1995-10-26_AgendaPacket - Laserfiche WebLink

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'^~ater BilllBoard enments to the tr istric ct 103 ) Per diem Per diem increases from $50 to $55 per day atershed District Advisory Committees The bill establishes an annual appointment schedule for the committee and provides for specific duties, including: selecting a chair selecting a recorder •establishing a meeting schedule, which at a minimum means one meeting per year •considering issues pertinent to the role of the district •reviewing and commenting on reports, activities, etc., of the watershed district managers •reporting to the managers the general context of the advisory committee meetings and mak- ing recommendations. The law also allows greater flexibility in the appointment of advisory committee members by changing requirements that they be county commissioners or SWCD supervisors and allowing representatives of county commissioners or SWCD supervisors to serve. In addition, they must no longer be residents of the watershed district. SR plan guidance The law allows BWSR to adopt guidelines for watershed plan content. atershed district authority to acquire state- owned land The changes expand the authority of watershed districts to acquire state-owned land for all projects under M.S. 103E (the Minnesota Drainage Law). Previously, they had only been allowed to acquire these lands specifically for drainage projects. They must still obtain all necessary permits. Project. appeals The law specifies that projects done under M.S. 1038.201 (the Metropolitan Surface Water Management Act) by watershed districts wholly within the metro area cannot be appealed to the BWSR under M.S. 103D (the Watershed District Act). Recently, there have been attempt to delay or prevent 1036 projects through petitions to the BWSR under M.S. 103D. In addition, the changes remove the authority of the BWSR to hear appeals on individual permit decisions or work orders of watershed districts, although the board can informally help resolve conflicts.. Appeals can be taken to district court. The BWSR retains the authority to hear appeals relating to the rules of watershed districts. Metro ditches The law makes some changes in recognition of the unique difficulties of managing drainage systems within the metro area. Before the changes, the watershed district was required to assess costs of repair, maintenance or improvement of drainage projects against the benefited properties. This system no longer worked well in the metro area because it had become so difficult and costly to figure out the correct assessment based on benefits; in some cases, the cost of the assessment surpassed the cost of the project. This change allows metropolitan watershed districts greater flexibility in determining the most appropriate methods to finance ditch projects. Changes to the innesot Water tanning Act The Comprehensive Local Water Planning Program (M.S. 1036.301) The law changes the effective dates of plans so that they are now effective for somewhere 4