Purpose

The bill creates a temporary pause on changing the public waters inventory and lays out a process to review how those changes are made, with a strong emphasis on involving local governments and allowing public input.

Main provisions

• Moratorium on modifications: The commissioner of natural resources may not modify the public waters inventory under Minnesota Statutes section 103G.201 until July 1, 2027.
• Required report: By January 15, 2027, the commissioner, in consultation with local governments and other interested parties, must submit a report to the legislature about the public waters inventory modification process.
• Contents of the report: The report should describe how modifications are currently made and propose any legislative changes needed to ensure local government involvement and public comment in the modification process.
• Stakeholder involvement: The report must be prepared with input from counties, cities, townships, watershed districts, soil and water conservation districts, and other interested parties.

Significance and changes to current law

• Temporary halt: The bill imposes an explicit moratorium on making changes to the public waters inventory through 7/1/2027.
• Oversight and public input: It adds a formal requirement to review and potentially revise the modification process to guarantee local government participation and public comment.
• Legislative consideration: The bill directs a future report to the legislature that could lead to changes in existing law governing how the public waters inventory is modified.

Timeline

• January 15, 2027: Deadline to submit the required report to the legislature.
• July 1, 2027: Moratorium on modifications ends (modifications may resume, pending any legislative changes).

Practical impact

• Local governments and the public will have more opportunities to influence how changes to the public waters inventory are made.
• A centralized review process is planned to determine if new rules or statutes are needed to encourage involvement and comment from communities and districts.

Relevant Terms

• public waters inventory
• modifications
• moratorium
• Minnesota Statutes section 103G.201
• commissioner of natural resources
• local government involvement
• public comment
• report to the legislature
• January 15, 2027
• July 1, 2027
• counties
• cities
• townships
• watershed districts
• soil and water conservation districts
• consultation