Minnesota Session Laws - 2001, Regular Session

                            CHAPTER 160-S.F.No. 1434 
                  An act relating to waters; modifying water 
                  appropriation permit provisions; establishing fees; 
                  requiring cooperation with a dam inventory; amending 
                  Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 103G.271, 
                  subdivisions 1, 5, and 5a; and 103G.301, subdivision 2.
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 103G.271, 
        subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
           Subdivision 1.  [PERMIT REQUIRED.] (a) Except as provided 
        in paragraph (b), the state, a person, partnership, or 
        association, private or public corporation, county, 
        municipality, or other political subdivision of the state may 
        not appropriate or use waters of the state without a water use 
        permit from the commissioner.  
           (b) This section does not apply to use for a water supply 
        by less than 25 persons for domestic purposes.  
           (c) The commissioner may issue a state general permit for 
        temporary appropriation of water to a governmental subdivision 
        or to the general public for classes of activities that have 
        minimal impact upon waters of the state.  The general permit may 
        authorize more than one project and the appropriation or use of 
        more than one source of water.  Water use permit processing fees 
        and reports required under subdivision 6 and section 103G.281, 
        subdivision 3, are required for each project or water source 
        that is included under a general permit, except that no fee or 
        report is required for uses totaling less than 15,000,000 
        gallons annually. 
           Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 103G.271, 
        subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 5.  [PROHIBITION ON ONCE-THROUGH WATER USE PERMITS.] 
        (a) The commissioner may not, after December 31, 1990, issue a 
        water use permit to increase the volume of appropriation from a 
        groundwater source for a once-through cooling system using in 
        excess of 5,000,000 gallons annually. 
           (b) Except as provided in paragraph (c), Once-through 
        system water use permits using in excess of 5,000,000 gallons 
        annually, must be terminated by the commissioner by the end of 
        their design life but not later than December 31, 2010, unless 
        the discharge is into a public water basin within a nature 
        preserve approved by the commissioner and established prior to 
        January 1, 2001.  Existing once-through systems must not be 
        expanded and are required to convert to water efficient 
        alternatives within the design life of existing equipment.  
           (c) Paragraph (b) does not apply where groundwater 
        appropriated for use in a once-through system is subsequently 
        discharged into a wetland or public waters wetland owned or 
        leased by a nonprofit corporation if: 
           (1) the membership of the corporation includes a local 
        government unit; 
           (2) the deed or lease requires that the area containing the 
        wetland or public waters wetland be maintained as a nature 
        preserve; 
           (3) public access is allowed consistent with the area's 
        status as a nature preserve; and 
           (4) by January 1, 2003, the permittee incurs costs of 
        developing the nature preserve and associated facilities that, 
        when discounted to 1992 dollars, exceed twice the projected 
        cost, as determined by the commissioner, of the conversion 
        required in paragraph (b), discounted to 1992 dollars. 
        The costs incurred under clause (4) may include preparation of 
        plans and designs; site preparation; construction of wildlife 
        habitat structures; planting of trees and other vegetation; 
        installation of signs and markers; design and construction of 
        trails, docks, and access structures; and design and 
        construction of interpretative facilities.  The permittee shall 
        submit an estimate of the cost of the conversion required in 
        paragraph (b) to the commissioner by January 1, 1993, and shall 
        annually report to the commissioner on the progress of the 
        project and the level of expenditures. 
           Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 103G.271, 
        subdivision 5a, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 5a.  [MAINTENANCE OF SURFACE WATER LEVELS.] Except as 
        provided in subdivision 5, paragraph (c) (b), the commissioner 
        shall, by January 31, 1994, revoke all existing permits, and may 
        not issue new permits, for the appropriation or use of 
        groundwater in excess of 10,000,000 gallons per year for the 
        primary purpose of maintaining or increasing surface water 
        levels in the seven-county metropolitan area and in other areas 
        of concern as determined by the commissioner.  This subdivision 
        does not apply until January 1, 1998, to a municipality that, by 
        January 1, 1994, submits a plan acceptable to the commissioner 
        for maintaining or increasing surface water levels using sources 
        other than groundwater.  
           Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 103G.301, 
        subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 2.  [PERMIT APPLICATION FEES.] (a) An application for 
        a permit authorized under this chapter, and each request to 
        amend or transfer an existing permit, must be accompanied by a 
        permit application fee to defray the costs of receiving, 
        recording, and processing the application or request to amend or 
        transfer.  
           (b) The fee to apply for a permit to appropriate water, a 
        permit to construct or repair a dam that is subject to dam 
        safety inspection, or a state general permit or to apply for the 
        state water bank program is $75.  The application fee for a 
        permit to work in public waters or to divert waters for mining 
        must be at least $75, but not more than $500, according to a 
        schedule of fees adopted under section 16A.1285. 
           Sec. 5.  [DAM INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT.] 
           The commissioner of natural resources shall cooperate with 
        the United States Army Corps of Engineers in carrying out the 
        inventory and assessment, and the repair of dams that are a risk 
        to public safety, that were constructed in this state by the 
        Works Progress Administration, the Works Projects 
        Administration, and the Civilian Conservation Corps, as mandated 
        by section 524 of Public Law Number 106-541. 
           Presented to the governor May 21, 2001 
           Signed by the governor May 24, 2001, 1:59 p.m.