1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to waters; establishing the Minnesota river 
  1.3             basin joint powers board to coordinate cleanup 
  1.4             efforts; appropriating money; proposing coding for new 
  1.5             law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 103F. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [103F.378] [MINNESOTA RIVER BASIN JOINT POWERS 
  1.8   BOARD.] 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] A Minnesota river basin 
  1.10  joint powers board is established under section 471.59 for the 
  1.11  purpose of coordinating cleanup efforts in the Minnesota river 
  1.12  and achieving the goal of making the Minnesota river suitable 
  1.13  for fishing and swimming by the year 2005. 
  1.14     Subd. 2.  [DUTIES.] The joint powers board has the 
  1.15  following duties: 
  1.16     (1) coordination of comprehensive cleanup goals for the 
  1.17  Minnesota river by integrating the work plans of the 12 major 
  1.18  watersheds and the member counties of the joint powers board, 
  1.19  state agencies, and the University of Minnesota in cleanup 
  1.20  efforts and submission of periodic river cleanup plans for 
  1.21  submission to the governor and the legislature; 
  1.22     (2) advising on the development and use of monitoring and 
  1.23  evaluation systems in the Minnesota river and the incorporation 
  1.24  of the data obtained from these systems into the planning 
  1.25  process; 
  2.1      (3) conducting public meetings of the board on at least a 
  2.2   quarterly basis at locations within the Minnesota river basin; 
  2.3      (4) conducting an ongoing information and education program 
  2.4   concerning the status of the Minnesota river, including an 
  2.5   annual conference on the state of the Minnesota river; and 
  2.6      (5) providing periodic reports and budget requests to the 
  2.7   governor's office regarding progress on meeting river cleanup 
  2.8   goals and future funding required for this effort. 
  2.9      Subd. 3.  [MEMBERSHIP.] Upon acceptance of the joint powers 
  2.10  agreement, each member county that agrees to join the board 
  2.11  shall have one county commissioner as its delegate to the board 
  2.12  and one county commissioner as an alternate.  A technical 
  2.13  advisory committee shall be established to advise the board 
  2.14  consisting of a technical representative from each of the 
  2.15  counties in the basin and citizens who are not county employees 
  2.16  but who have expertise in agriculture, conservation, and other 
  2.17  relevant areas of expertise as determined by the board.  
  2.18     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  2.19     $150,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the board 
  2.20  of water and soil resources for payment of administrative 
  2.21  purposes and expenses of the joint powers board established by 
  2.22  section 1 to be available until June 30, 1998.  The 
  2.23  appropriation is contingent on the joint powers board providing 
  2.24  a $75,000 match for the grant to be used for projects that will 
  2.25  involve all counties along the Minnesota river basin. 
  2.26     Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.27     Section 1 is effective the day following final enactment.