Among the duties of the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee is to organize local Soil and Water Conservation Districts, to give appropriate assistance to the supervisors in the districts in carrying out power and duties of the district. The State Committee appoints five supervisors for each of the 67 districts. Receives and approves or disapproves applications for assistance under the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act, Public Law 566. The committee supports the districts with administrative, financial, technical, educational, and legal assistance. Funding to the districts for part of the operation is also provided each year.
Districts also receive funding from local units of governments.
Funding for the program is appropriated by the Legislature from the General Fund, which is utilized to provide cost-share assistance to landowners to place conservation on the ground to control erosion, improve water quality, and enhance the quality of our forests. The Soil Survey Program is carried out through a cooperative agreement with the Soil Conservation Service. Currently, nine surveys are ongoing, and with completion of same, only 6 counties will remain to be surveyed. Federal dollars and local funds are also expended in this program. The committee provides funding to the center, located in Greensboro, Alabama, which serves Alabama's catfish producers in the proper design of ponds, management expertise, and disease control.