2-1502. Soil and water conservation and flood control needs; state financial assistance; conditions.

(1) The purpose of the Small Watersheds Flood Control Fund is to assist local organizations by paying all or part of the cost of purchase of needed lands, easements, and rights-of-way for soil and water conservation and flood control needs when the following conditions have been met:

(a) The local organizations have agreed on a program of work;

(b) Such a program of work has been found to be feasible, practicable, and will promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the people of the state;

(c) The department has either participated in the planning or reviewed the plans and has approved the program of work;

(d) Local organizations have obtained a minimum of seventy-five percent of the needed number of easements and rights-of-way in the project or a subwatershed prior to the use of state funds for this purpose;

(e) Local organizations have made a formal request or application to the department for state funds for the purpose of purchasing lands, easements, and rights-of-way;

(f) Local organizations and the department have entered into an agreement on the administration and expenditure of these state funds;

(g) The purchase price of the land, easement, or right-of-way has been established either by the courts or by one credentialed real property appraiser approved by the department, which appraisal costs shall be a nonstate cost; and

(h) Local organizations have given assurance to the department that they have obtained any water rights or other permits required under state or federal law and complied with all other applicable state laws.

(2) State funds to be used for lands, easements, and rights-of-way shall be granted to the local organizations in whose name the land, easement, or right-of-way shall be recorded. Rental or lease revenue from these lands may be used subject to the approval of the department by the local organization in the proper management of these lands, such management to include, but not be limited to, weed control, construction, and maintenance of conservation measures, seeding of grass, planting of trees, and construction and maintenance of fences. Within ten years from the purchase date of lands and rights-of-way, and if the lands and rights-of-way are not granted or retained for public purposes as otherwise provided by this section, it shall be the duty of the local organization to sell the property purchased wholly or partially from state funds and to remit to the department a pro rata share of the proceeds of such sale equal to the percentage of the total cost of the acquisition of such real property made from any state allocation made hereunder and all such remittances shall be deposited in the Small Watersheds Flood Control Fund. The local organization shall retain any easement or right-of-way needed to assure the continued operation, maintenance, inspection, and repair of the works of improvement constructed on the land to be sold. The commission and local organization may grant for public purposes title to lands and rights-of-way acquired in whole or in part with funds from the Small Watersheds Flood Control Fund to any public district, city, county, political subdivision of the state, or agency of the state or federal government, or the local organization, with approval of the commission, may retain for public purposes the title to such lands and rights-of-way. Whenever any such grant or retention is approved, the department shall be reimbursed in the amount of the pro rata share of the appraised fair market value that is equal to the percentage of the total cost of acquisition paid from the Small Watersheds Flood Control Fund. All such proceeds to the department shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Small Watersheds Flood Control Fund.

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