State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > Utah > Title-17d > Chapter-03 > 17d-3-10317D-3-103. Conservation district status, authority, and duties.
(1) A conservation district created under this chapter:
(a) is a body corporate and politic;
(b) is a political subdivision of the state; and
(c) may sue and be sued.
(2) (a) A conservation district may:
(i) survey, investigate, and research soil erosion, floodwater, nonpoint source waterpollution, flood control, water pollution, sediment damage, and watershed development;
(ii) subject to Subsection (2)(b), devise and implement on state or private land a measureto prevent soil erosion, floodwater or sediment damage, nonpoint source water pollution, or otherdegradation of a watershed or of property affecting a watershed;
(iii) subject to Subsection (2)(b), devise and implement a measure to conserve, develop,utilize, or dispose of water on state or private land;
(iv) construct, improve, operate, and maintain a structure that the board of supervisorsconsiders necessary or convenient for the conservation district to carry out its purposes under thischapter;
(v) acquire property, real or personal, by purchase or otherwise, and maintain, improve,and administer that property consistent with the purposes of this chapter;
(vi) enter into a contract in the name of the conservation district;
(vii) receive money from:
(A) a federal or state agency;
(B) a county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state; or
(C) a private source;
(viii) subject to Subsection (2)(c), make recommendations governing land use within theconservation district, including:
(A) the observance of particular methods of cultivation;
(B) the use of specific crop programs and tillage practices;
(C) the avoidance of tilling and cultivating highly erosive areas where erosion may not beadequately controlled if cultivated;
(D) the construction of terraces, terrace outlets, check dams, dikes, ponds, or otherstructures; and
(E) the development or restoration, or both, of range or forest lands or other naturalresources, whether in private, state, or federal ownership;
(ix) make recommendations for county and municipal land use authorities within theconservation district to consider with respect to land use applications and other developmentproposals;
(x) employ clerical and other staff personnel, including legal staff, subject to availablefunds; and
(xi) perform any other act that the board of supervisors considers necessary or convenientfor the efficient and effective administration of the conservation district.
(b) A conservation district's authority under Subsections (2)(a)(ii) and (iii) is subject tothe consent of:
(i) the land occupier; and
(ii) in the case of school and institutional trust lands, as defined in Section 53C-1-103,the director of the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, in accordance with
Sections 53C-1-102 and 53C-1-303.
(c) (i) Each recommendation under Subsection (2)(a)(viii) shall be uniform throughoutthe conservation district or, if the board of supervisors classifies land under Subsection (2)(c)(ii),throughout each land classification.
(ii) The board of supervisors may uniformly classify land within the conservation districtwith respect to soil type, degree of slope, degree of threatened or existing erosion, cropping andtillage practices in use, or other relevant factors.
(3) (a) Each conservation district shall annually submit to the commission, no later thanthe date that the commission prescribes:
(i) a copy of the minutes of each conservation district meeting;
(ii) a copy of the conservation district's annual work plan; and
(iii) an accounting of the conservation district's financial affairs, as provided inSubsection (3)(b).
(b) The accounting required under Subsection (3)(a)(iii) shall:
(i) be prepared by a disinterested person; and
(ii) show the conservation district's debits and credits, including accounts payable andaccounts receivable, the purpose of each debit, the source of each credit, and the actual cashbalance on hand.
Enacted by Chapter 360, 2008 General Session
