S.F. 334 Section 1. Section 455B.171, Code 2017, is amended by adding 1 the following new subsections: 2 NEW SUBSECTION . 1A. “Agricultural drainage well area” means 3 the same as defined in section 460.101. 4 NEW SUBSECTION . 8A. “Groundwater” means the same as defined 5 in section 455E.2. 6 NEW SUBSECTION . 10A. “Karst terrain” means the same as 7 defined in section 459.102. 8 NEW SUBSECTION . 29A. “Sensitive groundwater access area” 9 means karst terrain or a location that drains into a known 10 sinkhole. 11 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 455B.201 Definitions. 12 As used in this subpart, unless the context otherwise 13 requires: 14 1. “Board” means a county board of supervisors. 15 2. “County groundwater pollution control program” or 16 “program” means the program conducted by a county board of 17 supervisors as provided in this subpart. 18 3. “State groundwater protection regulations” means the 19 provisions of state law described in section 455B.202. 20 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 455B.202 Authorization. 21 1. A county board of supervisors that has been issued a 22 certificate of acceptance by the department pursuant to section 23 455B.203 may conduct a county groundwater pollution control 24 program. 25 2. If the department issues a certificate of acceptance to 26 a county board of supervisors pursuant to section 455B.203, 27 the department cedes its powers and duties to the county board 28 of supervisors to administer and enforce state groundwater 29 protection regulations that apply to sources that are located 30 in sensitive groundwater access areas in the county. The scope 31 of such state groundwater protection regulations is limited 32 to the provisions of division I and this division, including 33 rules adopted by the department pursuant to such divisions; 34 the provisions of chapter 459, subchapter III, including rules 35 -1- LSB 1387XS (5) 87 da/nh/rn 1/ 8

S.F. 334 adopted by the department pursuant to that subchapter; chapter 1 459A, including rules adopted by the department pursuant to 2 that chapter; chapter 459B, including rules adopted by the 3 department pursuant to that chapter; and chapter 460, including 4 rules adopted by the department pursuant to that chapter. 5 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION . 455B.203 Certificate of acceptance —— 6 request and approval. 7 1. In order to conduct a county groundwater pollution 8 control program, a county board of supervisors must make 9 a request to the department. The request shall include 10 a resolution adopted by the board and any supporting 11 documentation required by the department relating to the 12 board’s implementation and administration of the program. 13 2. The department shall approve or disapprove a request 14 submitted by a county board of supervisors based on a 15 determination of whether the board is capable of conducting the 16 program in lieu of the department administering and enforcing 17 state groundwater protection regulations as provided in section 18 455B.202. 19 3. In evaluating a request submitted by a county board of 20 supervisors under this section, the department shall consider 21 all of the following: 22 a. The types of ordinances, rules, or standards that the 23 board plans to adopt in order to conduct the program. The 24 ordinances, rules, or standards must be consistent with or more 25 strict than state law. 26 b. The county’s administrative organization, staff, and 27 financial or other resources available to effectively conduct 28 the program. 29 c. The location of monitoring devices that may provide a 30 reasonably consistent measurement of groundwater contamination 31 in compliance with uniform state standards that shall be 32 adopted by the department. 33 4. The department may conduct a public hearing before 34 approving or disapproving a request submitted by a county board 35 -2- LSB 1387XS (5) 87 da/nh/rn 2/ 8

S.F. 334 of supervisors under this section. 1 5. The department shall notify a county board of supervisors 2 of the department’s decision in regard to a request within one 3 hundred eighty days of the date that it received the request. 4 Once the department approves a request, it shall issue a 5 certificate of acceptance to the board. The department may 6 limit or qualify the certificate of acceptance as necessary in 7 order to perform duties reserved by law to the department or 8 to perform concurrent functions with the board, including the 9 issuance of permits. The department shall not reduce the scope 10 of the certificate of acceptance so that it cedes less than the 11 requested authority to conduct the program. The department 12 shall continue to administer and enforce the state groundwater 13 protection regulations within the county that are not ceded to 14 the county board of supervisors. 15 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION . 455B.204 Suspension or revocation of 16 certificate of acceptance. 17 The department may determine at any time that a county 18 board of supervisors is not conducting a county groundwater 19 pollution control program in a manner consistent with its 20 certificate of acceptance. Upon making the determination, 21 the department shall notify the county board of supervisors, 22 citing all inconsistencies and corrective measures required 23 to be completed by the board within a reasonable amount of 24 time. If the board does not implement corrective measures 25 within the reasonable amount of time, the department shall 26 suspend or revoke the certificate of acceptance. The 27 department's suspension may reduce the scope of the certificate 28 of acceptance so that it cedes less authority to conduct the 29 program to the board. Upon receipt of evidence that the board 30 has taken corrective action, the department may reinstate a 31 suspended certificate of acceptance with or without limitation, 32 and the board shall resume conducting the county groundwater 33 pollution control program as provided by the reinstated 34 certificate of acceptance. The department shall temporarily 35 -3- LSB 1387XS (5) 87 da/nh/rn 3/ 8

S.F. 334 administer and enforce the state groundwater protection 1 regulations until the matter is concluded. 2 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION . 455B.205 Contest of departmental 3 action. 4 A board of supervisors may contest a decision by the 5 department as provided in this subpart. The board shall 6 contest the decision as a contested case proceeding conducted 7 by the department of inspections and appeals pursuant to 8 chapter 17A. The burden of proof shall be on the board. 9 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION . 455B.206 Attorney general. 10 The department’s issuance of a certificate of acceptance 11 pursuant to section 455B.203 does not limit the authority of 12 the attorney general to enforce state groundwater protection 13 regulations. 14 Sec. 8. NEW SECTION . 455B.207 Prosecution —— criminal 15 penalties. 16 A county board of supervisors conducting a county 17 groundwater pollution control program may refer any matter 18 requiring enforcement of state groundwater protection 19 regulations that has been ceded to the board to the attorney 20 general for a civil or criminal action, in the same manner as 21 the department. The board may also refer the matter to the 22 county attorney for civil or criminal action. Moneys collected 23 in fines and civil penalties shall be credited to the state 24 in the same manner as if the fines or civil penalties were 25 collected by the attorney general. 26 Sec. 9. NEW SECTION . 455B.208 Civil penalties. 27 Notwithstanding sections 331.302 and 331.307, a county 28 board of supervisors conducting a county groundwater pollution 29 control program may administratively establish, assess, and 30 collect civil penalties consistent with state groundwater 31 protection regulations. Civil penalties shall be credited to 32 the state in the same manner as civil penalties collected by 33 the department for the same violation. 34 Sec. 10. NEW SECTION . 455B.301B County groundwater 35 -4- LSB 1387XS (5) 87 da/nh/rn 4/ 8

S.F. 334 pollution control program. 1 A county board of supervisors issued a certificate of 2 acceptance to conduct a county groundwater pollution control 3 program by the department pursuant to division III, part 1, of 4 this chapter may administer and enforce the provisions of this 5 division within sensitive groundwater access areas located in 6 the county. 7 Sec. 11. NEW SECTION . 459.302A County groundwater pollution 8 control program. 9 A county board of supervisors issued a certificate of 10 acceptance to conduct a county groundwater pollution control 11 program by the department pursuant to chapter 455B, division 12 III, part 1, may administer and enforce the provisions of this 13 subchapter within sensitive groundwater access areas located 14 in the county. 15 Sec. 12. NEW SECTION . 459A.106 County groundwater pollution 16 control program. 17 A county board of supervisors issued a certificate of 18 acceptance to conduct a county groundwater pollution control 19 program by the department pursuant to chapter 455B, division 20 III, part 1, may administer and enforce the provisions of this 21 chapter within sensitive groundwater access areas located in 22 the county. 23 Sec. 13. NEW SECTION . 459B.105 County groundwater pollution 24 control program. 25 A county board of supervisors issued a certificate of 26 acceptance to conduct a county groundwater pollution control 27 program by the department pursuant to chapter 455B, division 28 III, part 1, may administer and enforce the provisions of this 29 chapter within sensitive groundwater access areas located in 30 the county. 31 Sec. 14. NEW SECTION . 460.102 County groundwater pollution 32 control program. 33 A county board of supervisors issued a certificate of 34 acceptance to conduct a county groundwater pollution control 35 -5- LSB 1387XS (5) 87 da/nh/rn 5/ 8

S.F. 334 program by the department pursuant to chapter 455B, division 1 III, part 1, may administer and enforce the provisions of this 2 chapter within sensitive groundwater access areas located in 3 the county. 4 EXPLANATION 5 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 6 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 7 GENERAL. This bill authorizes the department of natural 8 resources to cede some of its authority to administer certain 9 environmental statutes and its rules to a county board of 10 supervisors upon the board’s request. A board that has been 11 granted such authority conducts a county groundwater pollution 12 control program according to the terms of a certificate of 13 acceptance issued by the department. 14 CERTIFICATE OF ACCEPTANCE —— ISSUANCE. A certificate of 15 acceptance allows a county board of supervisors to administer 16 and enforce state groundwater protection regulations that apply 17 to sources that are located in sensitive groundwater access 18 areas (where there is karst terrain, or land where there is 19 located an agricultural drainage well area, or known sinkhole). 20 The regulations are limited to those in statute or rule under 21 Code chapter 455B, division I and division III (providing 22 general authority and water quality regulations); Code chapter 23 459, subchapter III, and Code chapters 459, 459A, and 459B 24 (providing for water quality regulation applicable to animal 25 feeding operations); and Code chapter 460 (regulating sources 26 that may contaminate groundwater from agricultural drainage 27 wells). The department may approve or disapprove a request 28 but cannot limit or qualify the certificate of acceptance or 29 reduce the scope of the certificate of acceptance so that it 30 cedes less authority to conduct the program than requested by 31 the board. A county board of supervisors may adopt ordinances, 32 rules, or standards either consistent with or more strict than 33 state law. 34 CERTIFICATE OF ACCEPTANCE —— SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION. 35 -6- LSB 1387XS (5) 87 da/nh/rn 6/ 8

S.F. 334 The bill provides that the department may suspend or revoke 1 a certificate of acceptance if it determines that the 2 board is not conducting the program in a manner consistent 3 with the certificate of acceptance. If a certificate is 4 suspended or revoked, a county may take measures to correct 5 the inconsistencies and the department may reinstate the 6 certificate with or without limitation. The board may contest 7 a departmental decision by bringing a contested case proceeding 8 to be decided by the department of inspections and appeals. 9 ENFORCEMENT. The department’s issuance of a certificate 10 of acceptance does not limit the authority of the attorney 11 general to enforce state groundwater protection regulations, 12 and the board may refer any matter requiring enforcement to the 13 attorney general or a county attorney for judicial enforcement. 14 VIOLATIONS AND PENALTIES. The bill provides for both 15 administrative and judicial enforcement of violations of 16 state groundwater protection regulations. The board may 17 assess, impose, and collect civil penalties up to $10,000 18 (Code section 455B.109). The board may also seek judicial 19 enforcement of civil penalties not to exceed $5,000 per each 20 day of a violation (Code section 455B.191). A person who fails 21 to prevent surface water from draining into an agricultural 22 drainage well is subject to a civil penalty of not more than 23 $1,000 (Code sections 460.202, 460.203, and 460.206), and a 24 person who constructs or expands an earthen storage structure 25 within an agricultural drainage well area is subject to a civil 26 penalty of not more than $5,000 for each day of the violation 27 (Code sections 460.205 and 460.206). 28 Criminal penalties also apply. A person who negligently or 29 knowingly disposes of a pollutant in a water of the state is 30 guilty of a serious misdemeanor or an aggravated misdemeanor 31 depending on the type of violation, punishable by a range of 32 fines and imprisonment (Code sections 455B.186 and 455B.191). 33 Moneys assessed as part of an administrative or civil 34 proceeding are to be credited to the state in the same 35 -7- LSB 1387XS (5) 87 da/nh/rn 7/ 8

S.F. 334 manner as if the department had not issued a certificate of 1 acceptance. Civil penalties assessed by the department must 2 be deposited in the general fund of the state (Code section 3 455B.109). Moneys from civil penalties assessed for violations 4 involving animal feeding operations are to be credited to the 5 Iowa nutrient research fund created in section 466B.46 (Code 6 sections 459.602, 459.603, 459A.502, and 459B.402). Moneys 7 from civil penalties for violations involving contamination of 8 groundwater from agricultural drainage wells are credited to 9 the livestock remediation fund (Code section 459.501). Moneys 10 from criminal fines and restitution awarded to the attorney 11 general as part of a judgment in an environmental criminal case 12 are credited to the environmental crimes investigation and 13 prosecution fund (Code section 455B.112A). 14 -8- LSB 1387XS (5) 87 da/nh/rn 8/ 8