2000 Summary of Legislation ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION Published by the Iowa General Assembly -- Legislative Service Bureau

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION LEGISLATION

SENATE FILE 2213 - Farmland Improvements Near Pipelines (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT. This Act provides that, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the landowner and the pipeline company, a landowner or contractor may require a representative of a pipeline company to be present on-site, at no charge to the landowner, at all times during each phase and separate activity related to a farmland improvement within 50 feet of either side of a pipeline. The Act provides that if the pipeline company and landowner or the contractor mutually agree that a representative of the pipeline company is not required to be present, the on-site requirements are waived. The Act provides that if a pipeline right-of-way is abandoned for pipeline use, but the pipe is not removed from the right-of-way, the pipeline company remains subject to the provisions of this Act. The Act applies to pipelines, interstate natural gas pipelines, and hazardous liquid pipelines.

SENATE FILE 2326 - Household Hazardous Material Collection (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT. This Act amends Code Section 455E.11, relating to the Groundwater Protection Fund, to allow for funding of efforts to support permanent household hazardous material collection systems and special events for household hazardous material collection. The Act provides that the repayment of moneys from the Iowa Business Loan Program for waste reduction and recycling shall be used to support household hazardous materials programs of the Department of Natural Resources.

SENATE FILE 2371 - Water Quality Initiatives (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT. This Act provides for the establishment of water quality initiative programs by the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), including a conservation buffer strip program, a Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, a water quality monitoring program, and a water quality protection program. An Iowa Clean Water Award is created to give recognition annually to a city or other political subdivision that makes exemplary efforts to improve water quality.

   The Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is to establish a conservation buffer strip program in consultation with the DNR to accelerate a similar program promoted by the U. S. Department of Agriculture's program to install conservation buffer strips. Waivers are to be requested for projects to discourage the destruction of existing conservation buffer strips and monetarily reward landowners. Waivers shall also be requested to allow grazing up to 90 days on buffer strips. A prairie seed harvest program is to be established to assist in the restoration of prairies and complement the seeding of habitat. The five-year goal is established to add 407,500 acres to the conservation buffer strip program.

   A Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program is also established within the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship to restore or construct wetlands to intercept tile line runoff, reduce nutrient loss, improve water quality, and enhance production. Requirements are specified for establishing or restoring wetlands. The five-year goal of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program is to establish 32,500 acres of wetlands.

   The DNR is charged with operating water quality monitoring stations and gathering data to establish water quality benchmarks for the state.

   A water quality protection program is to be implemented by the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, with the federal government and other entities, to provide multiobjective resource protections for flood control, water quality, erosion control, and natural resource conservation. The department is to implement a statewide, voluntary Farm Management Demonstration Program to demonstrate the effectiveness and adaptability of emerging practices in agronomy that protect water resources and provide other environmental benefits.

   Under the water quality protection program, the DNR is to establish a program to assist landowners residing outside of city limits with improving on-site wastewater systems. The department is also to provide local watershed managers with geographic information system data for their watershed work. The department shall also continue the establishment of an effective and efficient method of developing a total maximum daily load program based on other states' programs and investigating alternative methods of satisfying requirements.

   The Act provides contracting procedures to be used by soil and water conservation districts when the estimated cost of a work project exceeds $25,000.

   The Act also defines "credible data" and specifies its use by the DNR in developing water quality standards, statewide water quality inventories, and related information related to evaluating water quality and determining responsibility for water pollution.

   The Act requests that the Legislative Council establish a legislative interim committee to study the use of plant nutrients on Iowa soil and to report its findings to the General Assembly not later than January 15, 2001.

   Any requirement of the Act that applies to a Section 303(d) list of polluted water shall take effect for all Section 303(d) lists created after the year 2000 list. Section 303(d) refers to a section of the federal Water Pollution Control Act that lists polluted waters.

HOUSE FILE 2247 - Natural Gas Pipeline Construction -- Land Restoration (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE AND REGULATION. This Act removes the exemption from the land restoration provisions of Code Section 479A.14 for interstate natural gas pipeline construction projects that have received a certificate from the federal Energy Regulatory Commission prior to June 1, 1999.

HOUSE FILE 2438 - Hazardous Waste Facilities -- Partial Suspension of Permitting Requirements (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. This Act amends several Iowa Acts to extend a partial suspension of requirements for permitting of facilities that deal with hazardous waste and eliminates the ending date for the partial suspension.

RELATED LEGISLATION

SENATE FILE 466 -- Remediation of Agrichemical Sites (Complete summary under AGRICULTURE.)

   This Act creates a new Code Chapter 161, referred to as the "Iowa Agrichemical Remediation Act." The Act provides for the remediation of sites where there has been contamination because of a release of pesticides or fertilizers. The remediation process is governed by the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and an Agrichemical Remediation Board created under the Act.

SENATE FILE 2092 -- Substantive Code Corrections (Complete summary under STATE GOVERNMENT.)

   This Act contains statutory corrections that adjust language to reflect current practices, insert earlier omissions, delete redundancies and inaccuracies, delete temporary language, resolve inconsistencies and conflicts, update ongoing provisions, or remove ambiguities.

SENATE FILE 2430 -- Appropriations -- Agriculture and Natural Resources (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

   This Act relates to agriculture and natural resources by making appropriations to support related entities. The Act also makes a number of statutory changes. The Act establishes a pilot project involving the refund of moneys paid to the Department of Natural Resources for issuing stormwater discharge permits. The Act prohibits a person from selling or storing methyl tertiary butyl ether, other than in "trace amounts," and provides requirements for decals identifying oxygenate enhancers, including methanol, appearing on motor vehicle fuel pumps.

SENATE FILE 2433 -- Appropriations -- State Government Technology and Operations (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

   This Act repeals the No Further Action Fund created in Code Section 455G.22, transfers moneys in the fund to the Pooled Technology Account, and transfers any liability of the No Further Action Fund to the remedial account established in Code Section 455G.3.

SENATE FILE 2438 -- Water Quality Districts (Complete summary under LOCAL GOVERNMENT.)

   This Act provides for the creation of a water quality district in the same manner as provided for the creation of a benefited recreational lake district and authorizes the creation of a combined district.

HOUSE FILE 2393 -- Confinement Site Manure Applicator Certification (Complete summary under AGRICULTURE.)

   This Act provides that a person required to be certified to apply manure stored at the site of a confinement feeding operation, other than a professional manure applicator, is exempt from paying a certification fee if a family member has paid a fee for that family member's certification.

HOUSE FILE 2423 -- Brownfield Redevelopment Program (Complete summary under ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.)

   This Act creates a Brownfield Redevelopment Program and Fund for purposes of providing financial and technical assistance for the acquisition, remediation or redevelopment of brownfield sites.

HOUSE FILE 2485 -- Resource Enhancement and Protection Fund -- Soil and Water Enhancement Account (Complete summary under NATURAL RESOURCES & OUTDOOR RECREATION.)

   This Act removes the $1 million maximum allocation of funds to the Water Quality Protection Projects Account and provides that 50 percent of the moneys allocated to the Soil and Water Enhancement Account of the Resource Enhancement and Protection Fund will be divided equally between the Water Quality Protection Projects Account and Water Protection Practices Account within the Division of Soil Conservation of the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

© 1998 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

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Last update: WED June 28 2000
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