§ 466B.3 — Water resources coordinating council

Iowa § 466B.3

• Jurisdiction: Iowa
• Title XI: NATURAL RESOURCES
• Ch. 466B: SURFACE WATER PROTECTION, FLOOD MITIGATION, AND WATERSHED MANAGEMENT

Text

1. Council established. A water resources coordinating council is established within the
department of agriculture and land stewardship.
2. Purpose. The purpose of the council shall be to preserve and protect Iowa’s water
resources, and to coordinate the management of those resources in a sustainable and fiscally
responsible manner. In the pursuit of this purpose, the council shall use an integrated
approach to water resource management, recognizing that insufficiencies exist in current
approaches and practices, as well as in funding sources and the utilization of funds. The
integrated approach used by the council shall attempt to overcome old categories, labels, and
obstacles with the primary goal of managing the state’s water resources comprehensively
rather than compartmentally.
3. Accountability. The success of the council’s efforts shall ultimately be measured by
the following outcomes:
a. Whether the citizens of Iowa can more easily organize local watershed projects.
b. Whether the citizens of Iowa can more easily access available funds and water quality
program resources.
c. Whether the funds, programs, and regulatory efforts coordinated by the council
eventually result in a long-term improvement to the quality of surface water in Iowa. To
evaluate the progress achieved over time toward the goals of the Iowa nutrient reduction
strategy and the United States environmental protection agency gulf hypoxia action plan,
the baseline condition shall be calculated for the time period from 1980 to 1996.
d. Whetherthepotentialforflooddamageineachwatershedinthestatehasbeenreduced.
4. Membership. The council shall consist of the following members:
a. The director of the department of natural resources or the director’s designee.
b. Thedirectorofthedivisionofsoilconservationandwaterqualitywithinthedepartment
of agriculture and land stewardship or the director’s designee.
c. The director of health and human services or the director’s designee.
d. The director of the department of homeland security and emergency management or
the director’s designee.
e. The dean of the college of agriculture and life sciences at Iowa state university or the
dean’s designee.
f. The dean of the college of public health at the university of Iowa or the dean’s designee.
g. The dean of the college of natural sciences at the university of northern Iowa or the
dean’s designee.
h. The director of transportation or the director’s designee.
i. The director of the economic development authority or the director’s designee.
j. The director of the Iowa finance authority or the director’s designee.
k. The secretary of agriculture, who shall be the chairperson, or the secretary’s designee.
As the chairperson, and in order to further the coordination efforts of the council, the
secretary may invite representatives from any other public agency, private organization,
business, citizen group, or nonprofit entity to give public input at council meetings,
provided the entity has an interest in the coordinated management of land resources, soil
conservation, flood mitigation, or water quality. The secretary shall also invite and solicit
advice from the following:
(1) The director of the Iowa water science center of the United States geological survey
or the director’s designee.
(2) The state conservationist from the Iowa office of the United States department of
agriculture’s natural resources conservation service or the state conservationist’s designee.
(3) The executive director for Iowa from the United States department of agriculture’s
farm services agency or the executive director’s designee.
3 WATER PROTECTION AND WATERSHED MANAGEMENT, §466B.3
(4) The state director for Iowa from the United States department of agriculture’s office
of rural development or the state director’s designee.
(5) The director of region seven of the United States environmental protection agency or
the director’s designee.
(6) The corps commander from the United States army corps of engineers’ Rock Island
district or the commander’s designee.
l. The dean of the college of engineering at the university of Iowa or the dean’s designee.
5. Meetings and quorum.
a. The council shall be convened by the secretary of agriculture as necessary.
b. A majority of the members fixed by statute shall constitute a quorum, and any action
taken by the council must be adopted by a majority of the voting membership.
6. Duties and powers.
a. The council shall engage in the regular coordination of water resource-related
functions, including protection strategies, planning, assessment, prioritization, review,
concurrence, advocacy, and education.
b. In coordinating water resource-related functions, the council may do all of the
following:
(1) Consider the steps necessary to address the planning, management, and
implementation of water resource improvement.
(2) Identify ways to facilitate communication and participation among all water resource
stakeholders, including owners of land in Iowa whether they are residents or not.
(3) Identify inefficiencies in current programs and recommend ways to eliminate
duplicative services.
(4) Improve the availability and management of water resource information.
(5) Provide incentives for, and recognition of, environmental excellence.
(6) Regularly assess and identify measurable improvements in water quality.
(7) Oversee the complete, statewide regional watershed assessment, prioritization, and
planning process described in section 466B.5, including a short-term interim program and a
long-term comprehensive state water quality and quantity plan updated every five years as
provided in sections 466B.5 and 466B.6.
(8) Develop a protocol which identifies high-priority watersheds, including local and
community-based subwatersheds, and which appropriately directs resources to those
watersheds.
(9) Review best available technologies on a regular basis, so that investments of time
and program resources can be prioritized and directed to projects that will best and most
effectively improve water quality and reduce flood damage within regional and community
subwatersheds.
(10) Review voluntary, performance-based standards for water resource management,
land management, and soil conservation.
(11) Develop a protocol for assigning multiagency teams to regional watersheds and local
subwatersheds and guide those teams in the coordination of citizen and agency activities
within those watersheds.
(12) Engage in dialogue with, and pursue efforts to make cooperative agreements with,
other states when a watershed extends beyond borders of this state.
(13) Enter into agreements and make contracts with third parties for the performance of
duties imposed by this chapter.
(14) Prepare a memorandum of understanding identifying the roles and responsibilities
of council members in the coordination of the implementation of community-based
subwatershed improvement plans. The memorandum shall be a commitment by the
agencies participating in council meetings to reach consensus regarding communications
with subwatershed planning units.
c. The council shall develop recommendations for policies and funding promoting
a watershed management approach to reduce the adverse impact of future flooding on
this state’s residents, businesses, communities, and soil and water quality. The council
shall consider policies and funding options for various strategies to reduce the impact of
flooding including but not limited to additional floodplain regulation; wetland protection,
§466B.3, WATER PROTECTION AND WATERSHED MANAGEMENT 4
restoration, and construction; the promulgation and implementation of statewide storm
water management standards; conservation easements and other land management;
perennial ground cover and other agricultural conservation practices; pervious pavement,
bioswales, and other urban conservation practices; and permanent or temporary water
retention structures. In developing recommendations, the council shall consult with
hydrological and land use experts, representatives of cities, counties, drainage and levee
districts, agricultural interests, and soil and water conservation districts, and other urban
and regional planning experts.
2008Acts, ch1034, §3; 2009Acts, ch41, §139; 2009Acts, ch146, §8–12; 2010Acts, ch1061,
§62; 2011 Acts, ch 118, §85, 89; 2011 Acts, ch 119, §1 – 5; 2012 Acts, ch 1021, §86; 2012 Acts,
ch 1023, §65; 2013 Acts, ch 29, §58; 2015 Acts, ch 29, §114; 2015 Acts, ch 103, §52; 2018 Acts,
ch 1001, §21; 2018 Acts, ch 1152, §11; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §1172, 2151; 2024 Acts, ch 1170, §112