Relating to natural resources

ARTICLE 1 - POLICY

Removing the power of the executive council to award leases to prospect for iron ore and approve rules on issuing mineral leases on state land; requiring the commissioner of natural resources (DNR) to review permits issued by the department and provide a list of those permits or permit amendments that are deemed minor and subject to a new 60-day review and approval provision; stating that game and fish licenses are available through the electronic licensing system (ELS) even if the biennial appropriation law for the DNR has not been enacted; limiting the amount the commissioner may pay for land, when acquiring it in fee title, to 20 percent above the county assessor estimated market value or 10 percent above appraised value unless the commissioner makes a determination that the land is a high priority and documents the reason for that determination in writing; allowing the commissioner to issue general permits to governmental subdivisions or to the general public to take, import, transport, or sell any portion of an endangered species for certain purposes; allowing the commissioner to convey a road easement across school trust lands to private individuals and limits these easements to 50-year terms; removing a requirement of the commissioner to submit a report to the legislature on the use of the forests for the future revolving account; allowing a person 12 years of age or older who does not have the required safety certificate to ride a snowmobile/ATV/off highway motorcycle in up to two trail-riding events sponsored by the DNR that are designed for apprentice riders; prohibiting a person who has been convicted for driving a snowmobile or ATV while impaired or who refuses to comply with the testing requirements from operating any snowmobile or ATV for one year; adding a person moving boats or other water related equipment as part of a service provided to members of yacht clubs, boat clubs, marinas, or similar organizations to the definition of service provider making the person subject to the aquatic invasive species training and permit requirements; allowing the harvest of bullheads, goldeyes, mooneyes and other fish from infested streams or rivers for use as bait by noncommercial anglers; expanding the prohibition on placing a watercraft or trailer with aquatic invasive species on it to apply to the placement of all water-related equipment; exempting portable bait containers used while ice fishing from the water draining requirements unless fishing on waters designated as infested with viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS); prohibiting a boat lift, dock, swim raft, or associated equipment that has been removed from the water from being placed into another water body for at least 21 days; allowing the commissioner to delegate inspection authority for watercraft and related equipment to tribal and local governments that assume all responsibility for inspection programs on public waters within their jurisdiction and requiring a plan, reporting and certain standards to be met; allowing conservation officers and other peace officers to require water-related equipment be removed from a water body if necessary to implement aquatic invasive species control measures; allowing the commissioner to require mandatory inspections before a person places water-related equipment into a water body; allowing inspection stations to be established and establishing location, staffing, and other requirements for the stations; modifying the penalty for persons violating any provision of the invasive species laws; allowing a local government unit to designate a grant-in-aid trail for concurrent motorized and nonmotorized use; requiring state parks and state recreation areas to remain open even if the biennial appropriation law for the DNR has not been enacted; reducing a misdemeanor penalty to a petty misdemeanor penalty for a person at a state park or other unit of the state outdoor recreation system who willfully destroys certain living natural resources or property, or violates other rules of the unit; establishing a petty misdemeanor penalty for a person who fails to comply with the existing horse pass requirements; requiring the Minnesota zoo to remain open even if the biennial appropriation law for the operation of the zoo has not been enacted; requiring the commissioner to establish a statewide course for preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species and to issue an aquatic invasive species trailer decal to those who complete the course; prohibiting a person who has been convicted for operating a motorboat while impaired or who refuses to comply with the testing requirements from operating any motorboat for 90 days between May 1 and October 31; removing the authority of the executive council to approve timber sales on lots exceeding 6,000 cords; eliminating the prohibition on selling state lands bordering on or adjacent to meandered lakes and other public waters and watercourses; removing a requirement that commercial leases issued by the DNR exceeding ten years or that are for the removal of peat covering 320 or more acres receive executive council approval; increasing the maximum length that the commissioner may lease certain state lands for from ten years to 21 years; creating Children's State Forest; stating the purpose of the section which is to expedite the exchange of state-owned lands within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) Wilderness; providing that lands that may be involved in the expedited exchanges are school trust lands, university lands, other lands under the control of the commissioner, and tax-forfeited lands; requiring priority to be given for exchanges with lands providing the most opportunity for revenue generation for the permanent school fund, including lands in the Mesabi purchase unit in St. Louis County and certain townships in St. Louis county; requiring the examination and value of the lands to be determined in a manner agreed to by the commissioner and an authorized representative of the United States; requiring the lands to be exchanged for an equal number of acres; requiring the title to be examined to the extent necessary to determine it is good and allows the use of title insurance; requiring all exchanges to be approved by the land exchange board; requiring the commissioner to convey, by deed, lands under the control of the commissioner and the commissioner of revenue to convey, by deed, the tax-forfeited lands; providing for condemnation of school trust land; stating the purpose of the section is to facilitate the exchange of school trust lands within the BWCA Wilderness; requiring the commissioner to extinguish the school trust interest in lands through condemnation when an agreement with the United States has been reached on the exchange of the lands; exempting the sale of lands from appraisal requirements; removing a requirement that the DNR issue leases to prospect for iron ore jointly with the executive council; removing a requirement that the DNR issue leases for iron ore or taconite mining jointly with the executive council; removing a requirement that the DNR prescribe the terms and conditions of iron ore mining leases jointly with the executive council; allowing the DNR to make a supplemental agreement with an iron ore mining lease holder without approval of the executive council; allowing the DNR to modify an iron ore mining lease holder without approval of the executive council; requiring the balance of the minerals management account that exceeds $3,000,000, which is currently distributed to the permanent school fund and the permanent university fund in proportion to the total revenue received from mineral leases on those lands, to also be distributed to counties in proportion to the revenue from mining leases on tax-forfeited lands; removing a requirement that all petroleum, nonferrous metallic mineral, or other mineral (excluding iron ore) leases covering 160 or more acres be approved by the executive council; requiring an applicant for such leases to submit to the DNR a $1,000 filing fee for leases offered at public sale and a fee of $2,000 for a lease to be obtained through negotiation; requiring the commissioner to establish a rental rate schedule for nonferrous and other mineral leases and update the schedule every five years and exempts the establishment of the schedule and any updates from the rulemaking process; allowing the commissioner to issue general permits to governmental subdivisions or to the general public for certain activities related to wild animals, including the collection of specimens for zoological purposes and the taking and transportation of wild animals for certain purposes; clarifying that the commissioner shall suspend game and fish license and permit privileges of a person who fails to appear in court or fails to comply with other court orders regarding a violation of the game and fish laws until the court has notified the commissioner that the person has appeared in court or paid any fine/surcharge due; allowing the importation or possession of live, frozen, or processed bait from waters known to have VHS if the bait has been processed to inactivate VHS according to DNR rules; reducing the frequency of a water quality and groundwater degradation trend assessment requirement of the PCA and department of agriculture from every two years to every five years; modifying the membership of the board of water and soil resources (BWSR) to allow the three citizen members to be employed by, appointed by, or elected officials of government by excluding those from state government only' allowing BWSR to adopt orders necessary to execute its duties; requiring BWSR to adopt bylaws to prevent or address conflict of interest issues; allowing a dispute resolution subcommittee of the BWSR to also address disputes which prescribes the membership, operation, powers and duties of the board and would include the local water management provisions, removes provisions specifying the makeup of the committee, and requires the board to adopt bylaws governing the committee membership and duties; allowing BWSR to adopt resolutions, policies, or orders to allow a comprehensive plan, local water management plan, or watershed management plan to serve as a substitute for one another or be replaced by a comprehensive watershed management plan; allowing the board to also develop criteria for incorporating or coordinating elements of metropolitan county groundwater plans; requiring BWSR to use a watershed approach when adopting resolutions, policies, or orders and establish a watershed boundary framework for development, approval, adoption and coordination of plans; requiring BWSR to work with local governments and other stakeholders and allows the board to establish a working group or work teams to develop information, education, and recommendations; allowing local governments to carry out total maximum daily load (TMDL) implementation plans as part of local water management plans; allowing a local government unit to submit a request for a plan boundary determination as part of a plan approval request or apply separately; requiring them to provide written documentation of the rationale and justification for the proposed boundary and allows BWSR to request additional information; allowing for the appeal of board decisions; eliminating the ability of the BWSR to provide a two year extension of the revision date of a local watershed management plan; defining comprehensive watershed management plan as a plan to manage the water and related natural resources of a watershed consisting of local plans currently required or a separate plan that has been approved as a substitute by BWSR and adopted by the local units of government; requiring comprehensive watershed management plans to be consistent with existing goals for watershed management and related areas; allowing BWSR to grant extensions of the revision date for comprehensive local water management plans and comprehensive watershed management plans; removing existing tax and match requirements applicable to counties for purposes of base grants awarded by BWSR and allowing the board to award performance-based grants to local units of government for implementation of watershed management plans, local watershed management plans, comprehensive plans, or comprehensive watershed management plans or for carrying out certain TMDL implementation plans; requiring the board to establish performance-based criteria; allowing the board to award the performance-based grants on an advanced basis and removes a provision that the grants be awarded for no longer than two years; removing a deed restriction requirement and requiring the lands not be converted to a nonagricultural use for at least ten years; allowing local units of government to require the deed restriction; increasing and modifying provisions relating to the amount of de minimis area of a project that does not require a wetland replacement plan in some circumstances and removing special requirements applicable in the metropolitan area; allowing BWSR to establish a wetland banking program for impacts that occur in greater than 80 percent areas and for public road projects; requiring coordination with the commissioners of natural resources, the pollution control agency (PCA), the U.S. army corps of engineers, and the natural resources conservation services (NRCS) of the U.S. department of agriculture; allowing BWSR to adopt rules to establish a program for regulating the discharge of fill material into the waters of the state that are necessary to gain approval from the U.S. environmental protection agency (EPA) to administer the permitting and wetland banking programs of the Clean Water Act; prohibiting the rules from being more restrictive then the program under the Clean Water Act; requiring that a permit from the U.S. army corps of engineers be obtained before discharging dredged or fill material into waters; expanding the activities the commissioner may issue general public waters work permits for expanding the activities for which the commissioner may issue general water appropriation and use permits; establishing a $100 fee for general water appropriation and use permits; allowing the commissioner to issue a general permit to a governmental subdivision or the general public to operate an aeration system on public waters during periods of ice cover and establishes a $100 fee; allowing the commissioner to issue a general permit to a governmental subdivision or the general public for certain aquatic plant management activities, including the harvest, transportation, or destruction of certain aquatic plants; establishing a fee for aquatic plant management general permits; reducing the frequency of the draft report on groundwater monitoring prepared by the PCA, and submitted to the environmental quality board (EQB) from every two years to every five years; prohibiting the PCA from adopting new water quality standards that are more restrictive than federal standards unless there is a showing of clear and convincing evidence that another standard is necessary to protect the public use and benefit of state waters; requiring preparation of the PCA citizen water quality monitoring report every four years; crediting money from fines and other enforcement actions issued by the PCA to the general fund effective the day following final enactment; eliminating the reporting water pollution control progress reporting requirement of the PCA; consolidating a PCA reporting requirement on the implementation of electronic waste statutes into the toxic pollution prevent evaluation report; requiring the PCA to consolidate certain reports into a single report; modifying electronic waste reporting requirements; eliminating a requirement of the PCA and department of commerce to provide recommendations for state government waste reduction; requiring preparation of the PCA report on solid waste management policy/activities every four years; removing a provision allowing the PCA to increase the percentage of solid waste recycled by a county; consolidating a PCA reporting requirement on county recycling progress into the report on solid waste management policy/activities; requiring reporting on SCORE expenditures to be done in December rather than January; requiring the annual progress reports on toxic pollution prevention plans to be submitted to and reviewed by the commissioner of public safety, rather than the commissioner of the PCA; changing the state pollution statistics report from annual to biennial; modifying the duties of the PCA board by removing its final decision making authority over certain permit, environmental assessment worksheet (EAW), environmental impact statement (EIS), and variance situations; requiring the commissioner of the PCA to review permits issued by the agency and provide a list of those permits or permit amendments that are deemed minor and subject to a new 60-day review and approval provision; requiring the commissioner to act on a minor permit or minor permit amendment within 60 days or the permit would be deemed approved; requiring the list to be updated at least every five years and posted on the agency website; excluding concrete diamond grinding and saw slurry associated with the road construction deposited according to new standards; extending for five years the expiration date of a provision allowing an existing swine facility to use one basin of less than one million gallons as part of a permitted waste treatment program to reduce pollution or to convert an existing basin to a different animal type; prohibiting formaldehyde in products for children; prohibiting certain replacement chemicals; removing the requirement that the PCA long-range water quality plan be prepared biennially; changing a biennial report prepared by the PCA on the activities of the interstate commission on low-level nuclear waste to a quadrennial report; allowing a responsible government unit to publish notice of a completed environmental assessment worksheet (EAW) in a local paper or on a designated website in addition to the EQB monitor as currently required; allowing state agencies to hold a consolidated hearing on projects that require permits from more than one agency; prohibiting the EQB from requiring environmental assessment worksheets from requiring information if it is also required for any permit process unless it is necessary; requiring the commissioner of transportation (DOT) to include special provisions relating to concrete slurry as part of any road construction contract and specifies requirements for those provisions; changing a reporting requirement of PCA and the department of commerce regarding the use of solar and biomass to produce thermal energy from annual to biennial; adding to the biennial legislative report required of the commissioners of commerce and PCA regarding recommendations with respect to greenhouse gas reductions recommendations for proposed legislation to achieve reduction goals; requiring the commissioner of the PCA to revise the metropolitan long range policy plan for solid waste management by December 31, 2016, and every six years thereafter; changing the date the assessment of the metropolitan solid waste abatement plan prepared by the PCA is due; changing from annual to biennial the PCA requirement to report on the expenditures from the metro landfill abatement fund; prohibiting the commissioner of DNR from requiring insurance or bonds in excess of $1,000,000 of surveyors working on DNR lands; eliminating a requirement that the commissioner report to the legislature on the outcomes of the land records management system; modifying a provision appropriating funds to the DNR from the environment and natural resources trust fund by modifying the purpose to expanding the market opportunities for the use of woody by-product material for bioenergy, providing additional authority to transfer funds to other entities to complete the work, and allowing the DNR to sell the material provided the funds are reinvested into the purposes of the appropriation; eliminating a requirement that the commissioner report to the legislature on the outcomes of an appropriation from last session for grants to organizations for ATV safety and environmental education, and trail monitoring on public lands; allowing hunting, fishing, and trapping of protected species during the designated season, and the use of dogs for hunting at the La Salle Lake state recreation area; requiring the DNR to report to the legislature concerning the long-term funding, use, expansion, and administration of the state parks, recreation areas, trails, and state forest day use areas; extending the availability of various appropriations from the environment and natural resources trust fund; requiring a grant agreement between the PCA and the city of Elk River to be amended to allow the use of treated wastewater effluent to replace the use of surface water; allowing the commissioner to use the good cause exemption to amend rules to comply with the changes to certain provisions regarding nonferrous and other mineral leases; allowing the EQB to use the good cause exemption from rulemaking to amend rules to conform with the notice publication requirement for EAW; repealing provisions relating to requiring reporting on natural resource asset preservation and replacement appropriations, reporting on the natural resources capital improvement program, reporting on making the nursery and tree improvement program self-supporting, reporting and public meeting requirements regarding timber harvest plans, reporting on the lifetime fish and wildlife trust fund, the stream protection and improvement loan program, reporting on new wastewater treatment systems requiring permits, effluent violations, conditions posing imminent public health threat, PCA waste management activities and legislative recommendations, PCA report on enforcement actions and exemptions regarding toxic packaging, legislative recommendations to achieve greenhouse gas reductions, boat aquatic invasive species (AIS) rule decal transitional enforcement, various PCA rules, boat AIS rule decal requirement and boat AIS rule decal penalty

ARTICLE 2 - THREE RIVERS PARK DISTRICT

Providing for election of park commissioners of the Three Rivers park district
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