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A second attempt at funding water quality projects axed from 2017 Legacy bill

Rep. Paul Torkelson (R-Hanska) wants to fund some water quality improvement projects and grants that were cut from last year’s omnibus Legacy finance bill.

HF4269, sponsored by Torkelson, would appropriate $26.44 million from the Clean Water Fund in Fiscal Years 2018-19, including $22 million that was added back into the fund thanks to the state’s projected budget surplus.

The House Legacy Funding Finance Committee held the bill, as amended, over Monday for possible omnibus bill inclusion. It has no Senate companion.

The House Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee approved the original version of the bill two weeks ago, which included the Clean Water Council’s recommendations. However, the delete-all amendment adopted Monday makes “tweaks” to fund some things that ended up getting cut from last year’s bill, Torkelson said.

The committee was given a spreadsheet showing the differences between the amended bill and the Clean Water Council’s recommendations.

Here are the proposed appropriations from the Clean Water Fund in the amended bill. Appropriations are for Fiscal Year 2018, unless noted:

  • $10 million to the Board of Water and Soil Resources for its Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, which allows farmers to voluntarily enroll in programs to create buffers, restore wetlands, and protect wellheads for drinking water;
  • $5 million for grants to soil and water conservation districts for cost-sharing contracts with landowners to help farmers establish buffer strips;
  • $4.3 million for the implementation of the One Watershed One Plan, a pilot program that would provide performance-based grants to local governments. The grants would be used to implement projects that protect, enhance and restore surface water quality in lakes, rivers and streams; protect groundwater from degradation; and protect drinking water sources;
  • $3.5 million for grants to protect and restore drinking water and groundwater;
  • $1.25 million to the Public Facilities Authority for the Point Source Implementation grants program, which provides grants to local governments to assist with the cost of water infrastructure projects;
  • $1 million to the Department of Natural Resources’ Forests of the Future program to acquire permanent conservation easements to protect forests that supply clean water to lakes, rivers and streams;
  • $500,000 to the Department of Agriculture for grants to the University of Minnesota to fund the Forever Green Initiative to increase the efficiency, profitability and productivity of farmers by incorporating perennial and winter-annual crops into existing agricultural practices;
  • $500,000 to BWSR to provide support to the university’s Water Resources Center to further develop and expand the use of existing irrigation assistance tool and implement an outreach and education program;
  • $343,000 to the university for a return on investments study to help better understand how effective the state’s clean water spending is; and
  • $10,000 in Fiscal Year 2019 to the Pollution Control Agency to fund operations of the Clean Water Council, which advises on the implementation of the Clean Water Legacy Act that was signed into law in 2006.

Shannon Lotthammer, PCA assistant commissioner, testified on behalf of all the state agencies that receive funding from the Clean Water Fund. She said they were in support of the initial bill, but they haven’t had the chance to go over the changes made in the amendment adopted Monday.

Meanwhile, Rep. Jean Wagenius (DFL-Mpls) said she hopes Torkelson will think about additional “tweaks” to the bill, saying it focuses on Greater Minnesota and doesn’t fairly address some of the needs in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, such as drinking water studies for the Mississippi River and groundwater studies.

 

The Clean Water Fund

The Clean Water Fund is funded through the Legacy Amendment, which increased the state sales tax by three-eighths of 1 percent through 2034. The tax revenue is distributed into four funds, including 33 percent going to the Clean Water Fund.

Since 2010, the Clean Water Fund has appropriated more than $759 million for projects across the state that protect and improve water quality in the state’s lakes, rivers and streams, and protect groundwater from degradation.


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