CHAPTER 5. POWERS AND DUTIES OF DISTRICTS
IC 14-32-5
Chapter 5. Powers and Duties of Districts
IC 14-32-5-1
General powers
Sec. 1. (a) A district constitutes a governmental subdivision of the
state and a public body corporate and politic exercising public
powers.
(b) A district may do the following:
(1) Carry out soil erosion and water runoff preventive and
control measures within the district, including engineering
operations, methods of cultivation, the growing of vegetation,
changes in use of land, and the measures listed in
IC 14-32-1-1(7) and IC 14-32-1-1(8), on the following:
(A) Land owned or controlled by the state with the consent
and cooperation of the agency administering and having
jurisdiction of the land.
(B) Any other land within the district upon obtaining the
consent of the occupier of the land or the necessary rights or
interests in the land.
(2) Construct, improve, operate, and maintain the structures that
are necessary or convenient for the performance of any of the
operations authorized in this article.
(3) Cooperate or enter into agreements with, and within the
limits of appropriations made available to the district by law to
furnish financial or other aid to, a federal, state, or other agency
or an occupier of land within the district in the carrying on of
conservation operations within the district, subject to the
conditions that the supervisors consider necessary to advance
the purpose of this article.
(4) Obtain options upon and acquire, by purchase, exchange,
lease, gift, grant, bequest, devise, or otherwise, real or personal
property or rights or interests in property.
(5) Maintain, administer, and improve property acquired,
receive income from the property, and expend the income in
carrying out this article.
(6) Sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of property or interests in
property in furtherance of this article.
(7) Make available to land occupiers within the district, on
terms that the district prescribes:
(A) agricultural and engineering machinery and equipment;
(B) fertilizer;
(C) seeds;
(D) seedlings;
(E) other material or equipment; and
(F) services from the district;
that will assist in conserving the soil and water resources of the
land occupiers.
(8) Develop or participate in the development of comprehensive
plans for the proper management of soil and water resources
within the district that specify the acts, procedures,
performances, and avoidances necessary or desirable for the
effectuation of the plans.
(9) Publish plans and information developed under subdivision
(8) and bring the plans and information to the attention of land
occupiers within the district.
(10) Take over, with the consent of the United States or the
state, by purchase, lease, or otherwise, and administer any soil
and water conservation, erosion control, water quality
protection, or flood prevention project of the entity located
within the district's boundaries.
(11) Manage, as agent of the United States or the state, any soil
and water conservation, erosion control, water quality
protection, flood prevention, or outdoor recreation project
within the district's boundaries.
(12) Act as agent for the United States or the state in connection
with the acquisition, construction, operation, or administration
of any soil and water conservation, erosion control, water
quality protection, flood prevention, or outdoor recreation
project within the district's boundaries.
(13) Accept donations, gifts, and contributions in money,
services, materials, or otherwise from the United States and use
or expend the services, materials, or other contributions in
carrying on the district's operations.
(14) Sue and be sued in the name of the district.
(15) Have perpetual succession unless terminated as provided
in this article.
(16) Make and execute contracts and other instruments
necessary or convenient to the exercise of the district's powers.
(17) Adopt rules and regulations consistent with this article to
carry into effect the purposes and powers of this article.
(18) Require an occupier of land not owned or controlled by the
state, as a condition to extending benefits under this article to
or the performance of work upon the land, to do either or both
of the following:
(A) Make contributions in money, services, materials, or
otherwise to an operation conferring benefits.
(B) Enter into agreements or covenants concerning the use
and treatment of the land that will tend to:
(i) prevent or control soil erosion;
(ii) achieve water conservation and water quality
protection; and
(iii) reduce flooding;
on the land.
(19) Cooperate with the state in the following:
(A) Conducting surveys, investigations, and research relating
to the character of soil erosion and water losses and the
preventive and control measures needed.
(B) Publishing the results of the surveys, investigations, or
research.
(C) Disseminating information concerning the preventive
and control measures.
(D) The management of watersheds.
(20) Cooperate with the state in conducting, within the district,
soil and water conservation, erosion control, water quality
protection, and flood prevention demonstration projects:
(A) on land owned or controlled by the state with the agency
administering and having jurisdiction of the land; and
(B) on any other land upon obtaining the consent of the
occupier of the land or the necessary rights or interests in the
land.
(21) Serve as the management agency for:
(A) the erosion and sediment part of 33 U.S.C. 1288 (P.L.
92-500, section 208); and
(B) other erosion and sediment reduction programs that
affect water quality in each county.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.25. Amended by P.L.136-1997,
SEC.28; P.L.175-2006, SEC.14.
IC 14-32-5-2
Inapplicable provisions
Sec. 2. A provision concerning the acquisition, operation, or
disposition of property by other public bodies does not apply to a
district unless the provision specifically states that the provision
applies.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.25.
IC 14-32-5-3
Bids, proposals, or quotations submitted by a trust
Sec. 3. If:
(1) a district disposes of real property or awards a contract for
the procurement of property by acceptance of bids, proposals,
or quotations; and
(2) a bid, proposal, or quotation is submitted by a trust (as
defined in IC 30-4-1-1(a));
the bid, proposal, or quotation submitted by the trust must identify
each beneficiary of the trust and each settlor empowered to revoke
or modify the trust.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.25. Amended by P.L.136-1997,
SEC.29.
IC 14-32-5-3.5
Certificate of organization; rebuttable presumption of
establishment of district
Sec. 3.5. (a) In an action or proceeding that:
(1) relates to; or
(2) involves the validity or enforcement of;
a contract, proceeding, or action of a district, proof of the issuance
of a certificate of organization to the district by the secretary of state
creates a rebuttable presumption of the establishment of the district
under this article or IC 13-3-1 (before its repeal).
(b) A copy of a certificate of organization that was issued to a
district and certified by the secretary of state is:
(1) admissible in evidence in an action or proceeding referred
to in subsection (a); and
(2) proof of the filing and contents of the certificate.
As added by P.L.136-1997, SEC.30.
IC 14-32-5-4
"Landfill" defined; inspection
Sec. 4. (a) As used in this section, "landfill" means a facility
where solid waste is to be disposed of through placement on or
beneath the surface of the ground. However, the term does not
include any of the following:
(1) A land application operation regulated under 327 IAC 6.
(2) A surface impoundment.
(3) An injection well.
(4) A facility for the disposal of solid waste other than sludge
from a municipal wastewater treatment plant that is:
(A) generated at the site of the facility; or
(B) generated by the owner or operator of the facility.
(5) An operation permitted under IC 14-34.
(b) As used in this section, "underground injection" means the
subsurface emplacement of fluids through:
(1) a bored, drilled, or driven shaft; or
(2) a dug hole, the depth of which is greater than the hole's
largest surface dimension.
(c) A district shall inspect every landfill located within the
boundaries of the district for compliance with rules adopted under
IC 13-18 or IC 13-19 concerning erosion and sediment control. Each
landfill shall be inspected under this section at least two (2) times
each calendar year as follows:
(1) One (1) time before July 1.
(2) One (1) time after June 30 and before December 31.
(d) Not later than ten (10) days after an inspection of a landfill
under this section, the individual who conducted the inspection on
behalf of the district shall prepare a written report on the results of
the inspection and send the report to the following:
(1) The executive of the county.
(2) The commissioner of the department of environmental
management.
(3) The director of the division of soil conservation established
within the Indiana state department of agriculture by
IC 15-11-4-1.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.25. Amended by P.L.136-1997,
SEC.31; P.L.1-2006, SEC.222; P.L.2-2008, SEC.35; P.L.120-2008,
SEC.15.
IC 14-32-5-5
Prohibited actions
Sec. 5. A district may not do any of the following:
(1) Exercise the right of eminent domain.
(2) Incur indebtedness beyond available money.
(3) Issue bonds.
(4) Take contributions by exactions or persuasions. However,
the district may accept voluntary contributions from any source
if the following conditions are met:
(A) The donations are offered for the sole and exclusive
purpose of promoting soil and water conservation within the
district.
(B) The district satisfactorily guarantees to the donors the
faithful use of the donations for that purpose.
(5) Engage in:
(A) the marketing of farm products; or
(B) the buying and selling of farm supplies;
other than those products or supplies used or needed directly or
indirectly in soil and water conservation work.
(6) Engage in agricultural research or agricultural extension
teaching except in cooperation with Purdue University.
(7) Levy taxes.
(8) Make or levy benefit assessments or any other kind of
assessments.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.25. Amended by P.L.136-1997,
SEC.32.
IC 14-32-5-6
Cooperation among districts
Sec. 6. Districts organized under this article or IC 13-3-1 (before
its repeal) may cooperate with each other in carrying on the work of
the districts. However, this section does not permit the transfer of
authority or powers from one (1) district to another.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.25. Amended by P.L.136-1997,
SEC.33.
IC 14-32-5-7
State agencies and governmental subdivisions cooperating with
districts
Sec. 7. (a) An:
(1) agency of the state; or
(2) county or other governmental subdivision of the state;
that has jurisdiction over or is charged with the administration of
publicly owned land lying within the boundaries of a district shall
cooperate to the fullest extent with the district to effect programs and
operations undertaken by the district under this article.
(b) The district shall be given free access to enter and perform
work upon the publicly owned land referred to in subsection (a).
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.25. Amended by P.L.136-1997,
SEC.34.
IC 14-32-5-8
Appropriations
Sec. 8. The fiscal body of each county that contains a district in
whole or in part may appropriate money for the use of the district
serving the county from which the appropriation is to be made.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.25.