Title 10.1, Title 10.1. Conservation

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.

Districts are authorized to develop comprehensive programs and plans for the conservation of soil resources, for the control and prevention of soil erosion, for flood prevention or for agricultural and nonagricultural phases of the conservation, development, utilization, and disp…

Districts shall locally deliver the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program described under § 10.1-2128.1, under the direction of the Board, as a means of promoting voluntary adoption of conservation management practices by farmers and land managers in …

Districts shall have the following additional authority: 1. To acquire by purchase, lease, or other similar means, and to administer, any soil conservation, flood prevention, drainage, irrigation, agricultural and nonagricultural water management, erosion control, or erosion prev…

Districts are authorized to have a seal; to have perpetual succession unless terminated as hereinafter provided; to make and execute contracts and other instruments necessary or convenient to the exercise of their powers; to make, amend and repeal regulations not inconsistent wit…

The directors of any two or more districts may cooperate in the exercise of any or all powers conferred in this chapter.

Districts in partnership with other districts, agencies, organizations, and associations are authorized to coordinate and implement the Virginia Envirothon Program, administered by the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, which enables learning experienc…

Agencies of the Commonwealth which have jurisdiction over or administer any state-owned lands, and agencies of any political subdivision of the Commonwealth which have jurisdiction over or administer any publicly owned lands lying within the boundaries of any district, shall coop…

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 the Commonwealth or any of its agencies, the district directors may require contributions in money, services, materials, or otherwise to an…

Districts are authorized to rent the machinery and other equipment made available to them by the Department to governing bodies and, individuals, or groups of individuals to be used by them for the purpose of soil and water conservation upon such terms as the district directors d…

Any time after two years after the organization of a district, any twenty-five owners of land lying within the boundaries of the district may file a petition with the Board requesting that the operations of the district be terminated and the existence of the district discontinued…

The Board may conduct public meetings and public hearings upon the termination petition to assist it in the considerations thereof.

Within sixty days after a termination petition has been received by the Board it shall give due notice of the holding of a referendum and shall supervise the referendum, and issue appropriate regulations governing the conduct thereof. The ballot shall contain the following questi…

The Board shall publish the result of the referendum and shall thereafter consider and determine whether the continued operation of the district within the defined boundaries is administratively practicable and feasible. If the Board determines that the continued operation of the…

Upon receiving from the Board certification that the Board has determined that the continued operation of the district is not administratively practicable and feasible, the district directors shall proceed to determine the affairs of the district. The district directors shall dis…

Upon issuance of a certificate of dissolution, all ordinances and regulations previously adopted and in force within such district shall be of no further force. All contracts entered into, to which the district or district directors are parties, shall remain in force for the peri…

The Board shall not entertain petitions for the discontinuance of any district, conduct elections upon such petitions or make determinations pursuant to such petitions more often than once in five years.

As used in this article, unless the context requires a different meaning: "Emergency flood insurance program" or "emergency program" means the Emergency Program of the Federal Insurance Administration which provides subsidized flood insurance for potential flood victims, applicab…

The Department shall: 1. Develop a Virginia Flood Protection Master Plan (the Plan) for the Commonwealth. This Plan shall be a place-specific plan for mitigating severe and repetitive flooding and shall, at a minimum, (i) base decision making on the best-available science; (ii) i…

A. All agencies and departments of the Commonwealth shall comply with the following when undertaking development activities, including the construction or rehabilitation of buildings and structures, on state-owned property located in a flood plain: 1. Adhere to all local flood pl…

As used in this article unless the context requires a different meaning: "Authority" means the Virginia Resources Authority created in Chapter 21 (§ 62.1-197 et seq.) of Title 62.1. "Board" means the Board of Directors of the Virginia Resources Authority. "Cost," as applied to an…

Whenever in this article the Board is required to send any mail or notice by certified mail and such mail or notice is sent certified mail, return receipt requested, then any subsequent, identical mail or notice that is sent by the Board may be sent by regular mail.

The Dam Safety, Flood Prevention and Protection Assistance Fund is hereby established and set apart as a permanent and nonreverting fund. The Fund shall consist of any moneys appropriated by the General Assembly, funds returned by localities or other public or private sources in …

The Authority shall administer and manage the Fund, and establish the interest rates and the repayment terms of such loans as provided in this article, in accordance with a memorandum of agreement with the Director. The Director shall, after consultation with all interested parti…

All money belonging to the Fund shall be deposited in an account or accounts in banks or trust companies organized under the laws of the Commonwealth or in national banking associations located in Virginia or in savings institutions located in Virginia organized under the laws of…

The Authority is empowered to collect, or to authorize others to collect on its behalf, amounts due to the Fund under any loan to a local government or private entity, including, if appropriate, taking the action required by § 15.2-2659 or 62.1-216.1 to obtain payment of any amou…

A. The Director may make grants or loans to any local government for the purpose of assisting the local government in the development and implementation of flood prevention or protection projects, or for flood prevention or protection studies. B. The Director may expend from the …

A. The Authority shall administer and manage deposits made to the Fund pursuant to § 15.2-2243.1 in accordance with a memorandum of agreement with the Director. From funds deposited pursuant to this section the Authority may charge an administrative fee, which shall be determined…

A. The Director may authorize a loan or grant for flood prevention or protection projects, or for flood prevention or protection studies under the provisions of § 10.1-603.19 only when the following conditions exist: 1. An application for the loan or grant has been submitted by a…

The Authority is empowered at any time and from time to time to pledge, assign, or transfer from the Fund to banks or trust companies designated by the Authority any or all of the assets of the Fund to be held in trust as security for the payment of the principal of, premium, if …

The Authority is empowered at any time and from time to time to sell, upon such terms and conditions as the Authority shall deem appropriate, any loan, or interest therein, made pursuant to this article. The net proceeds of sale remaining after the payment of the costs and expens…

The Authority is authorized to do any act necessary or convenient to the exercise of the powers granted in this article or reasonably implied thereby.

The provisions of this article shall be liberally construed to the end that its beneficial purposes may be effectuated. Insofar as the provisions of this article are inconsistent with the provisions of any other law, general, special or local, the provisions of this article shall…

A record of each application for a grant or loan and the action taken thereon shall be open to public inspection at the office of the Department. The Authority shall report annually to the General Assembly and the Governor on the Fund and the administration of all grants and loan…