Republican State Senator Merlin Bartz, ranking member of the Iowa Senate Local Government Committee, has introduced a bill (with the approval of the League of Cities and Association of Counties) to remove some local government mandates from Iowa Code.

Press release here:

List of reforms here:

I would like to hear from people on this list about the possible implications of the following changes proposed by Bartz:

   Eliminate Permit Time Delay: Every site where more than one acre of land is disturbed is required to obtain NPDES General Permit #2, (National Pollution Discharge Elimination) and therefore it impacts almost every project (public and private) that involves moving dirt. The process causes time delays in construction. The bill will streamline this process by adjusting the notice provisions.

    Manure Management Plan:    Due to the space requirements certain manure management plans that are to be sent to counties shall under the bill be done so electronically to address storage issues.

  Notice related to Levee and Drainage Districts and Improvements: Addresses Levee and Drainage Districts and Improvements. Under Iowa Code, the first section requires the auditor to give notice to the owner of each tract of land or lot within the proposed district and any others who might be interested. The next section requires publication with a copy sent by “ordinary mail to each person and to the clerk or recorder of each city names in the notice.” This publication is voluminous, since it includes the engineers report. The change would allow the publication of the notice of the hearing.