Minnesota Drainage Law Analysis and Evaluation

The laws governing the drainage of Minnesota wetlands and other areas have been largely unchanged for more than a century. However, many other laws protecting public waters and wetlands and governing water use have been enacted as concerns about water quality and land use increase. Often these laws conflict. The Smith Partners Law Firm is analyzing the legal and policy issues surrounding Minnesota's drainage laws in order to make recommendations to the legislature on updating the laws to reflect the realities of the 21st century.

Overall Project Outcome and Results
The Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund enabled this study to analyze Minnesota drainage laws and related economic and environmental considerations, and to explore alternative strategies that would best protect both the state's surface waters and the rights of property owners to make beneficial use of their land through drainage. This study presents an overview of the drainage code and related water resource laws; identifies critical issues where potential conflicts between the drainage code and other laws create barriers to successful resource protection; and identifies three prototypical demonstration scenarios (Red River Valley, Minnesota River Valley, and Developing Watershed) to inform the study's analysis of these critical issues.

A study advisory committee composed of individuals from diverse backgrounds and expertise met nine times, from December 2009 through May 2011. We also presented this study to the Minnesota Association of Watershed Districts annual meeting in 2009 and 2010; three times to the Board of Soil and Water Resources Drainage Work Group; and to the Red River Watershed Management Board in June 2011.

Key recommendations include:

• Give drainage authorities more tools and resources for watershed-based planning.
• Give drainage authorities more tools and resources to implement projects with integrated drainage, flood control, conservation and water quality benefits.
• Better integrate effects on wetlands and water quality into drainage authority decisions about drainage system work.
• Provide drainage authorities with more clarity in legal authority to address drainage system alignment, grade, cross section, and hydraulic capacity of bridges and culverts for multipurpose design of drainage system establishment, improvement, or repair.
• Extend the authority to establish a locally based wetland regulatory framework under a comprehensive wetland protection and management plan (CWPMP) to public water wetlands.
• Foster reliability of CWPMP outcomes through coordination of local land use authority and wetland regulatory authority.

The policy recommendations include both pertinent findings, specific recommended actions, and draft legislation.

Project Results Use and Dissemination This project will be presented at the University of Minnesota Water Resources Conference on October 18-19, 2011, the Annual conference of the Minnesota Association of Watershed Districts on December 2, 2011, and at the Annual Convention for the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts on December 6, 2011.

Project Publication:
MN Drainage Law Analysis and Evaluation (PDF - 3.3 MB)