Comments sought on proposed budget for the Clean Water Fund
The Clean Water Council is seeking public comments on its proposed budget for the 2014-2015 biennium. The Council will make recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature by December as part of its biennial legislative report.
Please send your comments to the questions by September 28, 2012. The link to the survey questions is at the bottom of this page.
For more information or questions, or if you need to submit your comments by email rather than through the survey, contact Jeff Risberg at 651-757-2670, or Celine Lyman at 651-757-2541.
Background on the Council’s budget process
- The Clean Water Council’s role in the state’s budget process
The Clean Water Council, established by the 2006 Clean Water Legacy Act, advises on the administration and implementation of the Clean Water Fund dollars that are allocated to state programs that protect, enhance and restore the state’s water resources. The Clean Water Fund was created following voter approval of the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment to the state constitution in 2008. It receives one-third of the state sales tax portion dedicated to Legacy funding that is appropriated every two years by the Minnesota Legislature. (One-third of the remaining Legacy funding goes to the Outdoor Heritage Fund and the last one-third is shared by the Parks and Trails Fund and the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.)
- The Council’s budget target for FY14-15 is $185 million
This is based on the latest state revenue projections for the Clean Water Fund. Again, the Clean Water Fund receives one-third of the state sales taxes allocated to the four Legacy funds, so actual funding levels depend on the state’s economic activity. The next revenue forecast will be at the end of November, and the Council will adjust its budget recommendations as needed at that time to meet the new target.
- The Council’s budget priorities for FY14-15
The budget priorities for FY14-15were established to guide the Council's decisions on budget recommendations, including the specific percentage of the budget that should be allocated to various categories. Here are those categories as well as a description of the Council’s proposed approach for addressing these needs:- Monitoring and assessment programs (11-15 percent of total budget) — continue steady funding levels to systematically determine the health of Minnesota’s waters over 10 years, the first cycle of which ends in 2017.
- Watershed restoration and protection strategies (11-14 percent) — continue steady funding levels for this program to determine the causes and solutions to pollution problems and threats, until strategies have been completed in all the state’s 81 watersheds.
- Groundwater/drinking water protection (7-9 percent) — increase funding over the minimum of five percent required by the constitutional amendment by monitoring aquifers, implementing wellhead protection plans and preventing contamination of groundwater.
- Point and non-point source implementation activities (57-60 percent) — increase funding for on-the-ground activities that address runoff from fields and streets, as well as to improve infrastructure for sewage treatment and urban stormwater.
- Applied research and tool development (6-8 percent) — steady funding to better target and ensure that implementation efforts are successful.
To provide comments to the Council on its proposed budget, follow the link below and respond by September 28, 2012. Thank you for participating!
