appointed or elected in the number …

In the event of the transfer, merger, or division of districts, the status of the district directors involved shall be affected as follows: 1. The composition of an existing district board of a district to which territory is transferred shall remain in effect until the terms of o…

Upon the creation of a district by any means authorized by this chapter, two district directors appointed by the Board and authorized by the Board to do so, shall present to the Secretary of the Commonwealth an application signed by them, which shall set forth: (i) that a petitio…

The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall examine the application and statement and, if he finds that the name proposed for the district is not identical to that of any other soil and water conservation district shall receive and file them and shall record the application in an app…

Whenever the Secretary issues a certificate creating, dissolving, or changing the name or composition of a district, the Secretary shall promptly send a certified copy of such certificate to the State Board of Elections.

After six months have expired from the date of the disapproval or denial of any petition for a soil and water conservation district, subsequent petitions covering the same or substantially the same territory may be filed with the Board as provided in this chapter.

Upon consummation of any transfer, merger, or division, or any combination thereof, using territory within a previously existing district to form a new district or to add to an existing district, all contracts in effect at the time of the consummation, affecting or relating to th…

Notwithstanding the provisions of § 10.1-507, the Board may, in its discretion, relocate or redefine district boundaries on its own motion pending or subsequent to any annexation or consolidation. If the Board determines on its own motion to relocate or redefine district boundari…

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, reorganized, or renamed, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter upon…

A. Beginning 30 days after the date of issuance by the Secretary of the Commonwealth of a certificate of organization of a district, but not later than the filing date specified in § 24.2-507 for the November 2003 general election and each fourth year thereafter, nominating petit…

The names of all nominees shall be furnished to the secretary of the electoral board of the respective county or city and shall be printed upon ballots. The ballots shall be printed, voted, counted and canvassed in conformity with the provisions of general law relating to electio…

The result of the election shall be canvassed and certified by the electoral board for the county or city in which the candidate resides pursuant to §§ 24.2-671 through 24.2-678. The State Board of Elections shall, promptly after the meeting required by § 24.2-679, certify to the…

All registered voters residing within each county or city or part thereof shall be eligible to vote in the election for their respective nominees.

If the district embraces one county or city, or less than one county or city, the three candidates who receive the largest number of the votes cast in the election shall be elected directors for the district. If the district embraces more than one county or city, or parts thereof…

The expenses of such elections shall be paid by the counties or cities concerned. The State Board of Elections shall publish, or have published within the district, the results of the election.

The governing body of the district shall consist of five or more district directors, elected and appointed as provided in this article. The two district directors appointed by the Board shall be persons who are by training and experience qualified to perform the specialized skill…

In addition to other duties and powers, district directors shall: 1. Identify soil and water issues and opportunities within the district or related to the district and establish priorities for addressing these issues; 2. Seek a comprehensive understanding of the complex issues t…

A. The district directors shall designate a chairman from the elected members, or from the Board-appointed members, of the district board and may change such designation. B. The term of office of each district director shall be four years. A district director shall hold office un…

A majority of the district directors currently in office shall constitute a quorum and the concurrence of a majority of those present and voting shall be required for all determinations. A district director shall receive no compensation for his services, but shall be entitled to …

The district directors may employ a secretary-treasurer, whose qualifications shall be approved by the Board, technical experts, and such other officers, agents and employees, permanent and temporary, as they may require, and shall determine their qualifications, duties and compe…

The district directors may delegate to their chairman or to one or more district directors, agents or employees such powers and duties as they may deem proper.

The district directors shall furnish to the Board or Department, upon request, copies of ordinances, rules, regulations, orders, contracts, forms, and other documents that they adopt or employ, and other information concerning their activities as the Board or Department may requi…

The district directors shall (i) provide for the execution of surety bonds for all employees and officers who shall be entrusted with funds or property; (ii) provide for the keeping of a full and accurate record of all proceedings and of all resolutions, regulations, and orders i…

Any district director may be removed by the Board for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, or may be removed in accordance with the provisions of general law. Upon receipt of a sworn complaint against a director filed by a majority of the directors of that same district, the…

The district directors shall invite the legislative body of any locality located near the territory comprised within the district to designate a representative to advise and consult with the directors of the district on all questions of program and policy which may affect the pro…

A soil and water conservation district organized under the provisions of this article shall constitute a political subdivision of this Commonwealth.

Districts are authorized to (i) conduct surveys, investigations, and research relating to soil erosion and floodwater and sediment damages, and to agricultural and nonagricultural phases of the conservation, development, utilization, and disposal of water, and the preventive and …

Districts are authorized to conduct demonstrational projects within the district on lands owned or controlled by the Commonwealth or any of its agencies, with the consent and cooperation of the agency administering and having jurisdiction thereof, and on any other lands within th…

Districts are authorized to carry out preventive and control measures and works of improvement for flood prevention or agricultural and nonagricultural phases of the conservation, development, utilization, and disposal of water within the district including, but not limited to, e…

Districts are authorized to enter into agreements, within the limits of available appropriations, to give, lend or otherwise furnish financial or other aid to any governmental or other agency, or any occupier of lands within the district, to provide erosion-control and prevention…

Districts are authorized to (i) obtain options upon and to acquire, by purchase, exchange, lease, gift, grant, bequest, devise, or otherwise, any property, real or personal, or rights or interests therein; (ii) maintain, administer, and improve any properties acquired, to receive…

Districts are authorized to make available, on terms they prescribe, to land occupiers within the district, agricultural and engineering machinery and equipment, fertilizer, seeds and seedlings and other material or equipment that will assist land occupiers to conserve soil resou…

Districts are authorized to construct, improve, operate and maintain such structures as may be necessary or convenient for the performance of any of the operations authorized in this chapter.