The commissioners of each district shall, with approval of and within time limits set by administrative order of the committee, adopt reasonable regulations as are deemed necessary to establish a soil loss limit or limits for the district and provide for the implementation of the limit or limits. A district may subsequently amend or repeal its regulations as it deems necessary. The committee shall review the soil loss limit regulations adopted by the districts at least once every five years, and shall recommend changes in the regulations of a district which the committee deems necessary to assure that the district’s soil loss limits are reasonable and attainable. The commissioners may:
 1. Classify land in the district on the basis of topography, soil characteristics, current use, and other factors affecting propensity to soil erosion.

Terms Used In Iowa Code 161A.44

  • Agricultural land: has the meaning assigned that term by section 9H. See Iowa Code 161A.42
  • City: means a municipal corporation, but not including a county, township, school district, or any special-purpose district or authority. See Iowa Code 172D.1
  • Erosion control practices: means :
     a. See Iowa Code 161A.42
  • Landowner: means a person who holds an interest in land, including a titleholder or tenant. See Iowa Code 169C.1
  • Loss: means the amount of a claim held by a seller or depositor against a grain dealer or warehouse operator which has not been recovered through other legal and equitable remedies including the liquidation of assets. See Iowa Code 203D.1
  • Owner: shall mean the person holding record title to real estate to include both legal and equitable interests under recorded real estate contracts. See Iowa Code 172D.1
  • person: means individual, corporation, limited liability company, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, or any other legal entity. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • road: include public bridges, and may be held equivalent to the words "county way" "county road" "common road" and "state road". See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Soil and water conservation practices: means any of the practices designated in or pursuant to this subsection which serve to prevent erosion of soil by wind or water, in excess of applicable soil loss limits, from land used for agricultural or horticultural purposes only. See Iowa Code 161A.42
  • Soil loss limit: means the maximum amount of soil loss due to erosion by water or wind, expressed in terms of tons per acre per year, which the commissioners of the respective soil and water conservation districts determine is acceptable in order to meet the objectives expressed in section 161A. See Iowa Code 161A.42
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
 2. Establish different soil loss limits for different classes of land in the district if in their judgment and that of the committee a lower soil loss limit should be applied to some land than can reasonably be applied to other land in the district, it being the intent of the general assembly that no land in the state be assigned a soil loss limit that cannot reasonably be applied to such land.
 3. Require the owners of real property in the district to employ either soil and water conservation practices or erosion control practices, and:

 a. May not specify the particular practices to be employed so long as such owners voluntarily comply with the applicable soil loss limits established for the district.
 b. May specify two or more approved soil and water conservation practices or erosion control practices, one of which shall be employed by the landowner to bring erosion from land under the landowner’s control within the applicable soil loss limit of the district when an administrative order is issued to the landowner.
 c. In no case may the commissioners require:

 (1) The employment of erosion control practices as defined in section 161A.42, subsection 4, on land used in good faith for agricultural or horticultural purposes only.
 (2) The employment of soil and water conservation practices or erosion control practices on that portion of any public street, road or highway completed or under construction within the corporate limits of any city, which is or will become the traveled or surfaced portion of such street, road, or highway.
 (3) That any owner or operator of agricultural land refrain from fall plowing of land on which the owner or operator intends to raise a crop during the next succeeding growing season, however on those lands which are prone to excessive wind erosion the commissioners may require that reasonable temporary measures be taken to minimize the likelihood of wind erosion so long as such measures do not unduly increase the cost of operation of the farm on which the land is located.
 d. May require that a person under an order to employ soil and water conservation practices or erosion control practices submit up to three bids to the commissioners for the work and provide an explanation to the commissioners if a bid other than the lowest bid has been selected by that person.
  Previous section
Next section  
 Chapter 161A Contents