3E Relating to the environment and natural resources policies

ARTICLE 1 - ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

Establishing regulation of ballast water discharge into Lake Superior by oceangoing vessels; defining certain terms, requiring operators of a vessel to conduct ballast water management operations according to a ballast water management plan designed to minimize the discharge of invasive species, specifying certain approval and recordkeeping requirements, specifying certain consultation and cooperation requirements with the Great Lakes panel on aquatic nuisance species, state agencies and Canada and other foreign governments; modifying individual sewage treatment system (ISTS) service professionals licensing requirements; removing source separated compostable materials from mixed municipal solid waste inclusion and requiring composting or transfer to a composting facility; prohibiting the use of construction debris or residuals from processed construction debris containing gypsum as cover material at disposal facilities under certain conditions; modifying requirements and restricting issuance of air emission permits to new facilities in certain cities in Hennepin County by the pollution control agency (PCA); modifying certain exemptions relating to petroleum storage; requiring the owner of a petroleum tank to provide information on receptor surveys for a petroleum tank release; modifying toxic chemical release reporting requirements and returning toxic reporting to previous threshold levels

ARTICLE 2 - NATURAL RESOURCE POLICY

Creating the Minnesota forests for the future program to identify and protect private working forest lands, defining certain terms, providing for land eligibility, authorizing commissioner of natural resources to acquire permanent interests in lands by fee title, easement acquisition, gift or donation, specifying an application process, establishing certain landowner responsibilities, authorizing the commissioner to develop an advisory team for program management, providing for the correction and termination of easements under certain conditions, providing for payments to landowners, requiring the commissioner to establish a monitoring and enforcement program for future easements, providing a rulemaking exemption for certain easements; modifying the snowmobile registration process; modifying certain provisions concerning the prohibition of placing certain equipment containing invasive species in public waters; changing certain references from recreation reserves to state recreation areas; changing the name of Interstate park to Interstate state park and the name of St. Croix Wild River state park to Wild River state park; modifying monument designation authority; requiring the issuance of free special lifetime state park permits for totally and permanently disabled veterans; eliminating the need for a state park permit in a certain area of Grand Portage state park; expanding certain responsibilities for campfire safety to include persons maintaining campfires; modifying requirements for alternative recording of state forest roads, specifying appeals process of property owners affected by the recording; changing the name of the ecological services operations subcommittee; establishing the outdoor heritage fund and creating the forest fragmentation and consolidation account and the conservation partners account within the fund, providing for allocation of expenditures, creating the Lessard-Heritage enhancement council, specifying membership requirements, requiring the governor to appoint an outdoor heritage fund citizen selection committee and specifying certain duties of the committee, requiring the council to adopt a strategic plan; specifying council duties and administration, providing for open meetings; providing a process for designating star lakes and rivers, providing for application and eligibility, requiring a comprehensive lake or river management plan, creating the star lake board as a nonprofit corporation and specifying first meeting and deadline for appointment requirements, specifying powers and duties; reinstating an exemption from the wetland conservation act for approved development; allowing eligibility for wetland bank credits under certain conditions for state held conservation easements; providing certain authority to erect star lake or river signs; establishing a deadline for certain appointing authorities to make appointments to the star lake board; requiring the commissioner to complete rulemaking to update rules on structures in public waters and permit requirements; modifying the lease rate for certain land in Cass county; appropriating money for a electronic licensing system for snowmobiles; appropriating money for grants to local governments for public pool upgrades; repealing the position of prairie biologist at the department of natural resources, a reference to the Rush River state wayside in Sibley county and certain undercover finance report requirements
(me)