HF 1491

1st Engrossment - 82nd Legislature (2001 - 2002)

Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00 a.m.

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to natural resources; imposing a moratorium 
  1.3             on sunken log recovery; requiring a study; 
  1.4             appropriating money. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [SUNKEN LOG MORATORIUM.] 
  1.7      The commissioner of natural resources must suspend recovery 
  1.8   of sunken logs under Minnesota Statutes, section 103G.650.  The 
  1.9   commissioner must not issue leases to remove sunken logs or 
  1.10  permit the removal of sunken logs from inland waters during the 
  1.11  moratorium period.  The commissioner must cancel all existing 
  1.12  leases issued under Minnesota Statutes, section 103G.650, and 
  1.13  refund the lease application fees.  The permanent moratorium may 
  1.14  be lifted only by an act of the legislature. 
  1.15     Sec. 2.  [PILOT PROJECT.] 
  1.16     Subdivision 1.  [STUDY.] The commissioner of natural 
  1.17  resources shall conduct a pilot project to remove sunken logs 
  1.18  from inland waters during the moratorium period under section 
  1.19  1.  The purpose of the pilot project is to study the effects of 
  1.20  contaminants resulting from the removal of sunken logs from 
  1.21  inland waters.  Before initiating the pilot project, the 
  1.22  commissioner shall give notice of the inland waters selected for 
  1.23  study to the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the 
  1.24  Minnesota historical society, the commissioner of the pollution 
  1.25  control agency, and any other interested parties. 
  2.1      Subd. 2.  [PARTICIPANTS.] The commissioner shall select one 
  2.2   underwater logger to participate in the pilot project and to 
  2.3   conduct the study under the supervision of the commissioner.  
  2.4   The logger must: 
  2.5      (1) have side-scan sonar, underwater video, and 
  2.6   communications equipment; 
  2.7      (2) show proven experience in all aspects of sunken log 
  2.8   retrieval; and 
  2.9      (3) be a Minnesota resident. 
  2.10     Subd. 3.  [BASELINE DATA.] Prior to log removal, baseline 
  2.11  data must be established for contaminants including, but not 
  2.12  limited to, mercury, nitrates, PCBs, phosphorous, and blue-green 
  2.13  algae.  The baseline data shall be peer-reviewed to ensure the 
  2.14  pilot project meets ecological criteria specific to the relevant 
  2.15  type of lake or river for the protection of fish, wildlife, 
  2.16  native plants, and their habitat.  
  2.17     Subd. 4.  [PROJECT CRITERIA.] The pilot project shall be 
  2.18  conducted according to applicable requirements under Minnesota 
  2.19  Statutes, section 103G.650, subdivision 5.  The pilot project 
  2.20  must study at least two but no more than four inland waters in 
  2.21  the first year and must repeat the study on the same inland 
  2.22  waters in the second year.  The commissioner, after consultation 
  2.23  with the logger, shall make the final decision on selecting 
  2.24  inland waters to be studied.  The pilot project shall study each 
  2.25  selected inland water for a total of 15 days.  The first day of 
  2.26  the study is reserved for scanning and necessary testing of the 
  2.27  lake or river bottom.  Testing shall include taking a tissue 
  2.28  sample from fish.  The following 13 days of the study shall be 
  2.29  spent recovering sunken logs, at a rate no greater than 15 logs 
  2.30  per day.  On the 15th day of the study, testing and scanning 
  2.31  shall be repeated to determine changes from the first day of the 
  2.32  study. 
  2.33     Subd. 5.  [REPORT.] The commissioner shall file a 
  2.34  peer-reviewed report containing the results of the study with 
  2.35  the house and senate committees having jurisdiction over natural 
  2.36  resources no later than January 1, 2003.  The report must be 
  3.1   used to set base criteria and safeguards for future legislation 
  3.2   written to allow sunken log recovery from inland waters.  The 
  3.3   report must establish a peer-reviewed damage threshold that the 
  3.4   commissioner of natural resources may use to suspend log 
  3.5   recovery operations once they begin.  Based on the report, the 
  3.6   legislature may act to continue the moratorium and study; to 
  3.7   discontinue the moratorium with any necessary changes to 
  3.8   Minnesota Statutes, section 103G.650; or to repeal Minnesota 
  3.9   Statutes, section 103G.650 and ban sunken log recovery from 
  3.10  inland waters. 
  3.11     Sec. 3.  [APPROPRIATION; FUNDING.] 
  3.12     $100,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  3.13  commissioner of natural resources for the biennium ending June 
  3.14  30, 2003, to fund the pilot project under section 2.  To 
  3.15  complete the pilot project, the commissioner may accept gifts of 
  3.16  money or pro bono assistance from governmental entities or from 
  3.17  nonprofit organizations that are organized solely for 
  3.18  conservation or scientific research purposes and that are 
  3.19  unaffiliated with the logging or timber industry.  
  3.20  Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, section 103G.650, 
  3.21  subdivision 6, the commissioner may use revenue generated during 
  3.22  the pilot project if needed to complete the pilot project. 
  3.23     Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.24     Sections 1 and 2 are effective the day following final 
  3.25  enactment.