BACKGROUND

During the 2015 special legislative session, Governor Dayton signed into law a new Buffer Initiative. The new law established perennial vegetative buffers on public waters and along county ditches. Public Waters are defined as any body of water that is listed on the MN DNR's Public Water Inventory (PWI). Land affected by public waters should have had their buffers in place by November 1, 2017. These buffers should have an average width of 50 feet, with a minimum of 30 feet per side. Public county ditches needed to have their buffers in by November 1, 2018. All county buffers should have a buffer width of at least 16.5 feet on each side of the ditch channel. View a document HERE to see where to measure your buffer from. A public viewing map of all Public Waters and Public Drainage Ditches in Minnesota, that fall under the buffer law can be viewed HERE. It is an interactive map that has been created by the MN DNR.

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COMPLIANCE

All parcels in Le Sueur County are to be reviewed within a three (3) year span. These checks may be conducted via aerial image review or on-site, depending on the availability of updated aerial imagery, farm access to the buffers and alternative practice being inspected.

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Random spot checks will be conducted in addition to the annual tracking of parcels in a three (3) year timeframe. These checks may be conducted via aerial imagery review or on-site. A combination of both aerial and on-site review may also be used. Le Sueur County SWCD will spot check a minimum of 5% of all parcels per year. Additionally, The SWCD will review parcels of emphasis more frequently that are: previously non-compliant, alternative practices, variable width buffers, cost-share funded and any parcel of further emphasis. 

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Le Sueur County SWCD will review any violation complaints from the public and other agencies. We will maintain a record of the complaint and determine if the complaint requires further investigation. If a violation is found, the SWCD will follow the Le Sueur County Buffer Law Ordinance and notify BWSR.