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Minnesota Board of Water & Soil Resources • www.bwsr.state.mn.us Policy Approved May 24, 2017 I. Background. The Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) has been granted statutory authority to assess fees to administer and oversee the state wetland bank and to acquire, monitor, and enforce conservation easements for wetland mitigation sites. The fees consist of two types: bank account fees and easement fees. Account fees are associated with establishment, maintenance, deposit, transfer, and withdrawals actions. Easement fees are associated with the acquisition, modification, or release of a conservation easement for a mitigation site and the monitoring and enforcement of the easement once it is acquired. The statutory authority for mitigation fees is provided in Attachment A. II. Definitions. A. Account or wetland bank account. “Account or “wetland bank account” means a record of wetland banking debits and credits established by an account holder within the state wetland banking system. B. Account Holder. “Account holder” in the state wetland banking system, is a person, corporation, government agency, or organization that has the right to use/sell credits for mitigation purposes. C. Mitigation. An approved action taken under MN Rule 8420.0526 for the purpose of replacing lost wetland functions and values. D. Wetland banking credit. Replacement credits resulting from the actions in MN Rule 8420.0526 that have been certified and deposited in the wetland bank. Wetland banking credits can be sold to a third party, or used by the account holder to meet a state or federal mitigation requirement. E. Wetland mitigation credit. “Wetland mitigation credit” means a unit of measure (e.g., a functional or areal measure or other metric) representing the accrual or attainment of wetland functions at a mitigation site, or as otherwise defined in MN Rule 8420. III. Fee Structure and Procedures. A. Account Establishment and Initial Deposit Fee. This fee is assessed at the time of the first credit deposit into the wetland bank account. The Account Establishment and Initial Deposit Fee will be assessed at 6.5% of the value of the credits deposited, not to exceed $1,000. The value of the credit(s) and resulting per-credit fee will be determined according to Part III.H. B. Deposit Fees. Deposit fees will be assessed starting with the second credit deposit (the initial deposit is part of the Establishment fee). Credit deposit fees will be assessed at 6.5% of the value of the credits deposited, not to exceed a total of $1,000 per deposit. The value of the credit(s) and resulting per-credit fee will be determined according to Part III.H. Wetland credits deposited into a wetland bank account cannot be used for replacement purposes until the deposit fees have been paid. 2017 Wetland Mitigation Fee Policy Effective June 1, 2017