During the 2015 special legislative session, Governor Dayton signed into law a new Buffer Initiative. The new law establishes vegetative buffers on public waters/streams and along county ditches. The law can be found in 103F.48 MN Statutes. The Law establishes buffers for Public Waters need to be in place on or before November 1, 2017, and buffers for County Drainage Systems need to be in place on or before November 1, 2018. The law requires DNR Public Waters to have a 50’ average width (30’ minimum width) continuous buffer and Drainage Systems to have a minimum 16.5’ width continuous buffer.
In 2017, Le Sueur County accepted local authority of the buffer law by establishing the Le Sueur County Buffer Enforcement Ordinance Pursuant to Statutes Section 103F.48.