Buffer Law Deadline for Compliance is Nov. 1

The deadline for farmers to comply with the Minnesota Buffer Law is Nov. 1, 2017. The law requires farmers to install a 50-foot vegetative buffer on all public waters, or file for a waiver that extends the deadline. By Nov. 1, 2018, farmers must have a 16.5-foot buffer on all public ditches.

Prior to the deadline, farmers are encouraged to visit their local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) office to discuss options for compliance and implementation under Minnesota’s buffer law. Local officials will be available to help farmers identify where a buffer is needed, alternative practices to buffers and options for assistance on implementation. If farmers live in a county that elected to forego using its SWCD for enforcement of the rule, it is recommended they contact the Board of Water and Soil Resources’ (BWSR) central office at (651) 296-3767.

Farmers seeking a timeline extension to buffer implementation must either file for a “Parcel Specific Compliance Plan” or a “Technical or Financial Assistance” waiver with their local SWCD office by Nov. 1.

With the compliance plan waiver, farmers must describe specific buffers and alternatives practices proposed for each parcel of their land that will be implemented prior to the July 1, 2018 extension deadline. Farmers who apply for the technical or financial assistance waiver will have until Nov. 1, 2018 or when the financial or technical assistance is received to become compliant.

Alternative practices approved by BWSR can be used instead of the prescribed vegetative buffer. To help farmers find the best strategy to comply with the Minnesota Buffer Law, the Decision Support Tool, funded by the Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) and designed by the University of Minnesota, is available at every SWCD office at no cost to the farmer. Farmers may also access the tool online from home at bwsr.state.mn.us/buffers or mncorn.org.

Farmers using the tool must answer basic questions about the characteristics of their land, including soil type, slope and existing management practices. From there, the tool provides farmers with site-specific alternative practices, which would be used in addition to required minimum buffers of five feet on public ditches and 16.5 feet on public waters. Approved alternative practices like using cover crops, conservation tillage, contour strip-cropping and more would take the place of the buffer law’s minimum 16.5-foot buffer on public ditches and 50-foot buffer on public waters.

Farmers will be asked to file the alternative practices they are implementing with their local SWCD, and will be required to perpetually use those alternative practices in order to remain compliant with the buffer law. These alternative practices are specific to the buffer law and do not replace public ditch laws enacted in counties.

DNR provides buffer mapping project details

 

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is providing a timeline and other details about its production of maps for the state’s new law requiring vegetative buffers around bodies of water. The information is available at www.mndnr.gov/buffers.

“We understand people have questions about the buffer initiative,” said Dave Leuthe, DNR project manager. “This information explains the process the DNR will use for the mapping project, the timeline in which maps will be developed, and opportunities for local governments and the public to engage in the process.”

Gov. Mark Dayton’s landmark buffer initiative was signed into law earlier this year. The law will establish new perennial vegetation buffers of up to 50 feet along rivers, streams and ditches to help filter out phosphorus, nitrogen and sediment.

The DNR is responsible for producing maps of public waters and ditch systems that require buffers under the new law. Local governments will provide information on ditches, which the DNR will integrate with information on public waters to develop preliminary buffer maps. The DNR is scheduled to produce final maps by July 2016, using a four-phase approach:

• Phase I - This fall, the DNR will use existing digital data to identify public waters that require a buffer (50-foot average width) and provide the information to local governments for review.
• Phase II - Beginning this fall and continuing through winter, the DNR will coordinate with counties and watershed districts to transfer local information on ditches, within the benefited areas of public drainage systems, into digital data. This will be used by the DNR to help identify ditches that require a one-rod (16.5-foot) buffer.
• Phase III – In late winter 2016, the DNR will use the combined public water and ditch system data to produce preliminary buffer maps. Local governments such as cities, townships and soil and water conservation districts, will review the maps, take input from landowners, and provide comments to the DNR.
• Phase IV – In summer 2016, the DNR will deliver integrated buffer maps to the Board of Water and Soil Resources, local soil and water conservation districts, and other local governments. The Board of Water and Soil Resources is responsible for the implementation process.

There will be public engagement opportunities when the preliminary maps are available. The maps will help landowners identify whether they need to create a buffer and, if so, whether they need a 16.5-foot or 50-foot average buffer width.

Local soil and water conservation districts will work directly with landowners and help them use the maps to create the right size buffer, or help the landowner select an alternative water quality practice in lieu of a buffer.

Go to www.mndnr.gov/buffers to learn more about how the DNR is producing maps for the governor’s buffer initiative.