Purpose
Minnesota livestock producers have a new voluntary and proactive way to address water quality issues on their land through the Livestock Environmental Quality Assurance Program (LEQA). With funds from the environmentally-dedicated sales tax, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture has launched the program to help livestock producers take the initiative on a non-regulatory basis to evaluate water quality issues and implement appropriate practices.
Statutory Requirement
Minnesota Laws 2009, Chapter 172, Art. 2, Sect. 2. $150,000 each year is for grants to the livestock environmental quality assurance program to develop resource management plans, provide resource management analysis and assistance, provide an implementation plan, and provide for annual reporting on water quality assessment and reasonable assurance of the water quality effects for the purposes of TMDL plans, including an assurance walk-through for farms enrolled in the program. By December 15, 2010, the commissioner of agriculture shall submit a report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees and divisions with jurisdiction over agriculture and environment policy and finance on the activities of the livestock environmental quality assurance program. The report shall include: (1) the number of farms enrolled; (2) an analysis of the estimated water quality improvements to enrolled farms; and (3) an analysis of the ability to provide reasonable assurance of the water quality effects.
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