Mississippi River Critical Area Bill Moves Forward

View of Spring Lake from Schaar's Bluff, near Hastings.

Friends of the Mississippi River has been working with Rep. Rick Hansen and Sen. Katie Sieben to update the law governing the Mississippi River Critical Area, a protected corridor that extends from Dayton to Hastings. A bill in the Minnesota Legislature would update the 30-year-old law, which can be vague, difficult to interpret, and cumbersome to enforce. Many stakeholders had input into the direction and language of the bill, which maintains the critical area framework and directs the Department of Natural Resources to conduct state rulemaking. The bill offers a balanced approach by directing the DNR to work with local cities and other stakeholders to establish new districts and standards that more closely match the river's changing geography and natural and cultural features.

To date, the bill has passed through three committees in the House and two in the Senate. Along the way a number of amendments have been made in response to concerns raised by the League of Minnesota Cities and individual cities and legislators. These changes include the following:

• Shortening DNR notification requirement from 30 days to 10 days
• Reducing fines for failure to notify the DNR
• Refining the bluff definitions and allowing modification during rulemaking
• Clarifying the process of identifying bluffs through mapping
• Requiring the DNR to minimize the number of Critical Area districts within each city
• Clarifying what guidelines remain in effect after the bill's passage but before rules are adopted
• Adding hydro-power to the list of special exempt uses/rules
• Requiring the DNR to directly consider municipal ordinances when establishing new zoning guidelines for the corridor
• Requiring the DNR to notify all municipalities in advance of rulemaking and requiring cities to notify property owners

The critical area bill is now moving through the finance divisions in both chambers. The bill has been rolled into a larger Clean Water Legacy funding bill that passed the House Environmental Finance committee last week. The house version of the bill is now HF1973 section 14 (1st committee engrossment). In the Senate, SF 671 will be rolled into a larger funding bill to be heard in the Senate Environmental Finance committee later this month.

The Mississippi River Critical Area reform bill was the subject of recently published article by Dennis Lien in the Pioneer Press. The article raises awareness of the legislation currently moving through both chambers of the Minnesota Legislature.

For a comprehensive look at the Mississippi River Critical Area reform bill, including a map of the corridor, stakeholder participation, key supporters of the bill, actions you can take, and history/background about the law, please review our online fact sheet.

For additional information, please contact Irene Jones, FMR's River Corridor Program Director at 651-222-2193 x11 or via our contact form.