House passes moratorium on creating permit for ditch mowing, haying

The commissioner of transportation would be prohibited from requiring or issuing permits to mow or bale hay in ditches within MnDOT right-of-way under legislation OK’d Tuesday on the House Floor.

House lawmakers passed HF124/SF218*, sponsored by Rep. Chris Swedzinski (R-Ghent) and Rep. Gary Dahms (R-Redwood Falls), by a 106-23 vote. It would place a moratorium on MnDOT from enacting any new permitting process on ditch mowing, common in rural areas of the state, until March 30, 2018.

As amended, the bill will return to the Senate where it was passed 47-20 March 2.

Rep. Chris Swedzinski

MnDOT was to move ahead with a plan this year to require permits of farmers and other rural landowners who routinely mow ditches along highways adjacent to their land, often to make hay or livestock feed and sometimes to sell.

“Those of us in farm country, I think we got more emails on this than anything else,” said Rep. Paul Anderson (R-Starbuck).

The proposed legislation would also require MnDOT to report back to the Legislature no later than March 1, 2018, with a plan to establish a permitting process. Swedzinski said the bill would not change current state rules governing the mowing of ditches, including a prohibition on doing so before Aug. 1, 2017.

WATCH Tuesday's House Floor session 

Opponents of the department’s permitting plan say farmers have been mowing MnDOT-controlled ditches for years with little interference and are helping to maintain highway ditches.

Critics of the practice have said it makes sense for MnDOT to manage its rights-of-way in a way that benefits the state as a whole, not just the landowners. Rep. Rick Hansen (DFL-South St. Paul) said vegetation in roadside ditches often “provides habitat for bees, butterflies, birds” and other wildlife.

“I think often during this discussion we don’t discuss that we’re talking about public property being used for private purposes,” he said.