January 19, 2011 Board Minutes

Please find a link below to the minutes from the January 19, 2011 Board meeting of the Escambia Soil and Water Conservation District.

Jan 19 2011 minutes

Welcome the Escambia Soil and Water Conservation District website!

On behalf of the Escambia Soil and Water Conservation District (ESWCD) Board of Supervisors, welcome to our website/blog.  Our intention is to increase public awareness of issues important to our natural resources and property owners in Escambia County and keep the Citizens aware of board initiatives and actions.  Many citizens are not aware of the role of the ESWCD and its charge under Florida Statutes.

The Escambia Soil and Water Conservation District under Florida Statutes 582 is a governmental subdivision of the state, and a public body corporate and politic, exercising the following powers, in addition to others:

1. To conduct surveys, investigations, and research relating to the character of soil erosion and floodwater and sediment damages, to the conservation, development and utilization of soil and water resources and the disposal of water, and to the preventive and control measures and works of improvement needed; to publish the results of such surveys, investigations, or research; and to disseminate information concerning such preventive and control measures and works of improvement.
2. To conduct demonstrational projects within the district with permission of the land owner, in order to demonstrate by example the means, methods, and measures by which soil and soil resources may be conserved, and soil erosion in the form of soil blowing and soil washing may be prevented and controlled, and works of improvement for flood prevention or the conservation, development and utilization of soil and water resources, and the disposal of water may be carried out;
3. To carry out preventive and control measures and works of improvement for flood prevention or the conservation, development and utilization of soil and water resources, and the disposal of water within the district, including, but not limited to, engineering operations, methods of cultivation, the growing of vegetation, changes in use of land on lands with permission of the land owner;
4. To cooperate, or enter into agreements with, and within the limits of appropriations duly made available to it by law, to furnish financial or other aid to, any agency, governmental or otherwise, or any owner or occupier of lands within the district, in the carrying on of erosion control or prevention operations and works of improvement for flood prevention or the conservation, development and utilization, of soil and water resources and the disposal of water within the district, subject to such conditions as the supervisors may deem necessary to advance the purposes of the ESWCD.
5. To obtain options upon and to acquire, by purchase, exchange, lease, gift, grant, bequest, devise or otherwise, any property, real or personal, or rights or interests therein; to maintain, administer, and improve any properties acquired, to receive income from such properties and to expend such income in carrying out the purposes and provisions of the ESWCD; and to sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of any of its property or interests therein in furtherance of the purposes and the provisions of the ESWCD;
6. To make available, on such terms as it shall prescribe, to landowners and occupiers within the district, agricultural and engineering machinery and equipment, fertilizer, seeds and seedlings, and such other material or equipment, as will assist such landowners and occupiers to carry on operations upon their lands for the conservation of soil resources and for the prevention or control of soil erosion and for flood prevention or the conservation, development and utilization, of soil and water resources and the disposal of water;
7. To develop comprehensive plans for the conservation of soil and water resources and for the control and prevention of soil erosion and for flood prevention or the conservation, development and utilization of soil and water resources, and the disposal of water within the district, which plans shall specify in such detail as may be possible the acts, procedures, performances, and avoidances which are necessary or desirable for the effectuation of such plans, including the specification of engineering operations, methods of cultivation, the growing of vegetation, cropping programs, tillage practices, and changes in use of land; control of artesian wells; and to publish such plans and information and bring them to the attention of owners and occupiers of lands within the district;
8. To take over, by purchase, lease, or otherwise, and to administer any soil-conservation, erosion-control, erosion-prevention project, or any project for flood-prevention or for the conservation, development and utilization of soil and water resources, and the disposal of water, located within its boundaries undertaken by the United States or any of its agencies, or by this state or any of its agencies; to manage as agent of the United States or any of its agencies, or of the state or any of its agencies, any soil-conservation, erosion-control, erosion-prevention, or any project for flood-prevention or for the conservation, development, and utilization of soil and water resources, and the disposal of water within its boundaries; to act as agent for the United States, or any of its agencies, or for the state or any of its agencies, in connection with the acquisition, construction, operation or administration of any soil-conservation, erosion-control, erosion-prevention, or any project for flood-prevention or for the conservation, development and utilization of soil and water resources, and the disposal of water within its boundaries; to accept donations, gifts, and contributions in money, services, materials, or otherwise, from the United States or any of its agencies, or from this state or any of its agencies, or from others, and to use or expend such moneys, services, materials or other contributions in carrying on its operations.

Please come back to our site periodically as we attempt to keep you informed as to environmental and natural resource issues in Escambia Count.

We look forward to continuing to serve the Citizens of Escambia County.