1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to water; modifying duties of the Minnesota 
  1.3             river basin joint powers board; appropriating money 
  1.4             for water quality improvement projects; amending 
  1.5             Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 103F.378, subdivision 
  1.6             1. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 103F.378, 
  1.9   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [DUTIES.] The Minnesota river basin joint 
  1.11  powers board, established under section 471.59 for the purpose 
  1.12  of coordinating efforts to improve water quality in the 
  1.13  Minnesota river and achieving the goal of making the Minnesota 
  1.14  river suitable for fishing and swimming by the year 2005, has 
  1.15  the following duties: 
  1.16     (1) coordination of comprehensive cleanup goals for the 
  1.17  Minnesota river by coordinating the work plans of the 12 major 
  1.18  watersheds and the member counties of the joint powers board, 
  1.19  state agencies, and the University of Minnesota in cleanup 
  1.20  efforts and submission of periodic river cleanup plans for 
  1.21  submission to the governor and the legislature; 
  1.22     (2) advising on the development and use of monitoring and 
  1.23  evaluation systems in the Minnesota river and the incorporation 
  1.24  of the data obtained from these systems into the planning 
  1.25  process; 
  1.26     (3) conducting public meetings of the board on at least a 
  2.1   quarterly basis at locations within the Minnesota river basin; 
  2.2      (4) conducting an ongoing information and education program 
  2.3   concerning the status of the Minnesota river, including an 
  2.4   annual conference on the state of the Minnesota river; and 
  2.5      (5) providing periodic reports and budget requests to the 
  2.6   governor's office and the chairs of the agriculture and 
  2.7   environment and natural resources committees of the senate and 
  2.8   the house of representatives regarding progress on meeting river 
  2.9   water quality management goals and future funding required for 
  2.10  this effort.; 
  2.11     (6) advising on the development of projects within the 12 
  2.12  major watersheds that are scientifically sound, have landowner 
  2.13  support, and reduce inputs of pollutants into the Minnesota 
  2.14  river basin; and 
  2.15     (7) administering the distribution of project 
  2.16  implementation funds for the 12 major watersheds by approving 
  2.17  projects, identifying matching components for each project, and 
  2.18  tracking the results achieved for each project. 
  2.19     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  2.20     $1,200,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  2.21  board of water and soil resources to complete water quality 
  2.22  improvement projects with the 12 major watersheds of the 
  2.23  Minnesota river basin, to be available until June 30, 1999.  The 
  2.24  water quality improvement projects must utilize practices that 
  2.25  are proven effective, must have landowner support, and must be 
  2.26  prioritized by the Minnesota river basin joint powers board and 
  2.27  the board of water and soil resources.  The board of water and 
  2.28  soil resources shall use this appropriation only for those 
  2.29  projects where the local landowners and counties provide 25 
  2.30  percent of project costs in cash or in kind.  The board shall 
  2.31  provide 100 percent funding for planning that directly results 
  2.32  in the implementation of an approved project.  
  2.33     Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.34     Sections 1 and 2 are effective the day following final 
  2.35  enactment.