Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 13, September 23, 2024
Subpart 1.
Actions not requiring an APM
or commercial harvest permit.
A person may conduct the activities listed in items A to H
without an APM or commercial harvest permit, subject to restrictions in part
6280.0350, subpart 3. A person conducting activities under item C, E, F, or H
must be an owner, lessee, or easement holder of land adjacent to the water
where the activity is occurring or an agent of the owner, lessee, or easement
holder:
A. cutting or pulling aquatic
plants for the purpose of constructing shooting or observation blinds in
amounts sufficient for those purposes;
B. harvesting aquatic plants or plant parts
for personal use only;
C. except as
provided for automated aquatic plant control devices in subpart 2, item D,
mechanical control of submersed aquatic plants to maintain a site for swimming
or boat docking not to extend along more than 50 feet or one-half the length of
the owner's total shoreline, whichever is less, and not to exceed 2,500 square
feet plus the area needed to extend a channel no wider than 15 feet to open
water, provided the channel is included in the maximum shoreline feet
allowed;
D. destroying aquatic
plants incidental to activities authorized by a department permit for work in
public waters as provided by Minnesota Statutes, section
103G.245,
or by a license permitting the passage of utilities over public lands and
waters as provided by parts 6135.0100 to 6135.1800 and Minnesota Statutes,
section
84.415;
E. mechanical control of purple loosestrife
(Lythrum salicaria);
F. skimming duckweed or filamentous algae off
the surface of a water body;
G.
mechanical or pesticide control of aquatic plants done as part of public road
or utility crossing right-of-way maintenance by authorized government units or
utility companies; and
H.
mechanical control of floating-leaf aquatic plants to obtain a channel
extending to open water, provided that:
(1)
the channel is no more than 15 feet wide and takes the most direct route to
open water;
(2) the channel is
maintained by cutting or pulling; and
(3) the channel remains in the same location
from year to year.
Subp.
1a.
Limits on APM activities without a permit.
Subpart 1 shall not be construed to allow taking or control of
aquatic plants inconsistent with other provisions of law, including wild rice
provisions under chapter 6284 and provisions for endangered, threatened, and of
special concern species under chapter 6134. A person who receives an APM permit
under this chapter may not conduct unpermitted aquatic plant control under
subpart 1, item C or H, at the location and during the period covered by the
permit.
Subp. 2.
Actions requiring an APM permit.
Except as provided in subpart 1, a person must have an APM
permit for all aquatic plant management activities below the ordinary high
water level in public waters, including:
A. mechanical and pesticide control of
aquatic plants or nuisances;
B.
transplanting aquatic plants in public waters;
C. relocating or removing a bog or portion
thereof; and
D. installing or
operating an automated aquatic plant control device.
Subp. 3.
Justification required for
issuance of permits.
Permits for the control of emergent and floating-leaf aquatic
plants will not be issued unless the commissioner determines sufficient
justification exists. The commissioner will consider the relevant criteria in
subpart 3a and balance the reasonable needs of riparian owners to gain access
and use public water against the need to protect emergent and floating-leaf
aquatic plants so that the integrity and value of the aquatic plant community
is maintained.
Subp. 3a.
Criteria for issuing APM permits.
The commissioner may issue APM permits for public waters to
provide riparian access, enhance recreational use, control invasive aquatic
plants, manage water levels, and protect or improve habitat. The following
criteria shall be considered to determine if an APM permit should be approved
or denied and how much control or harvest to allow under an APM permit:
A. the presence of aquatic plants or
nuisances that are interfering with a permit applicant's ability to use
watercraft, swim, or engage in other traditional recreational uses;
B. the habitat, water quality, and erosion
control value of the aquatic plants subject to the proposed permit;
C. the extent of shoreline development on the
water body subject to the proposed permit and potential for aquatic plant
control to result in cumulative impacts to habitat and water quality;
D. the presence of invasive aquatic plants in
the proposed permit area;
E.
whether the water body subject to the proposed permit is a wetland or a shallow
lake or bay that naturally supports abundant aquatic plants;
F. the prevalence of soft bottom types that
could result in turbidity or changes to the cross-section of the bottom if
aquatic plants are disturbed or removed;
G. whether the proposed permit is consistent
with a lake vegetation management plan under part 6280.1000, subpart 2, and
shoreland conservation ordinances, lake management plans and programs, wild and
scenic river plans, and other pertinent ordinances and regulations;
H. whether the proposed permit is consistent
with a variance issued to control invasive aquatic plants or protect or improve
aquatic resources under part 6280.1000, subpart 1;
I. the presence of species designated as of
special concern, threatened, or endangered under chapter 6134;
J. the presence of public land adjacent to
the public water and the compatibility of the proposed permit with the
management of the public land;
K.
the presence of an excessive algae bloom; and
L. the presence of wild rice.
Subp. 4.
Prohibitions.
An APM or commercial harvest permit will not be issued:
A. to place plastic mats, plastic sheets,
filter fabric, or similar materials on the bed of public waters to destroy or
prevent the growth of aquatic plants;
B. to improve the appearance of undeveloped
shoreline;
C. for esthetic purposes
alone on developed shoreline;
D.
for mechanical or pesticide control or commercial harvest of aquatic plants in
areas posted or designated by the commissioner as scientific and natural areas
under Minnesota Statutes, section
84.033,
or aquatic management areas under Minnesota Statutes, section
86A.07;
E. for pesticide control of
aquatic plants, except plankton and filamentous algae, in natural environment
lakes established pursuant to part 6120.3000 or in waters adjacent to special
protection lakes, bays, or districts established pursuant to part
6120.3200;
F. for pesticide control
of aquatic plants in watercourses or portions of watercourses classified as
wild as defined under either the Minnesota or federal Wild and Scenic Rivers
Acts as provided in Minnesota Statutes, section
103F.325,
and Public Law 90-542 (1968), United States Code, title 16, sections 1271 to
1287, as amended; or
G. for
mechanical or pesticide control or commercial harvest of aquatic plants within
an area posted for fish spawning under Minnesota Statutes, section
97C.025.
Subp. 5.
Pesticide treatment
of drinking water.
The commissioner shall not issue an APM permit for pesticide
treatment of waters used by humans for drinking unless approval is obtained
from the Minnesota Department of Health.
Subp. 6.
APM permit conditions.
The commissioner may specify conditions for APM permits to
avoid or minimize harm to aquatic resources and conflict between public water
users, including:
A. limits on the
amount of control allowed, including limits on the percentage of the littoral
area, shoreline length, and distance outward from the shoreline to be
managed;
B. restrictions on the
method and timing of control;
C.
restrictions on the species of plants targeted by the control;
D. requirements for supervision of the
control by the commissioner; and
E.
requirements for public notice including posting at public water access sites,
news releases or public notices in a local newspaper, public meetings, or other
notice that would effectively inform users of the affected water.
Subp. 7.
Inspections.
The commissioner shall require field inspection of a proposed
APM permit site prior to issuing a permit for:
A. properties with no previous permit
history, unless the proposed control is for swimmer's itch;
B. properties where there has been a lapse in
permit issuance or where ownership has changed;
C. requests for changes in treatment area,
plant type controlled, or method of control;
D. requests for off-shore control or requests
to control invasive aquatic plants to enhance growth of native aquatic plants;
and
E. properties where there has
been a shoreline restoration order that could be affected by aquatic plant
control.
Statutory Authority: MS s
103G.615
