HF 1958

1st Engrossment - 86th Legislature (2009 - 2010) Posted on 02/09/2010 01:56am

A bill for an act
relating to environment; providing for a technical advisory group to conduct
a study of water regulation.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1. new text begin TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP; WATER REGULATION.
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new text begin (a) The Commissioner of Administration shall appoint a technical advisory group
to conduct a study. The technical advisory group must include representatives of the
Department of Natural Resources, Pollution Control Agency, Board of Water and Soil
Resources, Environmental Quality Board, Department of Agriculture, and Department
of Health and nonstate, nonfederal, technical professionals with scientific expertise
in water resources management. Other members may include, but are not limited to,
representatives of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of
Engineers, and the United States Department of Agriculture.
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new text begin (b) Members of the technical advisory group serve without compensation.
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new text begin (c) The study must:
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new text begin (1) consider scientific data, including the studies of the National Academy of
Sciences relating to watersheds, total maximum daily loads (TMDL's), storm water, and
compensation for wetland loss under the Clean Water Act;
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new text begin (2) identify current rules relating to water, the purpose of the rules, the statutory
background of the rules, the outcomes the rules are intended to achieve, the costs of the
rules to state and local government and to the private sector, and the rules' relationship
to other state and federal laws, including requirements relating to training, development,
public education, and record keeping;
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new text begin (3) assess the pros and cons of a watershed approach to implementing statutory
water management programs and regulations compared to state agency-administered
programs and administrative rules;
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new text begin (4) assess why some regulations are deemed appropriate for administration at the
local level, for example, those relating to shorelands, floodplains, wild and scenic rivers,
wetland conservation, feedlots, and subsurface sewage treatment systems, and others
are not;
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new text begin (5) identify current efforts to eliminate redundancy between state and federal
regulations, including perceived and real barriers to realizing reduction or elimination
of redundancy;
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new text begin (6) identify the current strategic decision making of the agencies individually and
collectively to cooperate and coordinate in rulemaking and rule implementation to achieve
more effective, efficient, and justifiable rules that result in the desired outcomes; and
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new text begin (7) identify the rule assessment and evaluation process that supports the continuation
of the various rules in whole or in part, including but not limited to:
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new text begin (i) nondegradation standards;
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new text begin (ii) consistent buffer requirements;
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new text begin (iii) zoning setback requirements; and
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new text begin (iv) water quality requirements.
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new text begin (d) The technical advisory group must submit the study results and make
recommendations on water improvement to all state agencies with representatives on the
technical advisory group and to the chairs of the legislative committees having primary
jurisdiction over environment and natural resources policy no later than January 15, 2011.
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