Section 1 [BWSR wetland bank fees] establishes a maximum fee to the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) for withdrawals from a wetland bank of $1,000.

Section 2 [NPDES exemption; water transfers] establishes an exemption from the Pollution Control Agency’s (PCA) National Pollutant Discharge and Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirement for water transfers that do not introduce pollutants to the waters transferred.

Section 3 [Watershed credit exchange] allows the PCA and BWSR to establish a watershed credit exchange program to provide assistance to permittees in meeting water-quality-based effluent limits.  This section also provides for elements of the program and authorizes pilot programs.

Section 4 [Watershed credit account] establishes a watershed credit exchange account for BWSR and PCA to use for creating watershed credits, creating local watershed credit exchanges, and program management costs.

Section 5 [External peer review of water quality standards] directs the PCA to have peer review conducted on all new and revised water quality standards.  This section also provides for the process of conducting the peer review and the development of technical support documents for the water quality standards.

Section 6 [Effluent limitation compliance] provides that to the extent allowed by federal law, a municipal or industrial NPDES or state disposal system permit holder that constructs a treatment work facility to comply with modified standards, may not be required to expend additional capital investment on the treatment works for 16 years.

Section 7 [PCA permit fees; legislative authorization] clarifies that all new and increased fees of the PCA are subject to the requirement for legislative approval.

Section 8 [Appropriation; watershed credit exchange program] appropriates just over $1.5 million from the general fund to the PCA for the watershed credit exchange program created in this act.

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