as introduced - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 03/26/2021 10:10am
A bill for an act
relating to natural resources; modifying provisions for easement stewardship
accounts; amending Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 103B.103.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 103B.103, is amended to read:
(a) The water and soil conservation
easement stewardship account and the mitigation easement stewardship account are created
in the special revenue fund. The accounts consist of money credited to the accounts and
interest and other earnings on money in the accounts. The State Board of Investment must
manage the accounts to maximize long-term gain.
(b) Revenue from contributions and money appropriated for any purposes of the account
as described in subdivision 2 must be deposited in the water and soil conservation easement
stewardship account. Revenue from contributions, wetland deleted text begin bankingdeleted text end new text begin mitigationnew text end fees designated
for stewardship purposes by the board, easement stewardship payments authorized under
subdivision 3, and money appropriated for any purposes of the account as described in
subdivision 2 must be deposited in the mitigation easement stewardship account.
new text begin (a) new text end Five percent of the balance on July
1 each year in the water and soil conservation easement stewardship account and five percent
of the balance on July 1 each year in the mitigation easement stewardship account are
annually appropriated to the board and may be spent only to cover the costs of managing
easements held by the board, including costs associated withnew text begin :
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(1) repairing or replacing structures;
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(2) maintaining vegetation and hydrology;
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new text begin (3)new text end monitoringdeleted text begin ,deleted text end new text begin ;
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new text begin (4)new text end landowner contactsdeleted text begin ,deleted text end new text begin ;
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new text begin (5)new text end records storage and managementdeleted text begin ,deleted text end new text begin ;
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new text begin (6)new text end processing landowner noticesdeleted text begin ,deleted text end new text begin ;
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new text begin (7)new text end requests for approval or amendmentsdeleted text begin ,deleted text end new text begin ;
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new text begin (8)new text end enforcementdeleted text begin ,deleted text end new text begin ;new text end and
new text begin (9)new text end legal services associated with easement management activities.
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(b) When needed to cover the costs on easements held by the board, the board may
request an allocation from the mitigation easement stewardship account and the water and
soil conservation easement stewardship account to cover costs associated with:
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(1) legal compliance costs;
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(2) repairing or replacing structures; and
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(3) maintaining vegetation and hydrology.
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The board shall seek a financial contribution to the
water and soil conservation easement stewardship account for each conservation easement
acquired by the board. The board shall seek a financial contribution or assess an easement
stewardship payment to the mitigation easement stewardship account for each wetland
deleted text begin bankingdeleted text end new text begin mitigationnew text end easement acquired by the board. Unless otherwise provided by law, the
board shall determine the amount of the contribution or payment, which must be an amount
calculated to earn sufficient money to meet the costs of managing the easement at a level
that neither significantly overrecovers nor underrecovers the costs. In determining the
amount of the financial contribution, the board shall consider:
(1) the estimated annual staff hours needed to manage the conservation easement, taking
into consideration factors such as easement type, size, location, and complexity;
(2) the average hourly wages for the class or classes of state and local employees expected
to manage the easement;
(3) the estimated annual travel expenses to manage the easement;
(4) the estimated annual miscellaneous costs to manage the easement, including supplies
and equipment, information technology support, and aerial flyovers;
(5) the estimated annualized costs of legal services, including the cost to enforce the
easement in the event of a violation; deleted text begin and
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(6) the estimated annualized costs for repairing or replacing structures and maintaining
vegetation and hydrology; and
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deleted text begin (6)deleted text end new text begin (7)new text end the expected rate of return on investments in the account.