S.F. No. 3548 Summary

• Establishes buffer requirements for landowners adjacent to public waters and public drainage systems, with 50-foot average/30-foot minimum width for public waters or state shoreland standards, and 16.5-foot minimum width for public drainage systems, both required by November 1, 2017-2018.

• Allows landowners engaged in cultivation farming to meet buffer requirements through alternative riparian water quality practices approved by the Board of Water and Soil Resources, including retention ponds and measures preventing overland flow.

• Authorizes counties and watershed districts to issue administrative penalty orders up to $500 for noncompliance with riparian protection requirements, with the Board of Water and Soil Resources required to adopt implementation procedures by July 1, 2017.

• Clarifies that soil and water conservation districts must develop summaries of watercourses by July 1, 2017, for local water management authorities to incorporate into their comprehensive plans by July 1, 2018.

• Allows withholding of state funding from local water management authorities and soil and water conservation districts that fail to implement buffer requirements, with restoration possible upon approval of a corrective action plan.