Laserfiche WebLink
1955 Chapter 681 brought conservation into the drainage code; it required that in determining <br /> the benefit of a proposed drainage system, the conservation of soil. water, forests, wild <br /> animals and related natural resources must be considered. <br /> 1961 Chapter 754 created state policy that, where practicable, all state agencies shall conserve <br /> precipitated water in areas where it falls. <br /> 1973 Chapters 315 and 479 were enacted that(1) expanded the definition of public waters to <br /> include "all waters which serve a beneficial public purpose," thereby including wetlands; <br /> and (2) required new elements, including environmental concerns, that need to be <br /> considered before establishing or improving drainage systems. <br /> 1976 Chapter 83 established a program to inventory and specify public waters once and for all, <br /> including wetlands. The state water bank program was created, where easements could <br /> compensate landowners who agreed to preserve their wetlands. <br /> 1979- The public waters inventory was begun in 1979 to identify all public waters, and final <br /> 1984 publication of county inventory maps was finished in 1984. <br /> 1991 Chapter 354, the Wetland Conservation Act, created a "no net loss policy;" provided for <br /> mitigation of drained or filled wetlands; allowed local units of government administrative <br /> authority; and authorized the Board of Water and Soil Resources(BWSR)to adopt rules <br /> and acquire permanent easements for Type 1 to 3 wetlands. <br /> 1993 Chapter 175 allowed counties or watersheds that had 80 percent or more of their <br /> presettlement wetlands remaining to mitigate for draining or filling on a one to one acre <br /> basis. Created a deminimis exemption of up to 400 square feet of wetland area. Rules <br /> under the 1991 Wetland Conservation Act were adopted by BWSR. <br /> 1994 Chapter 627 allowed local governments some flexibility in adopting a comprehensive <br /> wetland management plan that could substitute for parts of the BWSR rule on wetlands. It <br /> also allows existing roadways to be upgraded to current construction and safety standards, <br /> if wetland impacts are minimized and less than one-half acre is impacted. <br /> 1996 Chapter 462 amended the Wetland Conservation Act to provide a more streamlined <br /> notification process. Exemptions were also reformatted for easier interpretation, with <br /> expansion of exemptions covering agricultural land, individual sewage treatment systems, <br /> wildlife habitat improvement projects, drainage and deminimis. The 1996 amendments <br /> provided that local governmental units may develop Local Comprehensive Wetland <br /> Protection and Management Plans as an alternative to the Rules, with flexibility in the <br /> application of sequencing standards, replacement standards and certain exemptions. 1996 <br /> changes also amended the requirements for public road project replacement, including the <br /> provision that the BWSR will replace wetlands drained or filled from the repair, <br /> reconstruction or rehabilitation for existing local government public roads. <br /> Part I-Program Overview April 1997 <br /> WCA Administration I- 5 <br />