Can the Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission accept federal money for flood-control studies and design work, and can it operate in counties inside Mississippi River levee districts without those counties' permission?

Plain-English summary

The Executive Director of the Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission asked two questions. First, can the Commission take federal money to fund geologic and hydrologic studies and to design flood-control solutions, all in furtherance of the legislative policy in Section 69-27-3 of preventing flood damage? Second, in counties that are inside a Mississippi River levee district, does Section 69-27-5 require the county board of supervisors to formally agree (with 30 days' notice) before the Commission can do that work there?

The AG's answer to the first question is yes, conditionally. Section 69-27-13(f) and (g) give the Commission broad authority to seek, receive, and administer federal funds. Section 69-27-13(j) lets the Commission "study, classify and evaluate land use needs and problems" and "make recommendations leading to adoption of land use policy and broad guidelines." If the Commission determines that the geologic/hydrologic studies and the flood-control modeling and design fit within those statutory categories, the work is authorized. Whether they fit is a fact question for the Commission's board, not the AG.

The answer to the second question is yes. Section 69-27-5 says: "None of the provisions of this article shall apply to any county which is in whole or in part within a levee district bordering on the Mississippi River, unless an order has been passed by the board of supervisors of such county after thirty (30) days notice by publication of its intention so to do." That gates Commission activity in any levee-district county on the local board's affirmative consent through a noticed order.

The opinion notes that levees are governed by Article XI, Sections 228-229 of the Mississippi Constitution, which establish levee districts and boards of levee commissioners. So the legislative scheme deliberately treats Mississippi River levee districts as sovereign-ish: the Commission is on the team for soil and water conservation policy generally, but cannot inject itself into a levee district's territory without the county's affirmative consent.

What this means for you

Soil and Water Conservation Commission staff and board members

The opinion holds the Commission has authority under Section 69-27-13(f), (g), and (j) to receive and administer federal funds and to undertake the studies and flood-control modeling and design, if the Commission determines those activities fall within the "land use needs and problems" and "recommendations leading to adoption of land use policy" categories of subsection (j). The opinion states that determination is factual and belongs to the Commission, not the AG.

County supervisors in a Mississippi River levee district

Under the opinion, Section 69-27-5 means none of the article's provisions apply in a county that is wholly or partly within a Mississippi River levee district unless the board of supervisors passes an order after 30 days' notice by publication of its intention to do so. The Commission cannot act in such a county without that order.

Levee district commissioners

The opinion notes that levees are addressed in Article XI, Sections 228-229 of the Mississippi Constitution, which establish levee districts and boards of levee commissioners, and reads Section 69-27-5 as conditioning Commission activity in levee-district counties on the county board's noticed order.

Federal grant program managers

The opinion confirms the Commission's statutory authority to receive and administer federal funds for the described purposes. It conditions Commission activity inside Mississippi River levee-district counties on the Section 69-27-5 order.

Affected landowners and communities in flood-prone areas

For a county within a Mississippi River levee district, the opinion ties Commission activity to a board-of-supervisors order preceded by 30 days' published notice of the county's intention.

Common questions

Q: Which Mississippi counties are in a Mississippi River levee district?
A: The Mississippi Levee District (Yazoo Mississippi Delta Levee Board) and the Mississippi River Commission cover counties along the river: Bolivar, Coahoma, Issaquena, Quitman, Sharkey, Sunflower, Tunica, Warren, Washington, and parts of nearby counties. The exact list depends on the levee district's territorial scope. If the Commission proposes to work in any county that touches a levee district, the consent rule applies to the parts of that county within the district, but the statutory text speaks at the county level ("any county which is in whole or in part within a levee district").

Q: What kind of federal funds can the Commission accept?
A: Section 69-27-13(f) and (g) are broad: federal grants, federal cooperative funds, and similar funding streams that align with the Commission's article-defined purposes. The opinion specifically blesses geologic studies, hydrologic studies, and flood-control modeling and design as fitting within Section 69-27-13(j).

Q: Does the consent requirement apply to all of the Commission's work, or just in-district work?
A: All of the Commission's work that would happen inside a levee-district county. Statewide policy work, planning, or administrative work outside those counties is not subject to Section 69-27-5. The gate is geographic.

Q: What is the 30-day notice requirement?
A: The county board must publish its "intention" to pass the consent order for 30 days before doing so. Standard county-publication procedures (newspaper of record, equivalent for the county's chosen publication channel) apply. The publication ensures local citizens and stakeholders have a chance to object or comment before the order is passed.

Q: Can a county refuse consent?
A: Yes. Section 69-27-5 is permissive, not mandatory. A county board can decide not to pass the order, in which case the Commission cannot operate in that county. The constitutional levee district structure makes that a meaningful local-control mechanism.

Q: What about private engineering firms hired by the Commission?
A: Section 69-27-13(l) authorizes the Commission to enter contracts and cooperative agreements with public or private institutions and individuals to carry out its purposes. Whatever the Commission can do directly, it can do through contractors, subject to the same Section 69-27-5 consent rule for work inside levee-district counties.

Background and statutory framework

Mississippi's soil and water conservation policy is set out in Section 69-27-3 (legislative policy) and implemented through the Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission under Section 69-27-13. The Commission is the state-level agency that supports local soil and water conservation districts, secures federal cooperation, and develops statewide land-use policy.

The Commission's 2025 question reflects an expansion of its work: it wants to take on more flood-control studies and design, increasingly funded through federal grants. The statutory authority for that expansion is in Section 69-27-13(f) (seek and receive grants), (g) (distribute funds), and (j) (study and recommend land use policy). Sections (a) and (d) also allow it to assist soil and water districts and secure federal-state cooperation.

The Section 69-27-5 limitation on levee-district counties is structural, not just procedural. Mississippi River levees are governed by Article XI, Sections 228-229 of the Mississippi Constitution, which create the levee districts and their boards of commissioners. Those bodies have constitutional jurisdiction over levee construction and maintenance. The Section 69-27-5 consent requirement is the legislature's recognition that the Commission's general powers should not displace levee-district authority without explicit local consent.

The 30-day publication requirement provides public notice and a window for objections. It does not appear to require any specific finding by the county board beyond a vote to pass the order. But the published intention has to be specific enough to put the public on notice of what work the Commission will be doing.

The two answers in this opinion track separate concerns. The first answer (yes to federal funds) clarifies the Commission's institutional authority to expand into flood-control work funded by external grants. The second answer (yes to county consent) clarifies the limits when that work crosses into levee-district counties. Together they map out a workable scope for the Commission's expanded role.

Citations and references

Constitution:

• Miss. Const. art. XI, §§ 228-229 (levee districts; boards of levee commissioners)

Statutes:

• Miss. Code Ann. § 7-5-25 (AG opinion authority)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-3 (soil and water conservation policy)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-5 (levee district counties consent requirement)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-13 (Commission powers and duties)

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/N.-Ivy-December-16-2025-Activities-of-Mississippi-Soil-and-Water-Conservation-Commission.pdf

Original opinion text

December 16, 2025

Mr. Nick Ivy, Executive Director
Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission
680 Monroe Street
Jackson, Mississippi 39202

Re: Activities of Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission

Dear Mr. Ivy:

The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.

Questions Presented

1. Does the Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission (the "Commission") have authority under Mississippi Code Annotated Section 69-27-13 to administer federal funds to undertake geologic and hydrologic studies and to undertake modeling/design of flood control solutions, all to carry out the policy in Section 69-27-3?

2. Where these activities would be conducted in a county within a levee district, does Section 69-27-5 require an order of that county's board of supervisors after 30 days' notice?

Brief Response

1. Yes, if the Commission determines that the subject studies fall within the category of "land use needs and problems in the State of Mississippi" and that the modeling/design of flood control solutions are part of "recommendations leading to adoption of land use policy and broad guidelines for meeting the needs and problems so identified," as set forth in Section 69-27-13(j).

2. Yes. Provisions affording the Commission authority to act would only apply to counties within a levee district when "an order [is] passed by the board of supervisors of such county after thirty (30) days notice by publication of its intention to do so." Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-5.

Applicable Law and Discussion

You first ask if the Commission has authority under Section 69-27-13 to administer federal funds to undertake geologic and hydrologic studies and to undertake modeling/design of flood control solutions, all to carry out the policy in Section 69-27-3.

Section 69-27-3(d) sets forth that "[i]t is . . . the policy of the legislature to provide for the conservation of the water and soil resources of this state . . . and thereby to . . . control floods," among other things, including "alleviat[ing] and prevent[ing] flood damage." Section 69-27-3(c) provides appropriate corrective methods for carrying out this legislative policy, such as "appropriate water and soil conserving practices be[ing] adopted and carried out."

The Commission has been given specific duties and powers to achieve such policy under Section 69-27-13, including but not limited to:

(a) To offer any assistance as may be appropriate to the commissioners of soil and water conservation districts in the carrying out of their powers and programs.
...
(d) To secure the cooperation and assistance of the United States and any of its agencies and of agencies of this state in the work of the districts.
...
(f) To seek and receive grants of monies, and other assets, from any source to carry out this article.
(g) To distribute any appropriated or other funds or assets under its control, from state, federal or other governmental agencies or political subdivisions, or from private grants, including matching funds to districts.
...
(j) To study, classify and evaluate land use needs and problems in the State of Mississippi; to make recommendations leading to adoption of land use policy and broad guidelines for meeting the needs and problems so identified.
...
(l) To enter into and to authorize the executive director to execute with the approval of the commission, contracts, grants, cooperative agreements and memoranda of understanding with any federal or state agency or subdivision thereof, or any public or private institution location inside or outside the State of Mississippi, or any person, corporation or association in connection with carrying out the purposes of this article.

(emphasis added).

As shown, Sections 69-27-13(f) and (g) clearly provide the Commission with the general authority to receive and administer federal and other funds to conduct its duties. Section 69-27-13(j) provides the Commission with the authority to "study, classify and evaluate land use needs and problems in the State of Mississippi; to make recommendations leading to adoption of land use policy and broad guidelines for meeting the needs and problems so identified." Accordingly, if the Commission determines that the subject studies fall within the category of "land use needs and problems in the State of Mississippi" and that the modeling/design of flood control solutions are part of "recommendations leading to adoption of land use policy and broad guidelines for meeting the needs and problems so identified," then the answer to your first question is yes. Such determination is ultimately factual and thus cannot be made by this office. See Miss. Code Ann. § 7-5-25 (granting the Attorney General the authority to opine upon prospective matters of Mississippi law only).

As to your second question, in order to carry out any acts for which the Commission does have authority, Section 69-27-5 provides:

None of the provisions of this article shall apply to any county which is in whole or in part within a levee district bordering on the Mississippi River, unless an order has been passed by the board of supervisors of such county after thirty (30) days notice by publication of its intention so to do.

It is thus the opinion of this office that all provisions providing the Commission with authority to act would only apply to counties within a levee district when "an order [is] passed by the board of supervisors of such county after thirty (30) days notice by publication of its intention to do so." Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-5. We note that levees are exclusively addressed in Article XI of the Constitution of the State of Mississippi, which establishes levee districts and boards of levee commissioners. See MISS. CONST., ART. XI §§ 228-229.

If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: /s/ Maggie Kate Bobo
Maggie Kate Bobo
Special Assistant Attorney General