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MINNESOTA STATUTES 2023 <br />lU3A.Zlll REGULATORY POLICY. <br />103A.201 <br />Subdivision I .Policy. To conserve and use water resources of the state in the best interests of its people, <br />and to promote the public health, safety, and welfare, it is the policy of the state that: <br />(I l subject to existing rights. public eaters are subject to the control of the state; <br />(2) the state. to the extent provided by law. shall control the appropriation and use of waters of the state: <br />and <br />(3) the state shall control and supervise activity that changes or will change the course, current. or cross <br />section of public waters, including the construction, t•econstruction. repair, removal. abandonment, alteration, <br />or the transfer of ownership of dams, reservoirs, control structures, and waterway obstructions in public <br />waters, <br />Subd. 2. Wetlands findings; public interest. (a) Wetlands identitied in the state under section ] 03G.005. <br />subdivision 19, do not: <br />(1) grant the public additional or greater right of access to the wetlands; <br />(2) diminish the right of ownership or usage of the beds underlying the wetlands, except as otherwise <br />provided by law; <br />(3) affect state law forbidding trespass on private lands; and <br />(4) require the commissioner to acquire access to the wetlands. <br />(b) The legislature finds that the wetlands of Minnesota provide public value by conserving surface <br />waters, maintaining and improving water quality. preserving wildlife habitat. providing recreational <br />opportunities, reducing runoff; providing for floodwater retention. reducing stream sedimentation, contributing <br />to improved subsurface moisture, helping moderate climatic change, and enhancing the natural beauty of <br />the landscape, and are important to comprehensive water management, and that it is in the public interest <br />to: <br />(I) achieve no net loss in the quantity. quality_ and biological diversity of Minnesota's existing wetlands; <br />(2) increase the quantity, quality, and biological diversity of Minnesota's wetlands by restoring or <br />enhancing diminished or drained wetlands; <br />(3) avoid direct or indirect impacts from activities that destroy or diminish the quantity, quality, and <br />biological diversity of wetlands; and <br />(4) replace wetland values where avoidance of activity is not feasible and prudent. <br />History: <br />199U <br />c 391 <br />rn7 1 s ?; <br />1991 <br />c• 301 <br />crr•! <br />1 s <br />2 <br />Onicial I'ublirriinn ot'the tilatc ol'A4innesola <br />Revisor ol• Statutes <br />