KRS 151.611: Stream Restoration and Mitigation Authorities -- Powers -- Limitation on

authority -- Legislative preferences on funding uses.

(1) A Stream Restoration and Mitigation Authority may be established for any HUC 10

watershed in the Commonwealth. Ea ch authority formed under this section shall be

a public body corporate and politic with the authority to:

(a) Sue and be sued;

(b) Enter into contracts with public and private individuals and corporations and

engage in cooperative agreements with federal, state, and local governments

or agencies, utilities, special districts, and nonprofit organizations for the

performance of its duties and functions under KRS 151.610 to 151.615;

(c) Employ personnel as needed, as its fiscal resources may allow, and use th e

services of volunteers individually or through agreement with governmental

agencies, nonprofit organizations, or foundations;

(d) Receive and expend funds from any source, including but not limited to

private donations, charitable contributions, public g rants, 404 In -lieu Fee

Program, and appropriations from the General Assembly; and

(e) Acquire, sell, and hold real interests in property.

(2) Nothing in KRS 151.610 to 151.615 shall be construed to empower or authorize an

authority established under KRS 15 1.610 to 151.615 to exercise regulatory powers

with respect to water resources or water quality. An authority established under

KRS 151.610 to 151.615 shall not be vested with the power of eminent domain.

(3) It is the preference of the General Assembly th at funds contributed by a permittee

under a Section 404 Permit into an in -lieu fund for a project designed for stream

restoration and mitigation be utilized within the watershed where the adverse effects

occur. The General Assembly recognizes that conserva tion and protection of the

water resources of the Commonwealth, including streams, rivers, wetlands, and

riparian habitats, may involve, in addition to restoration and enhancement of aquatic

and riparian habitat, proper management of wastewater and stormwa ter, and

abatement of pre -existing sources of pollution. Where an authority has been

qualified by the USACE to manage an in -lieu fee or other compensatory mitigation

arrangement that is approved after July 15, 2008, under Section 404, and to the

extent that the USACE and the Mitigation Review Team has approved the use of

such funds for elimination of pre -existing sources of pollution, the authority may

expend a portion of the funds for those purposes, provided that the:

(a) Funds spent on water quality impr ovements are a component of a stream or

wetland restoration plan for replacement of aquatic resource functions and

values;

(b) Project has been reviewed and approved by the USACE and the Division of

Water as being consistent with Sections 404 and 401 of th e Clean Water Act;

and

(c) In-lieu fees shall be available statewide, to all one hundred twenty (120)

counties, subject to federal and state regulatory requirements.

(4) Nothing in KRS 151.610 to 151.615 shall preclude the authority, when acting as an

approved qualified organization managing an in-lieu fee arrangement approved after

July 15, 2008, from combining funding from other sources with in-lieu fees in order

to achieve efficiencies in stream restoration or mitigation.