Minnesota Administrative Rules

6115.1220 PROCEDURES.

Subpart 1.

Permit applications.

Application for a permit to drain basins that are potentially eligible for compensation from the department because of being declared public waters shall be made on such forms as the commissioner may provide and shall include all data specified by the form and any required application fees.

The applicant shall include the following information to enable the commissioner to determine the feasibility, practicality, and lawfulness of the proposed drainage:

A.

a statement by the owner that there are no burdens on the property or agreements which drainage would violate;

B.

a demonstration by the owner that the right to use the outlet can be obtained;

C.

a description of the proposed drainage project;

D.

a demonstration of the project costs, showing how the costs were estimated, together with an explanation of why the investment would be profitable; and

E.

a statement by a professional soil classifier that the basin would be high quality cropland. The determination shall be based on the following criteria. The kinds of soils that will that will qualify as high quality cropland are based on the following method arranged from best to poorest.

Rating Value	Soil Properties
1.	Loamy or clayey mineral soils (loamy or clayey average particle size in the control section.)
2.	Deep organic soils (Typic subgroups,) and shallow organic soils with a loamy or clayey substratum (Terric subgroups with loamy or clayey particle size.)
3.	Shallow organic soils with a sandy or gravelly substratus (Terric subgroups with sandy or sandy skeletal particle size.)
4.	Sandy or gravelly mineral soils (Aquents, aquepts, and Aquolls with sandy or sandy skeletal average particle size in the control section.)
5.	Other soils (mostly soils with limnic materials dominating the control section.)

Growing degree days (GDD) will be used as a climatic parameter to use for accessing soil quality. The groups from best to poorest are:

Rating Value	Climate Parameter
1.	More than 4400 GDD
2.	3400 - 4400 GDD
4.	Less than 3400 GDD

The following counties fall within the individual climate parameters:

More than 4400 GDD
	Anoka	Lac Qui Parle	Rice
	Big Stone	Le Sueur	Rock
	Blue Earth	Lincoln	Scott
	Brown	Lyon	Sibley
	Carver	McLeod	Steele
	Chippewa	Martin	Stevens
	Cottonwood	Meeker	Swift
	Dakota	Mower	Traverse
	Dodge	Murray	Wabasha
	Faribault	Nicollet	Waseca
	Fillmore	Nobles	Washington
	Freeborn	Olmsted	Watonwan
	Goodhue	Pipestone	Wilkin
	Hennepin	Ramsey	Winona
	Houston	Redwood	Wright
	Jackson	Renville	Yellow Medicine
	Kandiyohi

3400 - 4400 GDD
	Aitkin	Hubbard	Otter Tail
	Becker	Isanti	Pennington
	Beltrami	Itasca	Pine
	Benton	Kanabec	Polk
	Carlton	Kittson	Pope
	Cass	Koochiching	Red Lake
	Chisago	Lake of the Woods	Roseau
	Clay	Mahnomen	Sherburne
	Clearwater	Marshall	Stearns
	Crow Wing	Mille Lacs	Todd
	Douglas	Morrison	Wadena
	Grant	Norman

Less than 3400 GDD
	Cook	Lake	St. Louis

To arrive at a value, an index is determined by multiplying the soil property rating by the GDD rating. A value of four or less shall be considered high quality cropland.

The determination of soil properties shall be done by a professional soil classifier with at least one observation of soil properties to depths of 50 inches for each ten acres of the wetland. Points of observations should be located systematically in the wetland, recorded on a map, and a log of soil made for each observation. The information shall be included with the permit application.

Subp. 2.

Eligible water basins.

If the public water basin is eligible for compensation the commissioner shall mail to the applicant, within 60 days of receipt of an application for a permit to drain, the various choices of indemnification, to include:

A.

An offer:

(1)

to place the basin in the state water bank program, together with a sample water bank agreement;

(2)

to acquire the basin and such interest as is necessary to make entry upon the acquired area available to the public;

(3)

to acquire an easement in the nature of a conservation restriction as described by Minnesota Statutes, sections 84.64 and 84.65, together with a sample of such an easement; or

(4)

to acquire a lease on the basin, together with a sample lease agreement.

B.

A statement:

(1)

If such be the case, that the wetland appears to be eligible for the federal water bank program and who the landowner should contact. The state program, however, does not incur any obligations on the federal program and if the landowner chooses to select this option the landowner will be subject to the federal program's priorities and procedures.

(2)

That the landowner may suggest any other appropriate indemnification method, along with the proposed terms and conditions that the landowner would like to have included.

(3)

That the landowner and commissioner may agree to include adjacent property in the terms of the agreements.

(4)

That the landowner may choose any one of the indemnification offers or any other method of indemnification that the commissioner will agree to.

C.

An explanation of the balance of these procedures in order to establish the dollar amount of each offer as soon as the landowner specifies what adjacent land, if any, the landowner would like to have included.

Subp. 3.

Ineligible areas.

If the area is ineligible for compensation the commissioner will so inform the applicant and advise the applicant that a Minnesota Statutes, section 103G.311 hearing on the issue of eligibility may be demanded.

Subp. 4.

Right to drain basin.

If within 60 days of receipt of an application for a permit to drain, the commissioner does not mail the landowner a choice of indemnification, the landowner is entitled to drain the basin.

Subp. 5.

Adjacent land.

Upon receipt of an offer of indemnification, the landowner shall inform the commissioner of the amount, if any, and location of adjacent land that the landowner would like to have included in the agreement, and what alternative, if any, methods of indemnification the landowner would like the commissioner to consider.

Subp. 6.

Certification.

Within 60 days of receiving the above information the commissioner shall complete an appraisal of the property and submit it to the Department of Administration for certification. If it is not so submitted within the 60-day period, the landowner may drain the basin.

Subp. 7.

Negotiations.

When an appraisal has been certified, the commissioner shall inform the landowner of the dollar amount of each offer, and begin negotiations. The outcome of the negotiations can be either:

A.

the landowner accepts one of the offers made or agreed to by the commissioner;

B.

the landowner places the basin in a federal water bank program;

C.

the landowner signs a consent to condemnation pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 84.027, subdivision 9, specifying which of the methods of indemnification offered or agreed to by the commissioner that the landowner has selected; or

D.

the landowner does none of the above, in which case the basin cannot be drained unless and until a new application for a permit to drain is submitted and the commissioner does not make an offer of indemnification.

Subp. 8.

[Repealed, L 2023 c 60 art 4 s 112]

Subp. 9.

Recording and indexing documents.

Water bank, lease, and easements obtained on an area shall be recorded and indexed in the office of the county recorder in the county where the basin lies.

Statutory Authority:

MS s 103F.601; 103G.315; 105.392; 105.415

History:

L 1986 c 386 art 1 s 28; 17 SR 1279

Published Electronically:

November 30, 2023