House File 2458 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE
BY HUSER
Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to water treatment basins constructed in drainage
2 districts, and providing for related assessments.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
4 TLSB 5670YH 81
5 da/gg/14
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 468.1, Code 2005, is amended to read as
1 2 follows:
1 3 468.1 JURISDICTION TO ESTABLISH.
1 4 The board of supervisors of any county shall have
1 5 jurisdiction, power, and authority at any regular, special, or
1 6 adjourned session, to establish a drainage district or
1 7 districts, and to locate and establish levees, and cause to be
1 8 constructed as hereinafter provided any related levee, ditch,
1 9 drain, or watercourse, water treatment basin, or settling
1 10 basins in connection therewith, basin; or to straighten,
1 11 widen, deepen, or change any natural watercourse, in such
1 12 county, whenever the same will be of public utility or
1 13 conducive to the public health, convenience, or welfare.
1 14 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 468.190 WATER TREATMENT BASINS.
1 15 1. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise
1 16 requires:
1 17 a. "Construction" means creation, major alteration,
1 18 enlargement, major reconstruction, or major renovation.
1 19 b. "Maintenance" means repair, minor alteration, minor
1 20 reconstruction, or minor renovation.
1 21 c. "Water treatment basin" means an existing, enhanced,
1 22 restored, or created wetlands, dam, dike, excavated basin, or
1 23 other structure necessary to create a water impoundment and
1 24 includes all of the following:
1 25 (1) Drains, pipes, ditches, pumps, or spillways which
1 26 convey water to or from the impoundment.
1 27 (2) A vegetative area or other structure, which is used as
1 28 a buffer to mitigate the effects of concentrated runoff
1 29 contamination upon surface water quality.
1 30 d. "Wetlands" means the same as defined in section 456B.1.
1 31 e. "Wetlands mitigation banking" means the process of
1 32 restoring or creating self=sustaining, functioning wetlands,
1 33 or, in exceptional circumstances, preserving high=quality,
1 34 threatened wetlands, as a prior replacement for wetlands that
1 35 are expected to be unavoidably impacted by development.
2 1 2. A board may enter into a construction agreement with a
2 2 person who has constructed or is seeking to construct a water
2 3 treatment basin under a state or federal program, including
2 4 the conservation reserve enhancement program established
2 5 pursuant to section 466.5, for purposes of benefiting the
2 6 district. To the extent applicable, the construction
2 7 agreement shall provide for all of the following:
2 8 a. The duration of the construction agreement.
2 9 b. Moneys to be received or expended by the board or the
2 10 person as a consequence of constructing the water treatment
2 11 basin.
2 12 c. An accounting of moneys contributed by sources other
2 13 than the board or the person, which are used as financial
2 14 incentives to construct or maintain the water treatment basin.
2 15 d. An assignment of rights and responsibilities for the
2 16 construction and maintenance of the water treatment basin.
2 17 e. A description of the land which is used or may be used
2 18 for the treatment of discharge water. A system used for the
2 19 treatment of discharge water must comply with applicable
2 20 regulations of the federal government or the state or
2 21 political subdivision, or requirements of applicable programs
2 22 in which the person is participating.
2 23 f. The assignment of the control of credits or other value
2 24 acquired or transferred as part of wetlands mitigation
2 25 banking.
2 26 g. The disposition of the water treatment basin after the
2 27 construction agreement expires, including but not limited to
2 28 plans for the continuance of the associated wetlands.
2 29 3. a. When a board and a person enter into a construction
2 30 agreement, the construction or maintenance of the water
2 31 treatment basin is an improvement for purposes of section
2 32 468.126, and the requirements in that section shall apply to
2 33 this section in the same manner as provided in that section,
2 34 including but not limited to the appointment of an engineer,
2 35 the filing of an engineer's report, and the filing of a
3 1 remonstrance against the proposed improvement. However, the
3 2 requirements for notice and a hearing and the right to file a
3 3 remonstrance shall apply regardless of cost.
3 4 b. If the board determines that a separate benefit
3 5 classification schedule is to be adopted for the payment of
3 6 costs under the agreement, the provisions in section 468.126,
3 7 subsection 2, and section 468.131 shall not apply to
3 8 reclassify other district improvements.
3 9 EXPLANATION
3 10 This bill amends Code chapter 468, which authorizes a
3 11 "board" to establish a drainage district or levee district,
3 12 including the construction of related improvements (Code
3 13 section 468.1). The term "board" means a board of
3 14 supervisors, a joint board of supervisors establishing or
3 15 managing an intercounty levee or drainage district, or a board
3 16 of trustees in districts under trustee management (Code
3 17 section 468.3). Improvements in a drainage district are borne
3 18 by the landholders of the district, who pay an assessment
3 19 based on a system of classification (see Code section
3 20 468.184).
3 21 The bill authorizes a board to enter into a construction
3 22 agreement with a person who has constructed or is seeking to
3 23 construct a water treatment basin which may include wetlands.
3 24 There are federal and state regulations which govern the
3 25 conversion of wetlands for development, and programs such as
3 26 the conservation reserve enhancement program, which provide
3 27 for the restoration or construction of wetlands for the
3 28 purposes of intercepting tile line runoff, reducing nutrient
3 29 loss, and improving water quality.
3 30 The bill regulates the provisions contained in a
3 31 construction agreement, including by requiring that the
3 32 construction agreement contain items relating to its duration,
3 33 moneys to be received and expended, moneys contributed by
3 34 other sources, rights and responsibilities of persons for
3 35 construction and maintenance, and a description of the land.
4 1 A construction agreement must provide for any credits or value
4 2 received as part of a wetlands mitigation banking process in
4 3 which wetlands are restored or preserved in exchange for
4 4 wetlands that are expected to be impacted by development.
4 5 The bill provides that construction is considered as an
4 6 improvement which in part means that an engineer appointed by
4 7 the board must complete a report detailing the project and its
4 8 costs, notice must be provided to affected landowners, and the
4 9 board must conduct a hearing of the landowners. The
4 10 landowners may act in concert to veto a board decision by
4 11 filing a remonstrance. Ordinarily, these requirements for
4 12 notice, hearing, and a right of remonstrance do not apply to
4 13 improvements of less than a certain dollar amount. The bill
4 14 provides that the requirement applies regardless of the
4 15 construction agreement's cost. The bill also provides that
4 16 any reclassification of the affected land not trigger a
4 17 reclassification of other improvements in the district.
4 18 LSB 5670YH 81
4 19 da:nh/gg/14