Technical Service Areas | MN Board of Water, Soil Resources

Background
Organizational Structure
Roles and responsibilities
Funding
Records Retention
Website Reporting Requirements
Appendix A: Technical Service Area Board Member Position Description

Background

Technical Service Areas (TSA) are a critical component of the conservation delivery system in Minnesota. TSAs provide technical assistance to and through member soil and water conservation districts (SWCD), in cooperation with BWSR and other local, state, and federal government units. These services are considered essential to the success of private lands conservation programs administered by BWSR and other state and federal agencies.

Eleven SWCD joint powers organizations¹ (JPOs) were established in 1994. This was done in conjunction with the establishment of the Agricultural Best Management Practices Loan Program and Clean Water Partnership Loan Program from the State Revolving Fund. SWCDs identified that accelerated technical assistance was a critical need for program implementation. The legislature appropriated General Funds to BWSR to create the Non-Point Engineering Assistance Program (NPEAP). These funds were used by the TSAs to provide engineering assistance to the member SWCDs.

Engineering was the sole focus of the program until 2003, when the Conservation Technical Assistance Committee (CTAC), comprised of SWCD representatives from the eleven JPOs, met to discuss potential consolidation (which didn’t occur at that time) and recommended revising the name to Technical Service Areas (TSA) to encourage the inclusion of other technical services. In 2009, the original eleven TSA boundaries were revised to reduce the total number to eight TSAs due primarily to funding constraints and to be co-aligned with the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts area boundaries (see map).

Organizational Structure

Board

Pursuant to (Minn. STAT. 103C.231 (2017), a SWCD may join or cooperate by agreement as provided in MINN. STAT. 471.59 (2017) with another SWCD in an operation or project in which the SWCDs have a common interest. All TSAs operate under a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA), which establishes a Joint Powers Entity (JPE). This type of agreement delivers a service or product or manage or own property jointly by creating a new entity. The TSA board operates autonomously from the boards of its constituent members). Each member appoints a representative to serve on the TSA board. Members are primarily SWCDs, however the metro area also has county members where SWCDs do not exist.

Host District Manager and Fiscal Agent

One member SWCD serves as the host district manager, and in most cases, also serves as the fiscal agent for the grants received from BWSR. In a few cases, one member SWCD is the host district manager and another SWCD is the fiscal agent.

Employees/Independent Contractors

All of the TSAs have employees, except TSA 4 where technical assistance is provided by independent contractors or in-house SWCD staff. All the TSAs boards are the employers, except TSA 2 where several TSA member SWCDs employ the staff. Staff may be located at various locations within the TSA boundary.

See Employees Chapter [hyperlink] for more information about employees. Personnel policy [hyperlink].

Roles and Responsibilities

Board and Board Members

The role of the TSA board ranges from approving grants and budgets to approving work plans. Each TSA board operates according to its bylaws. For board member responsibilities, see example position description in Appendix A.

Host District Manager

The role of the host district manager is to serve as the primary contact between BWSR and the TSA, as well as, between the partner SWCDs.