Concerns surround DNR’s supplemental budget bill

While this year’s supplemental omnibus environment and natural resources finance bill would appropriate $8.65 million in the current biennium for the state’s parks, trails, forestry work — and potential legal costs related to the PolyMet mining project — concerns remain about how some of that money would be spent and where it would come from.

The House Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee amended and approved HF3890 Thursday — which now goes to the House Ways and Means Committee and has no Senate companion. But Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Landwehr said his agency was troubled by two issues related to the money it would receive.

The first is that the $2.3 million appropriated for parks and trails management comes from a parks account and could not be used for trails maintenance — which Landwehr said is a growing need.

“In the last 15 years, we’ve grown the state trail system by 40 percent,” Landwehr said. “But we have 60 percent fewer dollars today to maintain those trails as we had 15 years ago.”

Landwehr also said the $2.3 million would likely mean reduced hours for DNR’s seasonal staff and a shorter working season.

DNR’s second concern involved an accounting issue that would cancel a $1.5 million appropriation for forest management that was going to come from the General Fund, and replace it with $1.5 million from the Forest Management Investment Account. Landwehr said money from the latter account could not be spent for some of DNR’s forest management activities — such as tackling the emerald ash borer issue.

WATCH Committee discussion of the bill on YouTube

However, committee chair Rep. Denny McNamara (R-Hastings), sponsor of HF3890, reminded the committee it fully funded last year’s DNR budget request and was now adding another $2.3 million. He said he’d heard attendance at some parks is up, yet the DNR still needed money.

“It’s troubling when you’ve created a model where the more people that come, the more money you lose,” McNamara said.

A handful of amendments were also considered during Thursday’s hearing, including one offered by Rep. Jim Newberger (R-Becker) that would require the DNR to permit specific water levels in Grant County’s Big Lake. It was adopted on a 13-8 roll-call vote.

Newberger said local officials asked for the legislation, while DNR Assistant Commissioner Bob Meier said setting lake levels in statute is a bad precedent. However, McNamara said work continues on the issue and it may be resolved in the near future.

What would HF3890 do?

The bill also includes measures that would:

• require carbon monoxide detectors on new motorboats that have an enclosed compartment;
• appropriate $5.4 million for legal costs related to the PolyMet mining project;
• allow an expedited land exchange process in exchanging school trust lands and university lands;
• create an Aggregate Resources Task Force to study and provide recommendations on issues surrounding aggregates;
• allow tribal band members with an identification card to harvest wild rice without a DNR permit;
• extend the life of the Mineral Coordinating Committee, which helps plan for the state’s mineral development, until 2026; and
• require the DNR to develop criteria for certifying entities to conduct a prescribed burn without a permit.

What’s in the bill?

The following are selected bills that have been incorporated in part of in whole into the supplemental omnibus environment and natural resources finance bill:

• HF2644 (Backer)
• HF2674 (Lueck)
• HF2866 (McNamara)
• HF3310 (Hertaus)
• HF3401 (Kiel)
• HF3503 (O’Driscoll)