HF 2167 (LSB 5149YH (6) 91)

HOUSE FILE 2167

BY  GEARHART and SITZMANN

A BILL FOR

An Act providing for a buffer strip program and fund, and making appropriations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  466B.31  Definitions.
   1.  “Buffer strip” means permanent vegetation that is established and managed adjacent to a waterway to reduce soil erosion and sediment loss, manage nutrients and reduce contributing contaminant loads to receiving surface waters, and improve surface water quality.
   2.  “Division” means the division of soil conservation and water quality created within the department of agriculture and land stewardship pursuant to section 159.5.
   3.  “Waterway” means a river, stream, creek, brook, drainage ditch, or other perennially flowing body of water.
    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  466B.32  Rulemaking.
   The division shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A as it determines necessary or desirable to administer this subchapter.
    Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  466B.33  Buffer strip program.
   1.  The division shall establish and administer a buffer strip program on a statewide basis.
   2.  In administering the program, the division shall enter into agreements with landowners to establish and maintain buffer strips on land enrolled in the program according to criteria established by the division. The criteria may include but is not limited to any of the following:
   a.  The size of the enrolled land.
   b.  The period in which the buffer strip is required to be maintained.
   c.  The current use of the enrolled land.
   d.  The extent to which a landowner incorporates complementary soil and water conservation practices on the enrolled land.
   e.  The extent to which the landowner advertises the landowner’s participation in the program.
   3.  The department shall design a sign for display by landowners participating in the program. The sign, when posted on the landowner’s land, shall clearly notify the traveling public that the landowner’s land is enrolled in the program for purposes of restoring and enhancing water quality.
   4.  The program shall be financed on a cost-share basis in which the division and the landowner contribute to the establishment of the buffer strip. The amount contributed by the division may account for the reduction of income incurred by a landowner in the year that the land was enrolled.
   5.  The division may administer the program in conjunction with the in-field infrastructure program created in section 466B.43.
    Sec. 4.  NEW SECTION.  466B.34  Buffer strip program fund.
   1.  A buffer strip program fund is created in the state treasury under the management and control of the division.
   2.  The fund shall consist of moneys appropriated to or deposited in the fund. The fund may include other moneys available to and obtained or accepted by the division, including moneys from public or private sources.
   3.  Moneys in the fund are appropriated to the division and shall be used exclusively to carry out the provisions of this subchapter as determined by the division, and shall not require further special authorization by the general assembly.
   4.  a.  Notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or earnings on moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund.
   b.  Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys in the fund that remain unencumbered or unobligated at the close of a fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain available for expenditure for the purposes designated.
    Sec. 5.  NEW SECTION.  466B.35  Appropriation.
   For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, and ending June 30, 2027, and for each fiscal year thereafter, there is appropriated from the general fund of the state to the department of agriculture and land stewardship for deposit in the buffer strip program fund the amount of five million dollars.
    Sec. 6.  Section 466B.43, subsection 4, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   4.  a.  An in-field infrastructure program is created. The program shall support projects located on agricultural land, which may include demonstration projects, that decrease erosion and precipitation-induced surface runoff, increase water infiltration rates, and increase soil sustainability. The program’s projects shall be limited to infrastructure designed and installed for use over multiple years, including but not limited to structures, terraces, and waterways located on cropland or pastureland, and including but not limited to soil conservation or erosion control structures or managed drainage systems. The program shall be financed on a cost-share basis.
   b.  The division may administer the program in conjunction with the buffer strip program provided in subchapter III.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   GENERAL. This bill amends Code chapter 466B, the “Surface Water Protection and Flood Mitigation Act” (Code section 466B.1), which establishes a number of programs to assess and reduce sources of contaminants in surface water sources.
   BILL’S PROVISIONS —— BUFFER STRIP PROGRAM. The bill establishes a buffer strip program (program) administered by the division of soil conservation and water quality of the department of agriculture and land stewardship (division). The bill authorizes the division to enter into agreements with participating landowners on a cost-share basis in which land is enrolled for purposes of establishing buffer strips adjacent to waterways according to criteria established by the division. The department is required to design a sign for display by landowners participating in the program. The program is financed on a cost-share basis with landowners, which may include compensation for moneys forgone by landowners when agreeing to enroll the land.
   BILL’S PROVISIONS —— FUNDING. The bill creates a buffer strip program fund (fund) under the division’s management and control to finance the program. The bill appropriates $5 million from the general fund to the fund each fiscal year.