North Carolina § 106-840 - Soil and Water Conservation Commission - creation; powers and duties; compliance inspections.

§ 106-840. Soil and Water Conservation Commission - creation; powers and duties; compliance inspections.

There is hereby created the Soil and Water Conservation Commission of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services with the power and duty to adopt rules to be followed in the development and implementation of a soil and water conservation program. The Soil and Water Conservation Commission has all of the following powers and duties: To approve petitions for soil conservation districts. To approve application for watershed plans. Such other duties as specified in Chapter 139. To conduct any inspections in accordance with subsection (b) of this section. The Commission shall adopt rules consistent with the provisions of this Chapter. All rules not inconsistent with the provisions of this Chapter heretofore adopted by the Soil and Water Conservation Committee shall remain in full force and effect unless and until repealed or superseded by action of the Soil and Water Conservation Commission. All rules adopted by the Commission shall be enforced by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. An employee or agent of the Soil and Water Conservation Commission or the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services may enter property, with the consent of the owner or person having control over property, at reasonable times for the purposes of investigating compliance with Commission or Department programs when the investigation is reasonably necessary to carry out the duties of the Commission. If the Commission or Department is unable to obtain the consent of the owner of the property, the Commission or Department may obtain an administrative search warrant pursuant to G.S. 15-27.2. Any person who refuses entry or access to property by an employee or agent of the Commission or the Department or who willfully resists, delays, or obstructs an employee or agent of the Commission or the Department while the employee or agent is in the process of carrying out official duties after the employee or agent has obtained the consent of the owner or person having control of the property or, if consent is not obtained, after the employee or agent has obtained an administrative search warrant, shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. History (1973, c. 1262, s. 34; 1977, c. 771, s. 4; 1989, c. 727, s. 194; 1997-173, s. 1; 1997-443, s. 11A.119(a); 2011-145, s. 13.22A(e), (f).) Cross References. - For notes regarding implementation of the Tar-Pamlico River Basin-Nutrient Sensitive Waters Management Strategy, see G.S. 143B-282 . Agricultural Drought Response Cost Share Program. - Session Laws 2008-107, s. 12.4, provides: "(a) Agricultural Drought Response Cost Share Program. - The Agricultural Drought Response Cost Share Program is established. The Program shall provide cost share funds to assist North Carolina farmers who suffered damage from the severe and extreme drought conditions in North Carolina in 2007. These cost share funds shall be used to assist farmers with the following projects: "(1) To redrill damaged wells or to drill new wells to be used as a water supply for livestock or for irrigation. "(2) To renovate damaged or inadequate farm ponds or construct new farm ponds to be used as a water supply for livestock or for irrigation. "(3) To renovate pastures depleted by the 2007 drought. "(b) Program Administration. - The Program shall be implemented and supervised by the Soil and Water Conservation Commission through the Agriculture Cost Share Program for Nonpoint Source Pollution Control. The Commission shall administer this Program as provided in this section and in Part 9 of Article 21 of Chapter 143 [now Article 72 of Chapter 106 ] of the General Statutes. "(c) Program Functions. - Under the Agricultural Drought Response Cost Share Program, the Division shall: "(1) Within funds available for this Program, provide cost share funds subject to all of the following limitations and requirements: "a. Except as provided in G.S. 143-215.74(b)(9) [now G.S. 106-850(b)(9) ], State funding shall be limited to: "1. Seventy-five percent (75%) of the average cost for each project with the assisted person providing twenty-five percent (25%) of the project cost, which may include in-kind support of the project. "2. A maximum of seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) per year to each applicant. "b. Applicants shall be limited to farmers who have an adjusted gross income in each of the previous two years that is at or below two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000), unless at least seventy-five percent (75%) of this adjusted gross income is derived directly from farming, ranching, or forestry operations. "c. To be eligible for cost share funds under subdivision (1) or subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section, applicants must demonstrate that their existing water supplies are insufficient to provide reliable water to meet current needs for livestock watering or irrigation. "d. Applicants may apply for cost share funds for projects under subsection (a) of this section that were installed as of August 1, 2007, so long as the costs of installation are documented to the satisfaction of the Commission. "e. The requirements and limitations under subdivisions (1), (2), (5), and (8) of subsection (b) of G.S. 143-215.74 [now G.S. 106-850 ] do not apply. All other limitations and requirements set out in Part 9 of Article 21 of Chapter 143 [now Article 72 of Chapter 106 ] of the General Statutes, as modified by this section, apply. "(2) Establish criteria to prioritize the redrilling of damaged wells and the drilling of new wells, the renovation of damaged or inadequate farm ponds and the construction of new farm ponds, and the renovation of pastures depleted by the drought. "(3) Establish criteria for the selection of applicants who are eligible for participation in the Program. "(4) Develop a process for soliciting and reviewing applications and for selecting farmers to participate in the Program. "(5) Investigate and pursue other funding sources to supplement State funds, including federal, local, and private funding sources. "(6) Provide technical assistance to participating persons to assist with the projects that are eligible for cost share funds under subsection (a) of this section and to facilitate the timely transfer of technology among participating persons. "(d) Report. - No later than 31 January of each year, the Division shall prepare a comprehensive report on the implementation of subsections (a) through (c) of this section. The report shall be submitted to the Environmental Review Commission as a part of the report required by G.S. 143-215.74(e) [now G.S. 106-850(e) ]. The first report required by this subsection shall be submitted to the Environmental Review Commission no later than 31 January 2009. "(e) Program Funds. - The Soil and Water Conservation Commission may use up to one hundred fifteen thousand dollars ($115,000) of the funds appropriated in this act to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for the 2008-2009 fiscal year to be used for the Agricultural Drought Response Cost Share Program for the Division of Soil and Water Conservation and for the Soil and Water Conservation Districts for the costs of providing engineering assistance, providing technical assistance, and administering the Program. Further, twenty-five percent (25%) of the remaining funds shall not be allocated during the initial funding cycle, but shall be retained to be allocated by the Commission consistent with the limitations under this section, for the purposes under this section, and to address future drought emergencies or to allocate to farmers who received cost share funds under this section who need additional funds to achieve the purpose of the initial cost share disbursement." Transfer of Division of Soil and Water Conservation and Soil and Water Conservation Commission. - Session Laws 2011-145, s. 13.22A(a) and (b), provides: "(a) The Division of Soil and Water Conservation is transferred from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services with all the elements of a Type I transfer, as defined by G.S. 143A-6 . "(b) All functions, powers, duties, and obligations previously vested in the State Soil and Water Conservation Commission are transferred to and vested in the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services by a Type II transfer, as defined in G.S. 143A-6 ." Session Laws 2011-145, s. 13.25A(a)-(d), provides: "(a) Concurrently with the transfer under this act of the Division of Forest Resources and the Division of Soil and Water Conservation from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall transfer at least four vacant positions in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to be reclassified by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for the central business office of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Office of State Budget and Management, and the Office of State Personnel shall jointly determine if any additional positions from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources should be transferred to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services due to the transfer of the Division of Forest Resources and the Division of Soil and Water Conservation from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services under this section. "(b) The Attorney General shall continue to provide legal counsel and legal support to the Division of Forest Resources and the Division of Soil and Water Conservation after these divisions are transferred from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services under this act. "(c) Subsequent to the transfer of the Division of Forest Resources and the Division of Soil and Water Conservation from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services under this act, the Division of Forest Resources and the Division of Soil and Water Conservation, including the staff and equipment of these two divisions, may continue to occupy the office space that these two divisions occupied prior to the transfer under this act, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall cooperate with this continued use of the office space. "(d) The Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall enter into a memorandum of understanding concerning the sharing of existing databases and any software programs used in the administration of the programs of the Division of Forest Resources and the Division of Soil and Water Conservation and any other matters addressed in this section in order to assure the uninterrupted continuation of services under these programs during and after the transfer of the Division of Forest Resources and the Division of Soil and Water Conservation from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services under this act." Session Laws 2011-145, s. 13.22A(dd), provides: "The Revisor of Statutes shall make the conforming statutory changes necessary to reflect the transfers under subsections (a) and (b) of this section. The Revisor of Statutes may correct any reference in the General Statutes to the statutes that are recodified by this section and any other conforming changes necessitated by this section." Pursuant to that provision, conforming changes have been made in some of the Session Laws noted above. Editor's Note. - This Article is former Part 7 of Article 7 of Chapter 143B , as recodified by Session Laws 2011-145, s. 13.22A(e), effective July 1, 2011. The historical citations to the sections in the former Part have been added to the corresponding sections in this Article as recodified. This section was formerly codified as G.S. 143B-294 . It was recodified as G.S. 106-840 by Session Laws 2011-145, s. 13.22A(e), effective July 1, 2011. Session Laws 1998-165, s. 2, provides: "The Soil and Water Conservation Commission may adopt temporary rules to implement the conservation Reserve Enhancement Program. This section shall constitute a recent act of the General Assembly for purposes of G.S. 150B-21(a)(2) ." Session Laws 2008-107, s. 1.2, provides: "This act shall be known as 'The Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2008'." Session Laws 2008-107, s. 30.3, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2008-2009 fiscal year, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2008-2009 fiscal year." Session Laws 2008-107, s. 30.5 is a severability clause. Session Laws 2011-145, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2011.'" Session Laws 2011-145, s. 32.2, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2011-145, s. 32.5 is a severability clause. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2011-145, s. 13.22A(f), effective July 1, 2011, in the first sentence of subsections (a) and (b), and in the last sentence of subdivision (a)(2), substituted "Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services" for "Department of Environment and Natural Resources."