HF 2186 (LSB 5322YH (2) 86)

HOUSE FILE 2186

BY  WILLS

A BILL FOR

An Act authorizing the department of agriculture and land stewardship’s division of soil conservation and water quality to support privately sponsored innovative water quality practices.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 466B.42, Code 2016, is amended to read as follows:
   466B.42  Water quality initiative.
   The division shall establish a water quality initiative in order to assess and reduce nutrients in this state’s watersheds, including subwatersheds, and regional watersheds. The division shall establish and administer projects to reduce nutrients in surface waters from nonpoint sources in a scientific, reasonable, and cost-effective manner.  The division may establish projects and award project grants to support privately sponsored innovative water quality practices, including new methods to reduce the transport of nutrients to surface water from nonpoint sources within watersheds in accordance with the latest revision of the document entitled “Iowa nutrient reduction strategy” initially presented in November 2012 by the department of agriculture and land stewardship, the department of natural resources, and Iowa state university of science and technology. The division shall utilize a pragmatic, strategic, and coordinated approach with the goal of accomplishing reductions over time.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill authorizes the division of soil conservation and water conservation of the department of agriculture and land stewardship to establish projects and award project grants to support privately sponsored innovative water quality practices, including new methods to reduce the transport of nutrients to surface water from nonpoint sources. The division would administer the grant project as part of the state’s water quality initiative. The division supports initiative projects by using moneys appropriated to the water quality initiative fund (Code section 466B.45). Moneys in the fund are used to finance projects in subwatersheds that are part of high-priority watersheds identified by the water resources coordinating council (2015 Iowa Acts, chapter 132, sections 8 and 31).