Requires the commissioner of parks, recreation and historic preservation to acquire the mineral interests under all land acquired or received by him or her

1 Co-sponsor

• Liz Krueger

BILL NUMBER:S917

Title of bill

An act to amend the parks, recreation and historic preservation law, in relation to requiring the office of parks, recreation and historic preservation to acquire all mineral rights to real property acquired by such office

Purpose of the bill

The purpose of the bill is to ensure that OPRHP acquires the minerals rights when acquiring property for state park, historic preservation and other uses under its jurisdiction. The bill provides for certain exceptions for lands of great significance and importance.

Summary of provisions

The bill amends Section 3.17, Subdivision 1 of the Parks, Recreation and Historic preservation Law, to require that real property acquired, received, held or administered by the OPRHP commissioner include the mineral rights on and under such lands. The bill does allow acquisition and acceptance of lands of great significant and importance without the mineral rights. Such acquisitions or acceptances would be subject an analytical report prepared by OPRHP, that justifies and provides the rationale for such acquisition" including but not limited to a description of the property, the significance and importance or the land to the state, and the economic benefits and impacts and local impacts of acquiring such property. ORPHP would be required to hold one or more public hearings, including at least one in the impacted area, and to publish such actions in the Environmental Notice Bulletin at least one month prior to the hearing.

Justification

In the past, OPRHP has acquired or accepted lands for state park purposes without acquiring the mineral rights on or under such lands. These mineral rights can be utilized, for example, for extraction of materials such as oil and gas. Such activities can have a significant adverse affect on the dedicated use of the lands (e.g. parks, historic sites, etc.) and are inconsistent with the dedicated purpose of the lands. This bill seeks to correct such problems by limiting future acquisitions to those which include mineral rights on or under the lands. An exception is provided for lands for great significance and importance, in which case the acquisition/acceptance would be subject to an in-depth analysis and report of potential impacts by OPRHP and public review.

Prior legislative history

2009/2010: Senate Reported and Committed to Finance. Assembly Referred to Environmental Conservation. 2011/2012: S.2748

Fiscal implications for state and local governments

The bill may have some effect on the cost of acquiring lands for the State Parks system, historic sites and other facilities administered by OPRHP.

There would costs associated with the preparation of the report and the public hearings.

Effective date

This act would take effect immediately and apply to real property acquired or received on or after such date.