1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to environment; modifying certain rulemaking authority; requiring a 
1.3 	study; providing for legislative oversight; providing appointments; appropriating 
1.4 	money.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. WATER RULEMAKING MORATORIUM.
 1.7 	(a) For purposes of this section, "agency" means the Pollution Control Agency, 
1.8 	Department of Natural Resources, Board of Water and Soil Resources, Environmental 
1.9 	Quality Board, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Health.
1.10 	(b) No agency shall adopt rules related to water quality or water resource protection 
1.11 	during the two-year period beginning July 1, 2009, and ending June 30, 2011.
1.12 	(c) The expedited rulemaking from 2007 affecting the Wetlands Conservation Act is 
1.13 	extended to June 30, 2011.

1.14 	Sec. 2. STUDY REQUIRED.
 1.15 	(a) The Clean Water Legacy Council shall appoint a group to conduct the study 
1.16 	required under this section. The study group must include representatives of the agencies 
1.17 	listed under section 1, paragraph (a), and nonstate, nonfederal, technical professionals with 
1.18 	scientific expertise in water resources management. Other members may include, but are 
1.19 	not limited to, representatives of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the 
1.20 	Army Corps of Engineers, and the United States Department of Agriculture.
1.21 	(b) Members of the study group shall be compensated according to Minnesota 
1.22 	Statutes, section 15.059, subdivision 3. The study group expires January 15, 2011, or upon 
1.23 	submission of the study according to paragraph (d), whichever is sooner.
2.1 	(c) The study must:
2.2 	(1) consider scientific data, including the studies of the National Academy of 
2.3 	Sciences relating to watersheds, total maximum daily loads (TMDL's), stormwater, and 
2.4 	compensation for wetland loss under the Clean Water Act; 
2.5 	(2) identify current rules relating to water, the purpose of the rules, the statutory 
2.6 	background of the rules, the outcomes the rules are intended to achieve, the costs of the 
2.7 	rules to state and local government and to the private sector, and the rules' relationship 
2.8 	to other state and federal laws, including requirements relating to training, development, 
2.9 	public education, and recordkeeping;
2.10 	(3) assess the pros and cons of a watershed approach to implementing statutory 
2.11 	water management programs and regulations compared to state agency-administered 
2.12 	programs and administrative rules;
2.13 	(4) assess why some regulations are deemed appropriate for administration at the 
2.14 	local level, for example, those relating to shorelands, floodplains, wild and scenic rivers, 
2.15 	wetland conservation, feedlots, and subsurface sewage treatment systems, and others 
2.16 	are not;
2.17 	(5) identify current efforts to eliminate redundancy between state and federal 
2.18 	regulations, including perceived and real barriers to realizing reduction or elimination 
2.19 	of redundancy;
2.20 	(6) identify the current strategic decision making of the agencies individually and 
2.21 	collectively to cooperate and coordinate in rulemaking and rule implementation to achieve 
2.22 	more effective, efficient, and justifiable rules that result in the desired outcomes; and
2.23 	(7) identify the rule assessment and evaluation process that supports the continuation 
2.24 	of the various rules in whole or in part, including but not limited to:
2.25 	(i) nondegradation standards;
2.26 	(ii) consistent buffer requirements;
2.27 	(iii) zoning setback requirements; and
2.28 	(iv) water quality requirements.
2.29 	(d) The study group must submit the study results to agencies under section 1 
2.30 	and to the chairs of the senate and house of representatives committees having primary 
2.31 	jurisdiction over environment and natural resources policy no later than January 15, 2011.

2.32 	Sec. 3. WATER COMMISSION.
 2.33 	(a) The Water Commission is established to coordinate water programs, rules, and 
2.34 	responsibilities. The commission consists of five members of the house of representatives 
2.35 	appointed by the speaker and five members of the senate appointed by the Subcommittee 
3.1 	on Committees of the Committee on Rules and Administration. Vacancies on the 
3.2 	commission are filled in the same manner as original appointments. The commission shall 
3.3 	elect a chair and a vice-chair from among its members. The chair alternates between a 
3.4 	member of the senate and a member of the house of representatives in January of each 
3.5 	odd-numbered year. 
3.6 	(b) All agencies described under section 1 must comply with a request of the 
3.7 	commission for information. After June 30, 2011, when an agency described under section 
3.8 	1 mails notice of intent to adopt rules under Minnesota Statutes, section 14.14 or 14.22, 
3.9 	the agency must send a copy of the same notice and a copy of the statement of need and 
3.10 	reasonableness to the commission, in addition to the notice to the legislature required 
3.11 	under Minnesota Statutes, section 14.116. 
3.12 	(c) The commission expires ...

3.13 	Sec. 4. APPROPRIATION.
 3.14 	$....... is appropriated from the clean water legacy account in the environmental fund 
3.15 	to the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency to provide administrative support to 
3.16 	the study group required under section 2. The money is available until expended.