1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to waters; creating a program to protect 
  1.3             shoreland areas; appropriating money; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 103F.205, subdivision 
  1.5             1; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.6             chapter 103F. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 103F.205, 
  1.9   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [APPLICABILITY.] The definitions in this 
  1.11  section apply to sections 103F.201 to ~~103F.221~~ 103F.227. 
  1.12     Sec. 2.  [103F.225] [SHORELAND PROTECTION PROGRAM.] 
  1.13     The board of water and soil resources shall establish a 
  1.14  program to provide education and financial incentives 
  1.15  encouraging private landowners to preserve and restore lake and 
  1.16  river shoreland.  
  1.17     Sec. 3.  [103F.226] [GRANT PROGRAM.] 
  1.18     Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] A grant program must be 
  1.19  created by the board that provides public information, accepts 
  1.20  applications from private shoreland owners, and awards the 
  1.21  grants. 
  1.22     Subd. 2.  [CRITERIA.] A working group of interested 
  1.23  individuals in a participating county must be established by the 
  1.24  local soil and water conservation district.  The working groups, 
  1.25  along with the county board and the local soil and water 
  1.26  conservation district, must develop criteria for awarding grants 
  2.1   to shoreland owners within a participating county.  The criteria 
  2.2   must be widely publicized within each county. 
  2.3      Subd. 3.  [AWARDING OF GRANTS.] The soil and water 
  2.4   conservation district in a participating county may award a 
  2.5   cost-share grant for restoration of shoreland or to establish a 
  2.6   conservation easement for preservation of existing shoreland.  
  2.7   The cost-share grant may be up to 75 percent of the cost of 
  2.8   restoring shoreland.  Any restoration must be done using native 
  2.9   vegetation and under the criteria required in subdivision 2.  A 
  2.10  conservation easement, as defined in section 84C.01, must be 
  2.11  permanent and is subject to section 103F.515, subdivisions 3 to 
  2.12  6 and 8, for board authority, nature of property rights 
  2.13  acquired, agreements by landowners, conservation easement 
  2.14  payments, and enforcement.  Section 273.117 applies to 
  2.15  conservation easements granted in this subdivision. 
  2.16     Subd. 4.  [COORDINATION AND COOPERATION.] The board and 
  2.17  affected soil and water conservation districts must coordinate 
  2.18  with other federal, state, and local agencies that have 
  2.19  shoreland programs and apply successful shoreland preservation 
  2.20  and restoration program elements.  State and local agencies with 
  2.21  shoreland programs must cooperate with the board and the soil 
  2.22  and water conservation districts. 
  2.23     Sec. 4.  [103F.227] [EVALUATION AND REPORT.] 
  2.24     An evaluation component for each affected county to judge 
  2.25  program success must be conducted by the local soil and water 
  2.26  conservation district.  The board, by January 15, 2003, must 
  2.27  report on the shoreland program to the house and senate 
  2.28  committees with jurisdiction over natural resources. 
  2.29     Sec. 5.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  2.30     $5,000,000 is appropriated from the general fund for the 
  2.31  biennium ending June 30, 2003, to the board of soil and water 
  2.32  resources for the purposes of this act.