1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to water; requiring analysis of water quality 
  1.3             and quantity data; increasing certain water 
  1.4             appropriation fees; requiring evaluation of the 
  1.5             effectiveness of best management practices; 
  1.6             authorizing increased well sealing cost-share grants; 
  1.7             appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, 
  1.8             sections 103A.43; 103G.271, subdivision 6; 103H.151, 
  1.9             by adding a subdivision; and 103I.331, subdivision 4. 
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 103A.43, is 
  1.12  amended to read: 
  1.13     103A.43 [WATER ASSESSMENTS AND REPORTS.] 
  1.14     (a) The environmental quality board shall evaluate and 
  1.15  report to the legislative water commission and the legislative 
  1.16  commission on Minnesota resources on statewide water research 
  1.17  needs and recommended priorities for addressing these needs.  
  1.18  Local water research needs may also be included.  
  1.19     (b) The environmental quality board shall work with the 
  1.20  pollution control agency and the department of agriculture to 
  1.21  coordinate a biennial assessment and analysis of water quality, 
  1.22  groundwater degradation trends, and efforts to reduce, prevent, 
  1.23  minimize, and eliminate degradation of water.  The assessment 
  1.24  and analysis must include an analysis of relevant monitoring 
  1.25  data. 
  1.26     (c) The environmental quality board shall work with the 
  1.27  department of natural resources to coordinate an assessment and 
  2.1   analysis of the quantity of surface and ground water in the 
  2.2   state and the availability of water to meet the state's needs. 
  2.3      (d) The environmental quality board shall coordinate and 
  2.4   submit a report on water policy including the analyses in 
  2.5   paragraphs (a) to (c) to the legislative water commission and 
  2.6   the legislative commission on Minnesota resources by September 
  2.7   15 of each even-numbered year.  The report may include the 
  2.8   groundwater policy report in section 103A.204. 
  2.9      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 103G.271, 
  2.10  subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  2.11     Subd. 6.  [WATER USE PERMIT PROCESSING FEE.] (a) Except as 
  2.12  described in paragraphs (b) to (f), a water use permit 
  2.13  processing fee must be prescribed by the commissioner in 
  2.14  accordance with the following schedule of fees for each water 
  2.15  use permit in force at any time during the year: 
  2.16     (1) 0.05 .... cents per 1,000 gallons for the first 
  2.17  50,000,000 gallons per year; 
  2.18     (2) 0.10 .... cents per 1,000 gallons for amounts greater 
  2.19  than 50,000,000 gallons but less than 100,000,000 gallons per 
  2.20  year; 
  2.21     (3) 0.15 .... cents per 1,000 gallons for amounts greater 
  2.22  than 100,000,000 gallons but less than 150,000,000 gallons per 
  2.23  year; and 
  2.24     (4) 0.20 .... cents per 1,000 gallons for amounts greater 
  2.25  than 150,000,000 gallons but less than 200,000,000 gallons per 
  2.26  year; 
  2.27     (5) 0.25 .... cents per 1,000 gallons for amounts greater 
  2.28  than 200,000,000 gallons but less than 250,000,000 gallons per 
  2.29  year; 
  2.30     (6) 0.30 .... cents per 1,000 gallons for amounts greater 
  2.31  than 250,000,000 gallons but less than 300,000,000 gallons per 
  2.32  year; 
  2.33     (7) 0.35 .... cents per 1,000 gallons for amounts greater 
  2.34  than 300,000,000 gallons but less than 350,000,000 gallons per 
  2.35  year; 
  2.36     (8) 0.40 .... cents per 1,000 gallons for amounts greater 
  3.1   than 350,000,000 gallons but less than 400,000,000 gallons per 
  3.2   year; and 
  3.3      (9) 0.45 .... cents per 1,000 gallons for amounts greater 
  3.4   than 400,000,000 gallons per year.  
  3.5      (b) For once-through cooling systems, a water use 
  3.6   processing fee must be prescribed by the commissioner in 
  3.7   accordance with the following schedule of fees for each water 
  3.8   use permit in force at any time during the year: 
  3.9      (1) for nonprofit corporations and school districts: 
  3.10     (i) 5.0 .... cents per 1,000 gallons until December 31, 
  3.11  1991; 
  3.12     (ii) 10.0 .... cents per 1,000 gallons from January 1, 
  3.13  1992, until December 31, 1996; and 
  3.14     (iii) 15.0 .... cents per 1,000 gallons after January 1, 
  3.15  1997; and 
  3.16     (2) for all other users, 20 .... cents per 1,000 gallons. 
  3.17     (c) The fee is payable based on the amount of water 
  3.18  appropriated during the year and, except as provided in 
  3.19  paragraph (f), the minimum fee is $50 $....  
  3.20     (d) For water use processing fees other than once-through 
  3.21  cooling systems:  
  3.22     (1) the fee for a city of the first class may not exceed 
  3.23  $175,000 $....... per year; 
  3.24     (2) the fee for other entities for any permitted use may 
  3.25  not exceed: 
  3.26     (i) $35,000 $....... per year for an entity holding three 
  3.27  or fewer permits; 
  3.28     (ii) $50,000 $....... per year for an entity holding four 
  3.29  or five permits; and 
  3.30     (iii) $175,000 $....... per year for an entity holding more 
  3.31  than five permits; 
  3.32     (3) the fee for agricultural irrigation may not exceed $750 
  3.33  $....... per year; and 
  3.34     (4) the fee for a municipality that furnishes electric 
  3.35  service and cogenerates steam for home heating may not exceed 
  3.36  $10,000 $....... for its permit for water use related to the 
  4.1   cogeneration of electricity and steam.  
  4.2      (e) Failure to pay the fee is sufficient cause for revoking 
  4.3   a permit.  A penalty of two percent per month calculated from 
  4.4   the original due date must be imposed on the unpaid balance of 
  4.5   fees remaining 30 days after the sending of a second notice of 
  4.6   fees due.  A fee may not be imposed on an agency, as defined in 
  4.7   section 16B.01, subdivision 2, or federal governmental agency 
  4.8   holding a water appropriation permit. 
  4.9      (f) The minimum water use processing fee for a permit 
  4.10  issued for irrigation of agricultural land is $10 $... for years 
  4.11  in which: 
  4.12     (1) there is no appropriation of water under the permit; or 
  4.13     (2) the permit is suspended for more than seven consecutive 
  4.14  days between May 1 and October 1. 
  4.15     (g) For once-through systems fees payable after July 1, 
  4.16  1993, 75 percent of the fees must be credited to a special 
  4.17  account and are appropriated to the Minnesota public facilities 
  4.18  authority for loans under section 446A.21. 
  4.19     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 103H.151, is 
  4.20  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  4.21     Subd. 4.  [EVALUATION.] The commissioners of agriculture 
  4.22  and the pollution control agency shall, through field audits and 
  4.23  other appropriate means, monitor the use and effectiveness of 
  4.24  best management practices developed and promoted under this 
  4.25  section.  The information collected must be submitted to the 
  4.26  environmental quality board, which must include the information 
  4.27  in the report required in section 103A.43, paragraph (d). 
  4.28     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 103I.331, 
  4.29  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  4.30     Subd. 4.  [LANDOWNER WELL SEALING CONTRACTS.] (a) A county, 
  4.31  or contracted local unit of government, may contract with 
  4.32  landowners to share the cost of sealing priority wells in 
  4.33  accordance with criteria established by the board of water and 
  4.34  soil resources.  
  4.35     (b) The county must use the funds allocated from the board 
  4.36  of water and soil resources to pay up to 75 percent, but not 
  5.1   more than $2,000 of the cost of sealing priority wells.  The 
  5.2   board, with the assistance of the department of health, may 
  5.3   review and approve a request above $2,000 for sealing a priority 
  5.4   well. 
  5.5      (c) A well sealing contract must provide that: 
  5.6      (1) sealing is done in accordance with this chapter and 
  5.7   rules of the commissioner of health relating to sealing of 
  5.8   unused wells; 
  5.9      (2) payment is made to the landowner, after the well is 
  5.10  sealed by a contractor licensed under this chapter; and 
  5.11     (3) the contractor must file a sealed well report and a 
  5.12  copy of the well record with the commissioner of health. 
  5.13     Sec. 5.  [APPROPRIATIONS.] 
  5.14     Subdivision 1.  [GROUNDWATER MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 
  5.15  PROGRAM.] $900,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  5.16  commissioner of the pollution control agency for the groundwater 
  5.17  monitoring and assessment program, to be available until June 
  5.18  30, 1997. 
  5.19     Subd. 2.  [COUNTY GEOLOGIC ATLASES AND REGIONAL 
  5.20  HYDROGEOLOGIC ASSESSMENTS.] $850,000 is appropriated from the 
  5.21  general fund to the commissioner of natural resources for 
  5.22  production of county geologic atlases and regional hydrogeologic 
  5.23  assessments.  This appropriation is available until June 30, 
  5.24  1997. 
  5.25     Subd. 3.  [COORDINATING GROUNDWATER PROTECTION ACTIVITIES.] 
  5.26  (a) $102,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  5.27  environmental quality board through the director of the office 
  5.28  of strategic and long-range planning for the purposes of 
  5.29  coordinating water protection activities, to be available until 
  5.30  June 30, 1997. 
  5.31     (b) To provide the money appropriated in paragraph (a), the 
  5.32  total appropriations from the general fund for the biennium 
  5.33  ending June 30, 1997, for the following agencies are reduced by 
  5.34  the amounts indicated: 
  5.35     (1) the department of health, $.......; 
  5.36     (2) the department of natural resources, $.......; 
  6.1      (3) the department of agriculture, $.......; 
  6.2      (4) the pollution control agency, $.......; and 
  6.3      (5) the board of water and soil resources, $........ 
  6.4      Subd. 4.  [WELL SEALING COST-SHARE GRANTS.] $500,000 is 
  6.5   appropriated from the well management account for fiscal year 
  6.6   1997 to the board of water and soil resources for well sealing 
  6.7   cost-share grants under Minnesota Statutes, section 103I.331. 
  6.8      Subd. 5.  [PESTICIDES IN DRINKING WATER PILOT PROJECT.] 
  6.9   $250,000 is appropriated from the special revenue fund to the 
  6.10  commissioner of health for a pilot project to monitor additional 
  6.11  pesticides and pesticide metabolites at selected public water 
  6.12  supply systems that use surface water.  The public water supply 
  6.13  systems selected for the pilot project must represent regions of 
  6.14  the state with the greatest potential for pesticide 
  6.15  contamination.  The Minnesota department of health must work 
  6.16  with an advisory group representing a variety of interests in 
  6.17  designing the pilot project.  By January 15, 1997, the 
  6.18  commissioner must provide a report to the legislative water 
  6.19  commission on the findings of the pilot project.  The report 
  6.20  must include recommendations from the commissioner on whether 
  6.21  the public water supply testing program under Minnesota 
  6.22  Statutes, section 144.383, should be expanded to include the 
  6.23  testing of additional pesticides and pesticide metabolites. 
  6.24     Subd. 6.  [MINNESOTA INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE 
  6.25  AGRICULTURE.] $300,000 is appropriated from the pesticide 
  6.26  regulatory account to the commissioner of agriculture for a 
  6.27  contract with the Minnesota institute for sustainable 
  6.28  agriculture to gather, evaluate, publish, and disseminate 
  6.29  sustainable agriculture information to a broad audience through 
  6.30  both printed and electronic means.  This appropriation is 
  6.31  available until June 30, 1997.  The Minnesota institute for 
  6.32  sustainable agriculture must work in cooperation with the 
  6.33  department of agriculture in carrying out this activity.  By 
  6.34  January 15, 1997, the executive director of the Minnesota 
  6.35  institute for sustainable agriculture must provide a progress 
  6.36  report to the legislative water commission on its activities 
  7.1   funded under this section. 
  7.2      Subd. 7.  [GRID DRILLING.] $50,000 is appropriated from the 
  7.3   general fund to the department of natural resources for fiscal 
  7.4   years 1996 and 1997 to develop and administer contracts with 
  7.5   water well contractors for exploratory drilling and installation 
  7.6   of observation wells to characterize the geologic and hydrologic 
  7.7   conditions in the southwest region of the state where water 
  7.8   supplies are difficult to locate.  This appropriation is 
  7.9   contingent on the receipt by the department of $100,000 in 
  7.10  federal United States Geological Survey funds and $50,000 in 
  7.11  local funds.  Results must be reported to the legislative water 
  7.12  commission by February 15, 1996, and February 15, 1997.