Request By:
J. Thomas Soyars, Esq.
County Attorney of Christian County
P.O. Box 24
Hopkinsville, Kentucky 42240
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Thomas R. Emerson, Assistant Attorney General
This is in response to your letter stating that the establishment of a new soil and water conservation district is contemplated in Hopkinsville and portions of Christian County. You are interested in cleaning out a river and keeping the river clean.
You state that back in 1957 a water district was created which included most of the area with which you are now concerned. While the vote concerning the establishment of the district was favorable, the district never became active and never levied any taxes. Your question concerns what should now be done about dissolving the old district. You ask whether any formal steps must be taken or whether it can be assumed that the district is defunct.
After discussing the matter with you on August 10, 1979, over the telephone it seems that the formation of a watershed conservancy district (KRS 262.700 to 262.795) is contemplated rather than a soil and water conservation district. Furthermore, it appears that the district created in 1957 was also a watershed conservancy district and not a water district.
As stated in KRS 262.700 a watershed conservancy district is a subdistrict of a soil conservation district and shall constitute a governmental subdivision of the state and a public body corporate and politic exercising public power. Such a district is formed for the purpose of developing and executing plans and programs relating to any phase of conservation of water, water usage, flood prevention, flood control, erosion prevention and control of erosion, floodwater and sediment damages.
KRS 262.705 provides in part that the area embraced in a watershed conservancy district shall not include lands embraced within another watershed conservancy district but may include lands lying in one or more soil and water conservation districts. KRS 262.707 states that if it appears that contiguous territory within an established district would be better served by the organization of a separate district, a petition for withdrawal and formation of a new district may be filed with the board of supervisors by twenty-five or more landowners, or a majority if less than fifty landowners are involved. Note also the provisions of KRS 262.710, concerning the petition for formation of a watershed conservancy district, and OAG 74-585, copy enclosed, dealing with the establishment of a watershed conservancy district.
KRS 262.791 sets forth the procedures to follow in connection with the discontinuance of a watershed conservancy district. The statute provides in part that ten years subsequent to the organization of a watershed conservancy district a majority of the landowners within the district may file a petition with the board of supervisors of the soil and water conservation district requesting that the watershed conservancy district be discontinued. The petition shall state the reason for discontinuance and that all obligations of the district have been met. A hearing is then held on the petition and if the board of supervisors determines that all obligations have been met, the supervisors shall, within sixty days, hold a referendum.
As previously noted, a watershed conservancy district is a governmental subdivision of the state and a public body corporate and politic exercising public power within statutorily prescribed limits. Dissolution of such an entity is dependent upon legislative authorization, in this case KRS 262.791, and it is not accomplished until the statutory provisions are satisfied. Thus, the provisions of KRS 262.791 must be complied with before a watershed conservancy district is legally dissolved.
KRS 262.705 states that the area embraced in a watershed conservancy district shall not include lands embraced within another watershed conservancy district. Unless you can bring the proposed watershed conservancy district within the provisions of KRS 262.707 (where contiguous territory within an established district would be better served by a separate district, a petition for withdrawal and formation of a new district may be filed), the old district will have to be legally dissolved pursuant to the provisions of KRS 262.791 before the new watershed conservancy district can be created.