Item Description:
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Delegate authority to County Administrator to prepare and post guidelines for using Soil and Water Conservation Aid
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Resolution:
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BE IT RESOLVED, that the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners delegates authority to the County Administrator to prepare annual guidelines for using soil and water conservation district aid to implement the statutory duties of a soil and water conservation district; and that the County Administrator be authorized to post the guidelines on the county website.
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Background:
Hennepin County is the soil and water conservation district (conservation district) for the county and performs all duties and authorities of a conservation district (Minn. Stat. §383B.761; Hennepin County Resolution 14 0212). Environment and Energy Department staff are performing the following soil and water conservation services:
• Providing technical and financial assistance to residents to improve the quality, quantity, distribution, and sustainability of natural resources including surface water, groundwater, soil, and ecological resources;
• Assisting other units of local government with implementing wetland protection laws;
• Participating in local water planning and coordinating with other water management partners like cities, watershed districts, and watershed management organizations;
• Providing technical expertise regarding local resources;
• Providing information, education, and outreach about the benefits of soil and water conservation;
• Assisting landowners with technical and financial resources for natural resources projects;
• Providing technical review and comment on permits and development plans relating to soil and water conservation; and
• Monitoring and inventorying to collecting data that informs understanding of the condition of natural resources and the changes to resources over time.
In 2023, the Minnesota Legislature approved a dedicated local aid funding source to replace the annual Local Capacity Services grants (Laws of Minnesota 2023, Chapter 64, Article 4, Section 20, Soil and Water Conservation District Aid). The Minnesota Department of Revenue will automatically disburse this aid in two payments per year to every conservation district.
To receive the aid, the county board must adopt annual guidelines for using the payments received to implement duties and services of a soil and water conservation district. The attached guidelines are based on a template provided by the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts and are based on statutory language defining the roles and responsibilities of conservation districts.
The Soil and Water Conservation District Aid calculation includes a base amount plus a variable amount calculated based on the amount of nonpublic land located in a conservation district, and the population of that conservation district. In each fiscal year 2024 and 2025, Hennepin County will receive about $200,000. While this amount is about double what the county usually received in Local Capacity Services grants, it covers only a small fraction of the department’s cost to administer these services. After fiscal year 2025, this amount will be reduced and more similar to current funding levels of between $100,000 to $120,000 annually.
Current Request:
Delegate authority to the County Administrator to prepare annual guidelines for using soil and water conservation district aid to implement the statutory duties of a soil and water conservation district. The request is also to authorize the administrator to post the guidelines on the county website.
Impact/Outcomes:
This action allows Hennepin County to meet the requirement to receive the state Soil and Water Conservation District Aid funding.
The county’s work as a conservation district contributes to climate action goals by working with residents to implement conservation projects that protect and improve water quality and habitat, store stormwater in the landscape, mitigate flooding, and sequester carbon.
recommendation
Recommendation from County Administrator: Recommend Approval