AB 833

This bill creates a wetland mitigation grant program under which the

Department of Natural Resources awards grants to nonprofit organizations to

conduct wetland creation, restoration, or enhancement projects on certain DNR

lands. The bill also creates a related grant program under which DNR may award

grants to nonprofit organizations that receive wetland mitigation grants in order to

increase public access to the affected wetland or to improve habitat in, on, or near,

that wetland.

Wetland mitigation grant program.

Under current law, DNR must issue

wetland general permits for discharges of dredged or fill material into certain

wetlands and may require a person to apply for and obtain a wetland individual

permit if DNR determines that conditions specific to the site require additional

restrictions on the discharge in order to provide reasonable assurance that no

significant adverse impacts to wetland functional values will occur. Under current

law, before DNR may issue a wetland individual permit, it must require the

restoration, enhancement, creation, or preservation of other wetlands to compensate

for adverse impacts to a wetland resulting from the discharge, also known as

mitigation.

Under the authority of current law, and in consultation with the U.S. Army

Corps of Engineers (ACE), DNR has created the in lieu fee subprogram as one

method by which wetland mitigation may be accomplished. Under this subprogram,

payments are made to DNR or another entity for the purposes of improving or

preserving wetlands or other water resource features.

This bill requires DNR to establish a wetland mitigation grant program

(“mitigation program”) using up to $2,500,000 each fiscal year from moneys received

under the in lieu fee program and from surcharge fees charged for each application

to proceed under a wetland general permit. Under the mitigation program, nonprofit

organizations may apply to DNR on a rolling basis for grants to conduct projects to

create, restore, or enhance wetlands on certain DNR lands.

The bill requires DNR to identify land under its jurisdiction that is appropriate

to include in the mitigation program, but limits eligible land to that acquired by the

state in whole or in part with funding from the Warren Knowles-Gaylord Nelson

stewardship program or the Warren Knowles-Gaylord Nelson stewardship 2000

program (DNR stewardship land). The bill requires DNR to include in the mitigation

program no less than 25 percent of all DNR stewardship land and, with some

exceptions, to include land in every watershed located on DNR stewardship land.

The bill requires DNR to issue a request for proposals within three months after

identifying appropriate lands or at the beginning of the next fiscal year, whichever

is earlier, and no later than July 1 of each subsequent year. Under the bill, DNR must

select and announce grant recipients at the end of each quarter, as funds are