SF 1192

1st Engrossment - 88th Legislature (2013 - 2014) Posted on 04/05/2013 08:30am

A bill for an act
relating to water; modifying the Clean Water Legacy Act to improve
accountability; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 114D.50, by adding
subdivisions; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 114D.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [114D.26] WATERSHED RESTORATION AND PROTECTION
STRATEGIES.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Contents. new text end

new text begin The Pollution Control Agency shall develop strategies to
address restoration and protection needs on a watershed scale. To ensure effectiveness
and accountability in meeting the goals of this chapter, each watershed restoration and
protection strategy must:
new text end

new text begin (1) analyze and identify point sources of pollution for which a national pollutant
discharge elimination system permit is required under section 115.03;
new text end

new text begin (2) analyze and identify nonpoint sources of pollution for which a national pollutant
discharge elimination system permit is not required under section 115.03, with sufficient
specificity to allow the watershed restoration and protection strategy to prioritize and
geographically locate specific watershed restoration and protection practices;
new text end

new text begin (3) describe the current pollution loading and load reduction needed for each source
or source category to meet water quality standards;
new text end

new text begin (4) contain a monitoring plan with interim water quality goals based on available
data until needed load reductions are achieved;
new text end

new text begin (5) describe actions shown by modeling to be capable of achieving any needed
pollution load reductions for point and nonpoint sources;
new text end

new text begin (6) identify local water plans already in place and determine whether they contain
the actions designed to achieve needed pollution load reductions;
new text end

new text begin (7) identify additional enforcement actions under existing law that would provide
pollution reductions, provide estimates of those pollution reductions, and estimate the cost
to state or local governments to achieve the pollution reductions;
new text end

new text begin (8) identify potential responsible parties to design, implement, monitor, and report
on watershed restoration or protection actions;
new text end

new text begin (9) provide an estimated range of costs for at least one modeled scenario that is
anticipated to accomplish the required load reductions;
new text end

new text begin (10) provide a list and an estimate of the funding sources and amounts that are
anticipated to be available for the needed implementation actions; and
new text end

new text begin (11) contain a timeline for achievement of watershed restoration or protection
implementation actions within ten years of strategy adoption, including milestones at
least every two years.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Reporting. new text end

new text begin Beginning July 1, 2016, and every other year thereafter, the
Pollution Control Agency must report on its Web site the progress toward implementation
milestones and water quality goals for all adopted TMDLs and, where available, watershed
restoration and protection strategies.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Timeliness. new text end

new text begin Watershed restoration and protection strategies must be
completed within one year of the Environmental Protection Agency's approval of TMDLs
within the applicable watershed.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 114D.50, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 3a. new text end

new text begin Nonpoint priority funding plan. new text end

new text begin (a) Beginning July 1, 2014, and every
other year thereafter, the Board of Water and Soil Resources shall prepare and post
on its Web site a priority funding plan to prioritize potential nonpoint restoration and
protection actions based on available watershed restoration and protection strategies and
TMDLs. The plan must take into account the following factors: water quality outcomes;
cost-effectiveness; landowner financial need; and leverage of nonstate funding sources.
new text end

new text begin (b) Consistent with the priorities listed in section 114D.20, state agencies allocating
funds from the clean water fund for restoration and protection strategies shall target the
funds according to the priorities identified on the nonpoint priority funding plan. The
allocation of the clean water fund to projects eligible for financial assistance under section
116.182 is not governed by the nonpoint priority funding plan.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 114D.50, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 4a. new text end

new text begin Riparian buffer payments; reporting. new text end

new text begin When clean water funds are used
to purchase riparian buffer easements, payments for the first 50 feet of riparian buffer
required by Minnesota Rules, part 6120.3300, cannot exceed 25 percent of the assessed
land value. The Board of Water and Soil Resources must include in its biennial report
on clean water fund appropriations the funding spent on easements for riparian buffers
already required by Minnesota Rules, part 6120.3300, to be in perennial vegetation.
new text end