2023 Tennessee Code › Title 43 - AGRICULTURE AND HORTICULTURE (§§ 43-1-101 — 43-40-105) › Chapter 14 - SOIL CONSERVATION (§§ 43-14-101 — 43-14-308) › Part 2 - SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICTS LAW (§§ 43-14-201 — 43-14-219) › Section 43-14-216 - Additional powers of district and supervisors

A district and its supervisors may, in addition to other powers granted in this part:
(1)
Conduct surveys, investigations, and research relating to the character of soil erosion and necessary erosion prevention and control measures, the relationships between reductions in soil erosion rates and water quality improvement, the synergistic effects of reductions in soil loss on wildlife and other natural resource benefits, the economic impact of conservation measures and improvements in soil quality on agricultural operations, publish the results of such surveys, investigations, or research, and disseminate information concerning erosion prevention and control measures; provided, that in order to avoid duplication of research activities, no district shall initiate a research program except in cooperation with the commission, the department of agriculture, and the United States;
(2)
Conduct demonstration projects within the district, upon obtaining the consent of the landowner and land occupier or the necessary rights or interests in lands, in order to demonstrate, by example, the means, methods, and measures by which soil and soil resources may be conserved and improved, soil erosion in the form of soil washing may be prevented and controlled, and the relationships between soil erosion reduction and water quality or other benefits;
(3)
Carry out prevention and control measures within the district, including engineering operations, methods of cultivation, growing vegetation, and changes in use or management of land within the district, upon obtaining the consent of the landowner and land occupier or the necessary rights or interests in lands;
(4)
Cooperate, or enter into agreements, with any landowner and land occupier within the district to carry out erosion control and prevention operations, to help improve traditional areas of farm production, and to encourage diversification and innovation of farming operations within the district, subject to such conditions as the supervisors deem necessary to advance the purposes of this part;
(5)
Enter into agreements with the department of agriculture, other state agencies, local governments, and nonprofit organizations, including the national and state associations of conservation districts, to administer or assist in the administration of programs for the benefit of landowners and land occupiers within the district in carrying out erosion control and prevention operations, installing conservation practices to reduce erosion and improve related natural resources, improving traditional areas of farm production, diversifying farming operations, and encouraging farming innovation and nontraditional agricultural activities within the district;
(6)
(A)
Obtain options upon, and acquire, by purchase, exchange, lease, gift, grant, bequest, devise, or otherwise, any property, real or personal, or rights or interests therein;
(B)
Maintain, administer, and improve any properties acquired, to receive income from the properties, and to expend the income in carrying out this part;
(C)
Sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of any property or property interests owned in furtherance of this part; and
(D)
Subject to the approval of the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, and the comptroller of the treasury, or the comptroller's designee, borrow money for the purposes authorized by subdivisions (6)(A) and (6)(B), by issuing notes pursuant to title 9, chapter 21, part 6. The notes must be secured by:
(i)
Lawfully available district revenues and a guarantee of the full faith, credit, and taxing power of each local government within which the district is located; or
(ii)
Lawfully available district revenues and a statutory lien on the property financed by the notes;
(7)
Make available, on terms that the district prescribes, to landowners and land occupiers within the district, agricultural and engineering machinery and equipment, fertilizer, seeds and seedlings, of which all forest tree seedlings must be obtained, if practicable, from the nurseries of the forestry division operated by the department of agriculture or the forest service of the United States department of agriculture, and other material or equipment that will assist landowners and land occupiers in conserving soil resources and preventing and controlling soil erosion;
(8)
Construct, improve, and maintain structures that are necessary or convenient for the performance of operations authorized in this part;
(9)
Develop comprehensive plans for the conservation of soil resources and the control and prevention of soil erosion within the district, which must specify, in reasonable detail, the acts, procedures, performances, and avoidances to effectuate the plans, including any specification of engineering operations, methods of cultivation, growing of vegetation, cropping programs, tillage practices, and changes in use of land, and publish the plans and information in a manner that will bring the plans to the attention of landowners and land occupiers within the district;
(10)
Take over and administer, as agent of the United States, any soil conservation, erosion control, or erosion prevention project, undertaken by the United States within its boundaries;
(11)
Accept, use, and expend donations, gifts, and contributions in any form from the United States or from this state or any of its agencies;
(12)
Enter into agreements with the United States department of agriculture or its agencies to optimize the delivery of federal programs to landowners and land occupiers in the district, reduce erosion, and improve the condition of related natural resources in the district, and clarify the roles and responsibilities of each entity;
(13)
Sue and be sued in the name of the district;
(14)
Have a seal, which must be judicially noticed;
(15)
Have perpetual succession, unless terminated as provided in §
43-14-218
;
(16)
Make and execute contracts and other instruments necessary or convenient to the exercise of its powers;
(17)
Make, amend, and repeal rules consistent with this part to carry into effect its purposes and powers;
(18)
As a condition of extending any benefit to, or performing work upon, land under this part, require contributions in any form or entry into agreements or covenants as to the use of such land to prevent or control erosion; and
(19)
Carry out, maintain, and operate works of improvement for flood prevention and agricultural phases of conservation development, utilization, and management of water.
Amended by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 203, s 2, eff. 4/22/2021.
Acts 1939, ch. 197, § 6; C. Supp. 1950, § 552.6 (Williams, § 552.36); T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 43-1516.