ARTICLE 9. General Powers of District [9401. - 9420.]

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC 9.
in effect

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 9402. Section 9402.

The directors shall be empowered to conduct surveys, investigations, and research relating to the conservation of resources and the preventive and control measures and works of improvement needed, publish the results of such surveys, investigations, or research, and disseminate information concerning such preventive control measures and works of improvement; provided, however, that in order to avoid duplication of surveys, investigations, and research activities, the directors shall seek the cooperation of local, state, and federal agencies.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 9403.5. Section 9403.5.

The directors may establish and charge fees for services provided by the district to, and upon the request of, persons or governmental entities. No fee shall exceed the cost reasonably borne by the district in providing the service.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 9404. Section 9404.

The directors may execute all necessary contracts. They may employ such agents, officers, and employees as may be necessary, prescribe their duties, and fix their compensation.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 9405. Section 9405.

The directors may acquire by purchase, lease, contract, or gift all lands and property necessary to carry out the plans and works of the district. The directors may acquire conservation easements as provided in Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 815) of Title 2 of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Civil Code on lands within the district. A district acquiring a conservation easement shall prepare a management plan for the easement which fully describes the intent and legal obligations respecting the easement and which shall be consistent with the goals of the State Soil Conservation Plan and other policies adopted pursuant to Section 9108.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 9406. Section 9406.

The directors may take conveyances, leases, contracts, or other assurances for all property acquired by the district, in the name, and for the uses and purposes, of the district.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 9408. Section 9408.

(a) The directors may cooperate and enter into contracts or agreements with the state, the United States, any county, any city, any other resource conservation or other public district in this state, any person, or the commission, in furtherance of the provisions of this division, and to that end may use any funds available to the district as provided in this chapter, and may accept and use contributions of labor, money, supplies, materials, or equipment useful for accomplishing the purposes of the district. (b) Districts may cooperate with counties and cities on resource issues of local concern. It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage districts to facilitate cooperation among agencies of government to address resource issues of local concern. (c) Districts may cooperate with federal, state, and local agencies and owners of private lands under the agreement between the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts and various public and private entities known as the coordinated resource management and planning memorandum of understanding.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 9409. Section 9409.

The directors may make improvements or conduct operations on public lands, with the cooperation of the agency administering and having jurisdiction thereof, and on private lands, with the consent of the owners thereof, in furtherance of the prevention or control of soil erosion, water conservation and distribution, agricultural enhancement, wildlife enhancement, and erosion stabilization, including, but not limited to, terraces, ditches, levees, and dams or other structures, and the planting of trees, shrubs, grasses, or other vegetation.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 9410. Section 9410.

The directors may operate and maintain, independently or in cooperation with the United States or this state or any state agency or political subdivision or any person, any and all works constructed by the district.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 9411. Section 9411.

The directors may disseminate information relating to soil and water conservation and erosion stabilization, and those purposes identified in Sections 9001 and 9151, and may conduct demonstrational projects within, or adjacent to, the district on public land, with the consent of the agency administering or having jurisdiction thereof, or on private lands, with the consent of the owners thereof, independently or in cooperation with the United States, this state or any political subdivision or public district thereof, or any person.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 9412. Section 9412.

Each district may provide technical assistance to private landowners or land occupants within the district to support practices that minimize soil and related resource degradation and support increased resiliency and adaptation to climate change. When in the judgment of the directors it is for the benefit of the district so to do, the directors may give assistance to a private landowner or land occupant within the district in seeds, plants, materials, and labor, and may loan or rent to that private landowner or that land occupant agricultural machinery or other equipment. Assistance shall not be given or loans shall not be made unless the landowner or land occupant receiving the aid or assistance agrees to devote and use the aid or assistance on their lands within the district in furtherance of objectives of the district and in accordance with district plans or regulations. Notwithstanding the fact that the landowner or land occupant is also a director, any landowner is qualified to and may receive assistance or loans under this section.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 9413. Section 9413.

(a) Each district may develop a long-range work plan, annual work plan, and annual district report, as provided in this section. These plans and the annual district report shall address the full range of projects and programs pursuant to Section 9151 that are found to occur in the district. (b) If a district develops a long-range work plan pursuant to subdivision (a), the long-range work plan shall be adopted and updated every five years. Districts may amend the long-range plan before the five-year update in order to address substantive changes occurring since the adoption of the most recent long-range work plan. A district that prepares long-range work plans shall provide, either in digital or hard-copy format, for informational purposes only, long-range work plans and updates to these plans to the boards of supervisors and to the boards and councils of other public agencies with jurisdiction over resource conservation and management of every county with land in the district’s jurisdiction. The long-range plans shall serve the following functions: (1) Identification of resource issues within the district for purposes of local, state, and federal resource conservation planning. (2) Establishment of long-range district goals. (3) Provision of a framework for directors to identify priorities for annual district activities. (4) Provision of information to federal, state, and local governments and the public concerning district programs and goals. (5) Setting forth a basis for evaluating annual work plan achievements and allocating available funding to the district. (6) Involvement of other agencies and organizations in the district planning process in order to help ensure support in implementing district plans. (c) If a district develops an annual work plan pursuant to subdivision (a), the annual work plan shall be adopted on or before September 30 of each year in a format that shall be consistent with the district’s long-range work plan. A district that prepares annual work plans shall provide on an annual basis, either in digital or hard-copy format, for informational purposes only, annual work plans to the boards of supervisors and to the boards and councils of other public agencies with jurisdiction over resource conservation and management of every county with land in the district’s jurisdiction. The annual work plans shall serve the following functions: (1) Identification of high priority actions to be undertaken by the district during the year covered by the plan. (2) Identification of the person or persons responsible for undertaking each planned task, how it will be performed, when it will be completed, what constitutes completion, and the cost. (3) Demonstration of the relationship of annual tasks to the long-range district goals identified in the long-range work plan. (4) Provision of assistance to the local field office of the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, and coordination of activities with the California Conservation Corps, and to the University of California Cooperative Extension, if applicable, in adjusting staff and program priorities to match district goals. (5) Informing the public of the district’s goals for the year and the anticipated schedule of board of directors’ public meetings. (6) Involvement of other agencies and organizations in the district planning process in order to help ensure support in implementing district plans. (7) Provision of a basis for assisting the state in determining district eligibility for state funding under this division. (d) If a district develops an annual district report pursuant to subdivision (a), the annual district report shall be completed on or before September 30 of each year in a format consistent with the long-range and annual plans, so that progress made during the reporting period towards district goals can be readily determined. The annual report shall serve the following functions: (1) To report on the district’s achievements during the reporting period to the department, the board of supervisors and to the boards and councils of other public agencies with jurisdiction over resource conservation and management of land within the district’s jurisdiction of any county in which the district is located, and any agency that provides financial assistance. (2) To increase public awareness of district activities. (3) To compare district accomplishments during the reporting period with annual work plan objectives for that period and to identify potential objectives for the next annual work plan.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 9413.5. Section 9413.5.

Each district may enter into an interagency agreement with a state agency, for purposes of this chapter, consistent with the requirements of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 11250) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code and the Department of General Services’ State Contracting Manual.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 9414. Section 9414.

The directors may accept, by purchase, lease, or gift, and administer any project or program consistent with Sections 9001 and 9151 located within the district undertaken by the United States or any of its agencies, or by this state or any of its agencies.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 9415. Section 9415.

The directors may manage, as agents of the United States or any of its agencies, or of this state or any of its agencies, any project or program consistent with Sections 9001 and 9151, within or adjacent to the district; and may act as agent for the United States, or any of its agencies, or for this state or any of its agencies, in connection with the acquisition, construction, operation, or administration of any project or program consistent with Sections 9001 and 9151 within or adjacent to the district.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 9416. Section 9416.

The directors may establish standards of cropping and tillage operations and range practices on private land as a condition to expenditure by the district of district or other funds, or to the doing by the district of any work of any nature, on private lands.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 9417. Section 9417.

(a) The directors of any district may cooperate with the directors of any other district in respect to matters of common interest or benefit to the districts. An association of resource conservation districts may be organized to facilitate that cooperation, to provide for the loan of equipment and tools by one district to another, and for the making of investigations and studies and the carrying out of projects of joint interest to the districts participating therein. (b) It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage districts to organize in countywide or regional associations for the purposes of (1) providing coordinated representation of districts before federal, state, and local governmental agencies and (2) coordinating program planning, funding, and delivery of services.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 9417.5. Section 9417.5.

It is the intent of the Legislature that concerned state agencies, in cooperation with resource conservation districts and other appropriate local entities, work with the agencies of the United States Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other federal agencies, to maximize cooperative opportunities for federal, state, and private funding for competitive grants and contracts for watershed protection, restoration, and enhancement programs of resource conservation districts.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 9418. Section 9418.

The directors of any district may call upon the district attorney of the principal county for legal advice and assistance in all matters concerning the district, except that if the principal county has a county counsel, then the directors shall call upon him for such legal advice and assistance. The district attorney or county counsel, as may be appropriate, shall, upon the request being made, give such advice and assistance.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 9419. Section 9419.

(a) The directors may engage in activities designed to promote a knowledge of the principles of resource conservation throughout the district and for that purpose may develop educational programs both for children and for adults. In the development of those programs, the directors may authorize the giving of awards and prizes for outstanding achievement. (b) Each district may develop and disseminate or utilize conservation education programs for use in kindergarten through grade 12. As an option to developing these programs independently, it is the intent of the Legislature to encourage both collaboration with other organizations and incorporation of elements of existing programs. (c) A district may conduct workshops on the relationships between soil and related resource problems and their effects on other resources, such as wildlife and water quality. (d) A district may sponsor programs that address land use practices which reduce water and wind erosion, soil contamination, soil salinity, agricultural land conversion, loss of soil organic matter, soil subsidence, and soil compaction and associated poor water infiltration.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 9420. Section 9420.

The board of directors of a district may appoint advisory committees to provide technical assistance in addressing soil and related resource problems, to assist in coordinating conservation programs and activities, and to share information relating to the functions or purposes of the district. Representatives of state, federal, and local governmental agencies, including school districts, as well as private organizations, may serve on these advisory committees.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026

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