Bly co-author of H.F. 1534 Buffer Initiative to protect MN water

Representative Bly is a co-author of H.F. 1534 which will protect Minnesota’s water by requiring a 50 foot buffer strip on all rivers and streams to reduce run-off and filter pollution.

In January, Governor Dayton announced a proposal to protect state waters from erosion and runoff pollution by improving requirements for a buffer strip along rivers and streams.

Known as the Buffer Initiative, this legislation requires at least 50 feet of perennial vegetation around Minnesota’s waters. Buffers help filter out nutrients and sediment by slowing runoff, trapping sediment with these pollutants, and allowing vegetation to absorb them.

In fall 2014, the urgent need for better buffers was demonstrated by a Pollution Control Agency report finding that only 3 of 93 streams in Southwest Minnesota met standards for being fishable and swimmable.

The bill requires the DNR to identify and map waterways that require buffers, creates a timeline for establishing them, describes exceptions and provisions for flexibility, and outlines the provisions for uniform enforcement.