Bill > SF435

Introduced Session

GENERAL. This bill amends Code chapter 466B, which provides for a number of programs to protect surface water and provide for flood mitigation and watershed management. The bill creates a new Code subchapter which requires a landowner having an interest in property adjoining a public water source (e.g., a watercourse such as a river, stream, or drainage ditch; or body of water such as a pond, lake, or reservoir) to establish and maintain a riparian protection measure (measure) in compliance with a riparian protection compliance plan (plan). The plan is derived from a riparian protection inventory and map developed by the department of natural resources (DNR). ADMINISTRATION. The plan must be prepared by the landowner and approved by the division of soil conservation and water quality (division) created within the department of agriculture and land stewardship. The division must act in partnership with commissioners of soil and water conservation districts (commissioners), and in cooperation with a number of other government entities, including the state soil conservation and water quality committee, the water resources coordinating council, and DNR. REQUIREMENTS. Under an approved plan, a landowner must establish and maintain a measure which is either a riparian protection buffer consisting of perennial vegetation, or an alternative riparian protection practice (e.g., erosion control practice or soil and water conservation practice) alone or in combination with a modified riparian protection buffer. The landowner must establish and maintain the measure after the division completes a riparian protection inventory and map which identifies the land subject to riparian protection. A landowner may apply for financial assistance to establish a measure under a number of programs, including cost-share moneys awarded under the authority of the division. EXCEPTIONS. The bill creates a number of exceptions that excuse compliance, including if (1) there is only one riparian landowner; (2) other regulations apply, including storm water outlets regulated by DNR, or a conservation program regulated by the federal or state government; (3) the land is covered by another object or structure; (4) the land is used to produce a designated crop; (5) the land is part of an environmentally designated area (e.g., a forest); (6) the land contains unique geological characteristics; or (7) the land is subject to construction. The division may also create other exceptions if it determines that the exception would not interfere with the bill’s purposes. ENFORCEMENT. The division is to take enforcement action against a landowner who violates a term or condition of a plan, unless the division allows the commissioners to take an enforcement action in court for the landowner’s violation of the terms of an administrative order (e.g., for violating the terms of a cost-share agreement). If the division enforces the plan, if must first issue a compliance order listing items that the landowner must complete within a specified time but not more than one year after the compliance order has been issued. The bill also prohibits a landowner or another person from engaging in any work to remove or degrade a riparian protection measure, unless the person has obtained authorization. The bill provides a range of civil penalties based on the number of parcels included in the plan and the period that the violation continues after the compliance order was delivered. The amounts of the civil penalties range from $100 to $500 per parcel.

Committee Categories

Claire Celsi (D)*,  Molly Donahue (D)*,  Bill Dotzler (D)*,  Janet Petersen (D)*,  Art Staed (D)*,  Janice Weiner (D)*, 

Subcommittee: Rozenboom, Driscoll, and Zimmer. S.J. 367. (on 02/26/2025)

Official Document