WETLAND MITIGATION BANKING OUTREACH SESSIONS Minnesota State Wetland Bank Fee Policy Update Tim Smith Wetland Banking Coordinator MINNESOTA STATE WETLAND BANK FEE POLICY UPDATE Presentation Outline Banking Fee Background Existing Fee Policy 2015 Statute Changes 2017 Fee Policy Updates Implementation Schedule Credit Value Determinations 1
BACKGROUND Statutory authority to assess fees comes from 103G.2242 Subd. 14 (a) through (c) Account maintenance annual fee Account establishment Credit deposit Credit withdrawal Credit transfer BACKGROUND What are banking fees used for? Establish accounts Review deposit requests and monitoring reports (in the field) Process withdrawals Transfers, ownership changes. Reconciling state/federal ledgers, maintaining and upgrading the database, adapting tracking systems Overall administration of the banking program (forms, guidance, policy developments etc.) Technical and policy review of applications 2
EXISTING FEE POLICY Current fee policy contained in BWSR Board resolution 11-98 BWSR periodically updates the calculated fee figures based on land values calculated by Minnesota Department of Revenue Last updated in 2015 3
2015 STATUTE CHANGES 103B.103 Easement Stewardship Accounts Established a mitigation easement account that will provide a source of revenue to cover the costs of monitoring and managing State-held easements. The amount of the stewardship fee shall be determined by the Board. 2015 STATUTE CHANGES 103G.2242 Subd. 14 easement acquisition (amended) Added authority for the Board to assess a fee to recoup the costs associated with establishing conservation easements on property used for wetland replacement The amount of the easement acquisition fee shall be determined by the Board. 4
Wetland Mitigation Fee Policy Updated in October 2016 Addressed new statutory authorities Clarified assessment of establishment and maintenance fees Separated deposit fee from establishment fee Standardized credit value figure for determining fees Establishment Fee Current: 6.5% of the value of the initial deposit not to exceed $1,000 per account (combined with deposit fee) 2017 Fee Policy: 6.5% of the value of the initial deposit not to exceed $1,000 per account (not combined with the deposit fee) 5
Deposit Fee Current: 6.5% of the value of the initial deposit not to exceed $1,000 per account (combined with establishment fee) 2017 Fee Policy: 6.5% of the value of each deposit after the initial deposit not to exceed $1,000 per deposit (not combined with the establishment fee) Account Maintenance Fee Current: Assessed annually at 1% of the value in each account not to exceed $500. 2017 Fee Policy: Assessed annually at 1% of the value in each account not to exceed $500 and not assessed in the same calendar year during which an establishment fee is assessed and paid. 6
Establishing Conservation Easements Current: Not currently assessed. 2017 Fee Policy: Total fee of $3,400 paid in two installments: $1000 to initiate process and $2400 due when process is complete. Establishing Conservation Easements Fee amount of $3400 is actual BWSR labor cost based on previous easement acquisition processes. Fee also applies to modification, release, and partial release of an easement but the fee will be determined at the time of the request not to exceed $3400. 7
Easement Stewardship Assessed as a per credit fee applied when credits are withdrawn from the account. The target amount for easement stewardship calculated by BWSR staff is $7800 per recorded easement. Easement Stewardship The per credit amount is determined using the following equation: stewardship cost per easement average number of easements per bank average number of credits per bank 8
Credit Value Determination Removed option for account holders to demonstrate the value of the credits All fees will be based on BWSR derived wetland credit values (currently referred to as wetland bank fee schedule) 9
Fee Policy Comparison 50 acre bank site generating 30 credits easement acquisition and first release in year 1 Ten credits sold in years 1 and 2 BWSR calculated credit value is $2,800 Easement stewardship fee is $145 per credit Current Fee Policy 2017 Fee Policy Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Establishment $1000 -- $1000 -- -- Deposit -- -- -- -- $1000 $1000 Withdrawal -- $28000 $28000 -- $28000 $28000 Maintenance -- $500 $500 -- $500 $500 Easement Acquisition -- -- -- $3400 -- -- Easement Stewardship -- -- -- -- $1450 $1450 Total by Year $1000 $28500 $28500 $4400 $30950 $30950 Grand Total $58000 $66300 10
IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE Updated Board fee policy takes effect June 1, 2017 There are some phase in/grandfather provisions in the updated policy affecting the deposit fee and easement acquisition fee. IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE New deposit fee does not apply to approved applications to deposit credits that were received by BWSR prior to June 1, 2017. Applicants that have received bank plan approval from an LGU and have initiated the easement acquisition process with BWSR prior to June 1, 2017 are not subject to the easement acquisition fee. 11
CREDIT VALUE DETERMINATION Credit value is a key component to almost every fee associated with the State Wetland Bank Currently credit value is determined based on land values on a county by county basis (see section III.H of 2017 fee policy) There are issues with this approach that BWSR feels should be addressed 1. Credit values in metro counties 2. Variation between counties in the same BSA and presettlement zones 12
CREDIT VALUE DETERMINATION BWSR is currently considering other approaches to determining credit value including Determining credit values on a BSA by BSA basis Alternative methods for metro counties where current method does not work well Others? QUESTIONS?? 13