HF 1491

as introduced - 82nd Legislature (2001 - 2002) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to natural resources; clarifying the 
  1.3             environmental review required before sunken logs may 
  1.4             be removed from waters of this state; requiring local 
  1.5             approval for sunken log removal projects; 
  1.6             appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, 
  1.7             section 103G.650, subdivisions 3, 4. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 103G.650, 
  1.10  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 3.  [APPLICATION TO REMOVE SUNKEN LOGS.] A person who 
  1.12  wishes to raise and remove logs that are resting on submerged 
  1.13  lands owned by the state and that are located in inland waters 
  1.14  shall make application to the commissioner for a lease.  A 
  1.15  person may not hold more than three leases at one time.  Each 
  1.16  lease must be for a specific lake or river.  A resident 
  1.17  applicant shall include with the application a fee of $500.  A 
  1.18  nonresident applicant shall include a fee of $2,500.  The 
  1.19  applicant shall: 
  1.20     (1) identify the inland lake or river where the logs will 
  1.21  be raised; 
  1.22     (2) identify the submerged land area requested for the 
  1.23  lease by providing the section, township, and range in which the 
  1.24  inland water is located; 
  1.25     (3) specify the methods to be used in raising the sunken 
  1.26  logs, including any techniques with the potential to disturb 
  2.1   lake bed material; 
  2.2      (4) provide evidence of a general liability insurance 
  2.3   policy that names the state as a coinsured party and that is in 
  2.4   force for the lease with limits of at least $300,000 per 
  2.5   occurrence and $1,000,000 in aggregate; and 
  2.6      (5) provide resolutions approving the application from all 
  2.7   townships and cities that border upon or include, in whole or in 
  2.8   part, the specific lake or portion of river where the log 
  2.9   removal will occur; and 
  2.10     (6) include any additional information required by the 
  2.11  commissioner. 
  2.12     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 103G.650, 
  2.13  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  2.14     Subd. 4.  [REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.] The commissioner shall 
  2.15  review and approve applications in order by time and date 
  2.16  received to prevent two or more applications being approved for 
  2.17  the same lease.  The commissioner shall immediately notify the 
  2.18  Minnesota historical society of each application received.  The 
  2.19  commissioner shall publish notice of each application in the 
  2.20  State Register and allow 30 days for public comment.  Within 60 
  2.21  days after the time date stamp of receipt, the commissioner 
  2.22  shall either approve, modify and approve, or deny an application 
  2.23  or determine that the information presented with the application 
  2.24  is insufficient.  If the commissioner determines that the 
  2.25  information is insufficient, the applicant may preserve the 
  2.26  priority order of the application by resubmitting the 
  2.27  application with additional information within 120 days from the 
  2.28  expiration of the original 60-day time period.  In determining 
  2.29  whether to approve an application, the commissioner shall 
  2.30  consider: 
  2.31     (1) whether the project requires a permit under section 
  2.32  103G.245; 
  2.33     (2) whether the proposed project may affect public rights 
  2.34  in navigable waters; 
  2.35     (3) whether the proposed project is subject to any 
  2.36  requirements arising under federal law; and 
  3.1      (4) whether the applicant has conclusively established, 
  3.2   through the use of peer-reviewed biological studies and data, 
  3.3   that the project meets ecological criteria specific to the 
  3.4   relevant type of lake or river for protection of fish, wildlife, 
  3.5   and native plants and their habitats, including conclusive proof 
  3.6   that there will be no harm from the effects of the projected 
  3.7   resuspension of mercury, nitrate, PCBs, and phosphorous. 
  3.8      Sec. 3.  [SUNKEN LOG RECOVERY LEASES.] 
  3.9      Before the commissioner of natural resources may approve an 
  3.10  operations plan for a lease signed by the commissioner before 
  3.11  the effective date of this section, the commissioner must attach 
  3.12  the following condition to the lease under Minnesota Statutes, 
  3.13  section 103G.650, subdivision 5, paragraph (e): 
  3.14     (1) the commissioner must determine that the lessee has 
  3.15  supplied information in the operations plan that conclusively 
  3.16  establishes, through the use of peer-reviewed biological studies 
  3.17  and data, that the project meets ecological criteria specific to 
  3.18  the relevant type of lake or river for protection of fish, 
  3.19  wildlife, and native plants and their habitats, including 
  3.20  conclusive proof that there will be no harm from the effects of 
  3.21  the projected resuspension of mercury, nitrate, PCBs, and 
  3.22  phosphorous; and 
  3.23     (2) the commissioner must determine that the conditions 
  3.24  attached to the lease have been satisfied before allowing the 
  3.25  lessee to recover any logs under the lease.  The commissioner 
  3.26  may extend the term of the lease under Minnesota Statutes, 
  3.27  section 103G.650, subdivision 5, paragraphs (b) and (c), to 
  3.28  accommodate the completion of a study of the effects of sunken 
  3.29  log removal by the commissioner. 
  3.30     Sec. 4.  [APPROPRIATION; SUNKEN LOG IMPACT STUDY.] 
  3.31     $....... is appropriated in fiscal year 2002 from the 
  3.32  general fund to the commissioner of natural resources for a 
  3.33  study to determine the effects of sunken log recovery on fish, 
  3.34  wildlife, and native plants and their habitats, including an 
  3.35  analysis of the effects of resuspension of mercury, nitrate, 
  3.36  PCBs, and phosphorous in aquatic ecosystems.  This appropriation 
  4.1   is available until spent.  For the purposes of this study, the 
  4.2   commissioner may issue leases for a specific lake or river that 
  4.3   are not subject to Minnesota Statutes, section 103G.650, 
  4.4   subdivision 5, paragraph (d), and that have not met the 
  4.5   requirements of Minnesota Statutes, section 103G.650, 
  4.6   subdivision 4. 
  4.7      Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.8      Sections 1 to 3 are effective the day following final 
  4.9   enactment.  Sections 1 and 2 apply to all applications for 
  4.10  sunken log recovery leases submitted to the commissioner of 
  4.11  natural resources but not signed by the commissioner before the 
  4.12  day following final enactment.