466.5 - CONSERVATION RESERVE ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM.

        466.5  CONSERVATION RESERVE ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM.         1.  A conservation reserve enhancement program is established      within the department of agriculture and land stewardship to restore      or construct wetlands for the purposes of intercepting tile line      runoff, reducing nutrient loss, improving water quality, and      enhancing agricultural production practices.  The program shall be      directed primarily, but not exclusively, toward the tile-drained      areas of the state.         2.  The department of agriculture and land stewardship shall      request the assistance of and consult with the United States      department of agriculture's natural resources conservation service      and farm service agency to implement the conservation reserve      enhancement program.  The department shall also consult with county      boards of supervisors, county conservation boards, drainage district      representatives, department of natural resources, and soil and water      conservation districts affected by the implementation of the      conservation reserve enhancement program.  The department shall also      collaborate with other public agencies and private organizations to      develop wetland habitat and related projects to improve water      quality.         3.  The department of agriculture and land stewardship shall      maintain a record of all wetlands established pursuant to the      conservation reserve enhancement program including any conditions      that may apply to the landowner's right to remove the wetland after      the provisions of the conservation reserve enhancement program      contract or easement are concluded.         4.  When establishing a wetland under this section, the department      of agriculture and land stewardship shall be governed by the      following requirements:         a.  Wetland construction or restoration shall not damage the      value of property in any public or private drainage system without      the property owner's consent.         b.  Wetland construction or restoration shall improve water      quality and provide aesthetic and habitat benefits.         c.  Wetland construction or restoration under this section may      be used to mitigate wetland removal by the landowner if it meets the      requirements of federal agencies with wetland jurisdictional      authorities.  Where practicable, priority shall be given to      mitigating wetland removal within the same United States geological      survey hydrologic unit code 8 watershed, but a watershed confines      shall not limit the use of duly authorized wetland mitigation banks.         5.  The five-year goal of the conservation reserve enhancement      program is the establishment of thirty-two thousand five hundred      acres of wetlands.  
         Section History: Recent Form
         2000 Acts, ch 1068, §5; 2000 Acts, ch 1232, §75; 2003 Acts, ch      108, §88