This rule establishes standards for county soil and water resource management programs. County programs must include the following elements:
○ A county soil erosion control plan, and a program to implement that plan.
○ A program to ensure that recipients of farmland preservation tax credits meet minimum soil and water conservation standards.
○ A plan to abate nonpoint source pollution in priority watersheds and priority lake areas, and a program to implement that plan.
○ An annual year-end report which includes a summary of county accomplishments, a summary of how staff time was used, a cropland soil erosion status report, and a financial report.
○ An annual workplan and grant application which describes the county's proposed activities for the coming year, and requests state funding for those activities. A grant application may request funding for county staff and support costs, as well as for cost-share grants and incentive payments to landowners and land users.
○ A program to receive, distribute and account for soil and water resource management grants.
○ Procedures to ensure that landowner practices funded by state grant moneys are properly designed, constructed and installed.
○ A recordkeeping and recording system.
○ A program of information and education for landowners and land users.
Grants to Counties
The Department distributes soil and water resource management grants to county land conservation committees. The grants are used to fund county soil and water conservation staff. They are also used to fund county cost-share grants and incentive payments to landowners and land users.
The Department distributes these grants according to an annual grant allocation plan. The Department prepares the annual plan based on available funding, Department funding priorities, and annual workplans and grant applications from the counties. The LWCB reviews the Department's annual grant allocation plan.
This rule spells out standards and procedures for distributing grants to county land conservation committees. It includes standards and procedures for all of the following:
○ County Workplans and Grant Applications.
○ Annual Grant Allocation Plans.
○ Grant Contracts with Counties.
○ Grant Payments to Counties.
Cost-Share Grants and Incentive Payments to Landowners and Land Users
Under the Soil and Water Resource Management Program, a county land conservation committee may use state grant funds to make cost-share grants and incentive payments to landowners and land users. The Department may also make direct cost-share grants to landowners and land users for some purposes, such as manure management systems needed to comply with a DNR notice of discharge.
A “cost-share grant” reimburses a landowner for part of the cost of installing specific practices identified in the grant. An “incentive payment” means a payment made to a landowner if the landowner complies with specified soil and water resource management standards (the method of compliance is left to the landowner).
This rule spells out standards and procedures related to cost-share grants and incentive payments, including:
○ General criteria for awarding cost-share grants and incentive payments.
○ Practices eligible for cost-share grants.
○ Cost-share rates and maximum payments.
○ Design and construction standards.
○ Contracts with landowners and land users.
○ Verifying compliance by landowners and land users.
Agricultural Engineering Practices and Nutrient Management Planning; Qualified Personnel
Under 1991 Wis. Act 309, the Department is required to certify county land conservation committee staff and others who design, review or approve agricultural engineering practices under the Soil and Water Resource Management Program. This rule spells out certification standards and procedures. The standards and procedures are similar to those used by the United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation service (USDA).
Under this rule, no funds may be provided for the development or implementation of a nutrient management plan unless that plan is developed by a nutrient management planner who meets the minimum qualifications specified under this rule. Nutrient management planners who have professional qualifications or affiliations spelled out under this rule are presumed to be qualified. This rule does not establish a state certification program for nutrient management planners.
County, Town and Municipal Ordinances
Currently, a county, town or municipality may adopt a manure storage ordinance under s. 92.16, Stats., or a shoreland management ordinance under s. 92.17, Stats. No county, town or municipality may adopt a shoreland management ordinance under s. 92.17, Stats., without the Department's approval. This rule spells out general standards for local manure storage ordinances and shoreland management ordinances. It also spells out the procedure for obtaining the Department's approval of a shoreland management ordinance.
Accounting, Recordkeeping and Program Reviews
This rule requires a county to maintain an accounting and recordkeeping system which accounts for the receipt, handling and disposition of all funds received from the Department under ch. 92, Stats. The rule spells out specific recordkeeping requirements for cost-share grants and incentive payments to landowners and land users. The Department may review and audit county records as necessary.
COUNTY SOIL EROSION CONTROL PLAN
This rule prohibits the Department, after January 1, 1998, from awarding grants to any county land conservation committee that lacks an approved soil erosion control plan. The Department must approve or disapprove a plan after the LWCB reviews the plan. Counties that have already filed approved plans (about 55 counties to date) need not file new plans under this rule. The Department, in consultation with the Land and Water Conservation Board, may waive the requirement of a soil erosion control plan for an individual county if the Department finds that cropland soil erosion is not a significant problem in that county.
Plan Components
Under this rule, a county soil erosion control plan must include all of the following:
○ A general inventory of land in the county, including soil types, surface topography, watershed areas, and land uses.
○ Estimated rates of soil erosion in the county.
○ An identification of areas having especially high soil erosion rates.
○ Soil erosion control goals, including standards for lands enrolled in the farmland preservation program (see below).
○ An identification of practices needed to achieve soil erosion control goals.
○ A long-term strategy for implementing needed erosion control practices (see below).
Soil Erosion Control Strategy
Under this rule, a county's long-term soil erosion control strategy may include activities that are contingent on funding. A county strategy may include the following activities, among others:
○ Funding cost-effective erosion control practices.
○ Providing technical assistance to landowners and land users.
○ Developing and administering farm conservation plans (see below).
○ Providing information and education to landowners and land users.
○ Developing and implementing soil and water conservation ordinances under s. 92.11, Stats., or shoreland management ordinances under s. 92.17, Stats.
○ Coordinating soil and water conservation activities with federal, state and local agencies.
FARMLAND PRESERVATION COMPLIANCE PROGRAM
County Soil and Water Conservation Standards
Under current law, a county land conservation committee must adopt soil and water conservation standards applicable to farmland owners who claim farmland preservation tax credits under subch. IX of ch. 71, Stats. Standards must be approved by the LWCB. Failure to comply with a standard may disqualify a landowner from receiving farmland preservation tax credits. The Department must review all county soil and water conservation standards at least once every 5 years.
This rule requires a county land conservation committee to adopt, as a soil and water conservation standard, a requirement that cropland soil erosion not exceed “T-value” (the state soil erosion goal under s. 92.025, Stats.) The committee may adopt other standards which it deems appropriate, subject to LWCB approval. Standards must be incorporated into farm conservation plans (see below).
Adopting and Approving Standards
Under this rule, a county land conservation committee must hold a public hearing before it adopts or amends a soil and water conservation standard. At least 45 days prior to the public hearing, the committee must submit the proposed standard or amendment to the Department for preliminary review and comment. The Department must return its comments, if any, within 30 days.
A county land conservation committee, after holding a public hearing, must submit its final draft standard or amendment to the Department for approval by the LWCB. The Department must give its recommendation to the LWCB within 30 days, and the LWCB must then approve or disapprove the proposed standard or amendment within 90 days.
If a county land conservation committee fails to adopt the “T-value” standard required under this rule, owners of farmland in that county may not claim farmland preservation tax credits under ch. 71, Stats. If a county land conservation committee adopts, but the LWCB does not approve, additional soil and water conservation standards, a landowner need not comply with those standards in order to obtain farmland preservation tax credits.
Farm Conservation Plans
Under current law, a county land conservation committee must prepare a farm conservation plan for every farm in the county whose owner claims farmland preservation tax credits. Under this rule, a farm conservation plan must include all of the following:
○ A map delineating each farmland field covered by the plan.
○ The current erosion rate for each farmland field covered by the plan.
○ Recommended practices to achieve and maintain compliance with county soil and water conservation standards in fields that currently fail to comply.
○ A compliance deadline of not more than 5 years, and a requirement that there be sufficient annual progress to meet that compliance deadline.
Under this rule, a county land conservation committee may grant a variance from a compliance schedule. The committee must keep a record of each variance, including the reason for the variance. As part of its annual report to the Department, a committee must report any compliance schedule variances granted during the preceding year.
Monitoring Compliance
Under current law, a county land conservation committee must monitor whether landowners claiming farmland preservation tax credits are complying with county soil and water conservation standards. Under this rule, a monitoring system must include both of the following:
○ A system by which farm owners certify compliance to the committee, in response to an annual or other periodic request by the committee.
○ A system for monitoring compliance by means of field inspections, aerial photographs, remote sensing or other methods which the committee considers reliable. The committee must monitor each landowner's compliance at least once every 6 years, and more frequently if necessary.
Issuing Notices of Noncompliance
Under current law, a county land conservation committee must issue a notice of noncompliance if the committee determines that a landowner is violating a farm conservation plan or approved soil and water conservation standards. Under this rule, the committee may also issue a notice of noncompliance if a landowner fails to certify compliance as requested, or refuses to permit an inspection to determine compliance. Under current law, a landowner who receives a notice of noncompliance is not eligible for farmland preservation tax credits.
COUNTY REPORTS AND GRANT APPLICATIONS
Annual Report
Under current rules, a county land conservation committee is required to make a number of different year-end reports to the Department. This rule combines those year-end reports into a single annual report, simplifies the reporting procedure, and eliminates unnecessary reporting requirements.
This rule requires a county land conservation committee, by April 15 of each year, to file its year-end report for the preceding calendar year. The report must include all of the following:
○ An annual summary of program activities and accomplishments.
○ A report on cropland soil erosion. The report must include all of the following:
○ A summary of the methods, if any, which the committee is currently using to monitor cropland soil erosion and identify serious soil erosion problems.
○ A description of the systems, if any, which the committee is currently using to collect, analyze, store, update and retrieve soil erosion data.
○ The committee's estimate of the current number of cropland acres in the county, the current number of cropland acres under farm conservation plans, and the current number of acres enrolled in the farmland preservation program.
○ The approximate number of cropland acres for which the committee has reliable current estimates of soil erosion. The report shall briefly describe the methods used to obtain those estimates.
○ The approximate number of cropland acres for which the committee believes that the current rate of soil erosion is not more than T-value; more than T-value, but not more than twice T-value; more than twice T-value, but not more than 3 times T-value; more than 3 times T-value; or not reasonably determinable based on available data.
○ An assessment of the county's progress toward achieving compliance with the statewide soil erosion goal under s. 92.025, Stats.
○ An identification of key soil erosion problems and data needs.
○ A financial report, which must include all of the following:
○ The amount of grant money which the county land conservation committee received from the Department during the preceding year, and the purposes for which the committee received that money.
