Rock County may penalize buffer parcels in violation

Owners of 19 Rock County parcels recently received letters that they’re out of compliance with the state’s buffer law.
Since the notifications were sent in October through the Rock County Land Management Office, one parcel has been brought into compliance, leaving 18 parcels whose owners will receive letters of corrective action through the Rock County Attorney’s office.
These landowners will have 11 months to comply with the ordinance or face potential enforcement penalties.
Commissioners were informed of the non-compliance letters at their Nov. 24 meeting.
County Attorney Jeff Haubrich said several of the landowners have plans on paper, but have not actually completed the vegetative plantings.
“All of these people have been talked to in the past and several of them have plans in place … a few had other issues that kept it from getting started,” Haubrich said.
Due to the contract with the Minnesota Board of Soil and Water Resources, local officials need to follow a timeline, which means setting a final compliance deadline.
“If they don’t want to do it, they may be charged,” Haubrich said. “There are penalties involved and eventually they have to do it whether voluntarily corrective action within 11 months … otherwise there are other avenues we have to pursue.”
The buffer law, adopted by state legislators in 2017, requires landowners to plant vegetation along cropland that borders ditches, streams, rivers and lakes.
The buffers help filter phosphorus, nitrogen and sediment from cropland run-off before it reaches public waters.
Landowners who fail to install buffers by November 2021 may face fines, administrative orders or both.
The LMO office monitors the local compliance to the state law.
Three years ago, LMO identified 840 parcels in Rock County affected by the law and worked with landowners to bring parcels in compliance.
The non-compliant parcels are small in size. In most instances the parcels involve several hundred square feet and are too small to be eligible for conservation program enrollments.