2-5111. Rules and regulations; department; powers and duties.

The department shall adopt and promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary for the enforcement and administration of the Buffer Strip Act. The rules and regulations shall include, but not be limited to, rules and regulations providing for:

(1) Types of vegetation suitable for buffer strips;

(2) Appropriate width of buffer strips;

(3) Types of surface water appropriate for protection by buffer strips;

(4) Soil types and classifications appropriate for protection by buffer strips;

(5) A sliding scale, based on land value and potential environmental benefit, to determine the amount to be paid as payment under the act for the buffer strip;

(6) An index to rank those applications that meet the technical requirements of the act to determine priority of funding. Such index shall, at a minimum, identify the factors that will be considered in scoring an application and assign a numerical value for each of those factors. In addition to those items listed in subdivisions (1) to (5) of this section, such factors shall also include an evaluation of each application for the water quality benefits from reduced soil erosion and runoff, the on-farm benefits of reduced soil erosion, and the cost per acre of an application. Priority may be given to those applications which create buffer strips at the lowest possible cost, assuming environmental protection benefits are equal in other respects;

(7) The minimum requirements necessary for any contractual agreement entered into between a district and applicant;

(8) A project map of the buffer strip program created by the Buffer Strip Act showing the location of buffer strips in each watershed; and

(9) Any other rule and regulation deemed appropriate for implementation of the Buffer Strip Act.

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