Sec. 8707.
(1) The director, in conjunction with Michigan State University Extension and Michigan State University AgBioResearch, and in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, the department of environmental quality, and other professional and industry organizations, shall develop conservation practices for approval by the commission of agriculture and rural development and upon approval shall promote their implementation.
(2) The director, in conjunction with Michigan State University, the department of environmental quality, and other persons the director considers appropriate, shall develop protocols for voluntary on-site evaluations. The on-site evaluations shall be designed to do all of the following:
(a) Provide farmers with the ability to voluntarily determine the relative risk of current practices in relation to sources of contamination.
(b) Provide farmers with the ability to determine the degree to which farm operations are in accord with MAEAP standards and applicable law.
(c) Prioritize operational changes on farms to protect groundwater and surface waters from sources of contamination.
(d) Guide farmers to appropriate technical and educational materials.
(e) Provide farmers with the opportunity for verification.
(f) Provide landowners with the ability to voluntarily assess the value of managing areas of the land that are not utilized for traditional or production agriculture practices for environmental, ecological, and economic benefits.
(3) The director, in conjunction with the council, shall review and evaluate the effectiveness of conservation practices approved under subsection (1).
History: 1994, Act 451, Eff. Mar. 30, 1995 ;-- Am. 2000, Act 100, Imd. Eff. May 19, 2000 ;-- Am. 2011, Act 2, Imd. Eff. Mar. 9, 2011 ;-- Am. 2013, Act 46, Imd. Eff. June 6, 2013 ;-- Am. 2015, Act 118, Eff. Oct. 1, 2015
Popular Name: Act 451
Popular Name: NREPA