Sen. Rich Draheim condemns Dayton administration’s new devastating penalties against family farmers
Senator Rich Draheim condemned the recently proposed onerous penalties against farmers for buffer law compliance proposed by Democrat Governor Mark Dayton’s Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR). The proposed penalties, released through administrative rulemaking and without legislative approval, would levy tens of thousands of dollar fines against family farmers for noncompliance, far exceeding the maximum fine of $500 written in state law.
“Serving as a member of both Senate agriculture committees and the Legislative Water Commission, I support clean water and responsible land stewardship, as all farmers do,” said Senator Draheim. “However, when the Dayton administration proposes rules that not only would devastate family farmers, but appear to be in direct conflict with state statute, the only conclusion is that they are waging a war against Minnesota agriculture.”
The proposed penalties would fine farmers who are not in compliance on a per foot basis, a direct conflict with Minnesota Statute 103B.101 subd. 12a., which was intended to be implemented on a per parcel basis. Further, farmers would be penalized based on the entire frontage of their parcel, not just on the amount of land that is out of compliance.
“If a farmer has a 100-foot parcel, and only one foot is out of compliance, they would be penalized for the entire 100 feet, costing extra tens of thousands of dollars,” added Senator Draheim. “That would be like owning three cars, having the tail light out on one, and receiving three tickets, one for each car. The purpose of these fines should be to encourage compliance with the law, not penalize farmers for corrective actions they have already taken.”
During a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing in February of 2017, the executive director of BWSR, John Jaschke, stated “[The fine] is only up to $500 and cannot exceed that. Again, the point of that fine and any of the enforcement mechanisms is not to collect it, but use it as a way to get the compliance on the ground; to get the buffer or alternative practices in. So, it cannot exceed $500 in any case.” The proposed rules released on April 2, 2018 directly contradict that statement.
In a letter to his own BWSR agency, Governor Dayton claimed that he “was surprised and disturbed to learn about [the] proposed Administrative Penalty Order for the Buffer Law that is out for public comment. The proposed fines are unreasonable. They have come as a shock to not only myself, but also to Minnesota farmers.”
“While Governor Dayton claims he believes the proposed fines are unreasonable, it is incomprehensible that his own administrative agencies are crafting policies without his approval,” said Senator Draheim. “By Governor Dayton’s own admission, unelected bureaucrats are making policy decisions that directly impact Minnesotans. This is another example of the tail wagging the dog, and this type of government overreach needs to stop.”
The Senate Agriculture Committees will be holding a joint hearing on this topic on Wednesday, April 11 at 3:00 PM.