1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to conservation; modifying approved practices 
  1.3             for purposes of cost-sharing contracts for erosion 
  1.4             control and water management; amending Minnesota 
  1.5             Statutes 1996, section 103C.501, subdivision 6. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 103C.501, 
  1.8   subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 6.  [RULES.] (a) The state board shall adopt rules 
  1.10  prescribing:  
  1.11     (1) procedures and criteria for allocating funds for 
  1.12  cost-sharing contracts; 
  1.13     (2) standards and guidelines for cost-sharing contracts; 
  1.14     (3) the scope and content of district comprehensive plans, 
  1.15  plan amendments, and annual work plans; 
  1.16     (4) standards and methods necessary to plan and implement a 
  1.17  priority cost-sharing program, including guidelines to identify 
  1.18  high priority erosion, sedimentation, and water quality 
  1.19  problems; 
  1.20     (5) the share of the cost of conservation practices to be 
  1.21  paid from cost-sharing funds; and 
  1.22     (6) requirements for districts to document their efforts to 
  1.23  identify and contact land occupiers with high priority erosion 
  1.24  problems.  
  1.25     (b) Notwithstanding any other provisions in this chapter, 
  2.1   the rules must provide that cost-sharing may be used for 
  2.2   farmstead windbreaks and shelterbelts for the purposes of energy 
  2.3   conservation and snow protection.