1996-04-25_AgendaPacket - Laserfiche WebLink

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~ cc~n~~~~~ cor~centr~~~s ors ~~~si~~~r~ By Jim :Mulder :-1MC executive director Discussion on a 1996 legisla- tive agenda balancing the needs of local economies with protection of the environment provided a major focus of the 87th annual conference of the Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC) December 3, 4 and 5 at the St. Cloud Civic Center. More than 600 county commissioners and others attended. AMC's major legislative priorities are in the areas of wetlands, land use manage- ment and sustainable devel- opment. Wetlands prctection is one of AMC's highest priorities. AMC supports a number of changes in current wetland regulation, including exempt- ing wetland mitigation for road projects; defining existing road right-of-ways as non- wetlands; state funding for water plan revision; wetland plans that take into account economic orowth in local areas; and a detailed study of individual proposals to revise drainage laws. The association supports several specific amendments to the Wetland Conservation Act (WCA), including: •local government units whose enforcement actions against a property owner are ruled a "taking" should be held harmless by the state; •there should be an option to use the 1987 Federal Manual for 'the Delineation of Jurisdictional Wetlands rather than just the 1989 manual, as currently required; •the allowable amount of fill that can be placed into a wetland without being required to develop a replacement plan should be changed to a step rate exemption based on the amount of presettlement wetlands remaining in a county; and •public lands should be eligible for wetland re- placement and banking, and Congress should amend the Clean Water Act to allow use of federal lands for wetland replace- ment and banking. Other legislation discussed at the convention included AMC's continued support for a coordinated land use planning and resource protection option for all units of govern- ment, which the association believes will help prevent growth-related pollution and ensure consistent enforce- ment of state and local regu- lations. and technical assistance, and state enforcement should be based in regional offices. The association supports extending the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) for ten years. During this period, assessment should be made on environmental costs and benefits, local tax conse- quences and the economic impacts on local farm-input suppliers, public schools and community services. Funding should be used to enrol! the most appropriate lands and there should be limits on participation to protect the economic stability of counties. A number of training sessions offered at the convention focused on general policies for the protection, sustainable use and development of lands and natural resources. It is the association's goal to support policies that secure natural resources for future genera- tions. AMC also supports the con- sistent regulation of feedlots, with input from local decision- makers, to address agricul- tural economies and to estab- lish reasonable environmental and odor standards. In addi- tion, county enforcement of feedlot regulations should be supported by state financial - ;