Monday, December 5th 2016
The president of the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) says they are well-positioned to assist landowners during implementation of the Buffer Rule. Ian Cunningham says Governor Dayton’s original proposal nearly two years ago of 50 foot buffers around all public waters in the state came up suddenly and caught many off-guard. The Buffer Law was signed into law in June 2015 and amended this year to require a 50 foot average width and minimum of 30 feet around all public waters. While SWCD’s have no regulatory authority, Cunningham says the districts are created in statute to work with private landowners to help address resource concerns. The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources will be enforcing the Buffer Rule, with compliance for public waters required by November first, 2017 and public ditches the following year.