FEMA’s National Dam Safety Program (NDSP) is excited to announce the release of “Dam Safety with Beaverly," a children’s coloring book. This coloring book was created to help children, or young students, learn more about dams and safety around them.
This coloring book follows Beaverly the beaver, who provides information about dams, what they are used for, the hazards surrounding them and how to stay safe near them. It also includes several pages for coloring and two activity sheets that will help children learn about dams.
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For more information on dam safety visit the FEMA National Dam Safety Program site.
Note: Article is adapted from a FEMA release.
Hear Ye, Hear Ye - Read all about It!
Join Project WET at the Minnesota State Fair as we celebrate Water Day 2022!
Learn about Project WET (Water Education Today), the new National Loon Center, try your hand at the Wheel of Fish, learn about freshwater mussels of Minnesota, and discover where our groundwater comes from… plus MORE!
And don’t forget to cast a line with our amazing angling partners! Learn how the DNR and its partner groups share common goals of providing valuable resources to Minnesotans as we protect our fresh waters and share opportunities to learn about and enjoy one of Minnesota’s most valuable resources……WATER!
Hope to see you there August 31 from 9 AM to 3 PM at the Minnesota DNR building!
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New Minnesota Floodplain Management Office Hours
Talk with FEMA and DNR Floodplain program representatives during monthly virtual Minnesota Floodplain Management Office Hours. Hours will be 10-11 am, typically on the fourth Thursday of the month (but a few are adjusted).
Contact floodplain.dnr@state.mn.us (link sends email) to request office hour meeting invites, or use the virtual office hour links below.
Upcoming monthly hours (Note: all are 10 - 11 am central time)
If there is enough interest, these hours may be expanded.
Ongoing FEMA Flood Insurance Office Hours
Do you have questions about flood insurance? Need help understanding coverages, premiums, underwriting or anything else? FEMA Region 5's Flood Insurance Liaison announces monthly Virtual Flood Insurance office hours. If you have a question about flood insurance, FEMA staff will be available the last Friday of every month to help you out. To protect your privacy, breakout rooms will be available to speak one-on-one with an insurance expert.
Topic: FEMA Region 5 Flood Insurance Office Hours
When: The last Friday of the month, 10 – 11 am central time
Where: Zoom. No registration is required. Office hours are on a first come, first served basis. Drop in here.
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Are you interested in joining the Floodplain Mapping Program within the DNR Division of Ecological and Water Resources? The program is looking to fill a vacant Hydrologist 2 position.
The position will be part of a dedicated team that works with FEMA to create and update quality floodplain models and maps that help Minnesotans understand flood risk. Job duties will include a mix of GIS tasks, H&H modeling, and database management, in addition to outreach to local communities during the mapping update process.
To apply, go to https://mn.gov/mmb/careers/ and search for “Floodplain Hydrologist” or Job ID 58232.
Closing date is September 8, 2022.
By Kathy Metzker, DNR Land Use Hydrologist
In January 2022, the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board (EQB) launched a pilot program to evaluate questions intended to assess expected climate change impacts both on and from proposed projects subject to environmental review. To do this, EQB developed a draft environmental assessment worksheet (EAW) that includes additional questions exploring various aspects of climate change and projects’ expected impact on climate change, including:
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- Expected climate trends in the project area, and their anticipated impacts on the project;
- Project adaptations, including green infrastructure, which would lessen these impacts; and
- Estimates of the greenhouse gas emissions/carbon footprint of the proposed project.
The goal of the pilot project is to obtain feedback from Responsible Governmental Units (RGUs), project proposers, technical consultants, and the public on the proposed changes. In December of 2022, EQB will use this feedback to inform its decisions regarding the revised EAW and approve changes to it.
There is still time for RGUs to participate in the pilot program. Visit EQB’s website (Climate Change and Environmental Review - Pilot Program | Minnesota Environmental Quality Board (state.mn.us) for further information on the program, and to sign up.
Application period opens in September
Attend FEMA webinars to learn what's eligible
Interested in millions of dollars of available Hazard Mitigation funding? Attend FEMA's upcoming webinars to see if your project is eligible.
- Sept. 1, 2022, 1:00 - 2:30 pm CT: BRIC/FMA Notice of Funding Opportunity
- Sept. 15, 2022, 3:00 - 4:30 pm CT: BRIC/FMA Notice of Funding Opportunity: Tribal (Content tailored to tribal applicants.)
- Sept. 22, 2022, 1:00 - 2:30 pm CT: BFIC FY 2022 Notice of Funding Opportunity Technical and Qualitative Criteria
To register for the educational webinars listed above (and others), see links at Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Summer 2022 Engagement Series. You can also see more details on the grant programs, eligibility, this year’s federal priorities.
The Minnesota Association of Floodplain Manger's (MnAFPM) annual conference will be Nov. 2-3, 2022 in Duluth. The theme is "A Superior Approach: 20 years of Evolving Floodplain Management."
You won't want to miss all the great presentations, workshops and opportunities to learn from each other, so register now!
- Nov. 2, 2022: workshops and tour
- Nov. 3, 2022: conference
The 2022 conference program is available.
See MnAFPM website to register and see more details.
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Some of you may have noticed some changes in our Training and Education pages. We now have the Shoreland and Floodplain Education Center with separate pages for Floodplain Training and Education, Shoreland Training and Education, and the Water Talk newsletter.
The Floodplain Training page now has information about:
- New monthly Floodplain Management FEMA/DNR office hours
- Recording of virtual one hour trainings
- The Minnesota Association of Floodplain Managers (MnAFPM) site
- Links to the FEMA Region 5 virtual trainings (see next article)
- FEMA's Flood Insurance monthly office hours
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FEMA Region 5 staff (based in Chicago, IL) are continuing their monthly one hour virtual training series. They are FREE!
It's not too late to register for many training topics!
Upcoming "Managing your Community's Floodplain" monthly series dates and topics:
Note: All held 9-10 am Central Time.
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Topic #8 August 31, 2022: Coastal Resilience and Floodplain Management; Registration Link
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Topic #9 September 28, 2022: Resolving Potential Violations; Registration Link
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Topic #10 October 26, 2022: Higher Standards; Registration Link
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Topic #11 November 30, 2022: Basement Flooding Mitigation; Registration Link
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Topic #12 December 14, 2022: No Adverse Impact; Registration Link
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Important Dates to Note:
(since July 2022 Water Talk and upcoming in next couple months)
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Preliminary Maps:
- July 14, 2022 - Le Sueur County
- Aug. 26, 2022 - Pipestone and Rock Counties
- Aug. 31, 2022 (may be September 2022) - St. Louis County
- September 2022: Dodge, Morrison and Wabasha Counties
- October 2022: Chippewa County
Local Officials Meetings & Open Houses
- Le Sueur County - Local Official Meeting & Public Open House - Sept. 21, 2022
- Waseca County:
- Local Official Meeting - Aug. 31, 2022 (virtual)
- Public Open House - Sept. 7, 2022 (virtual)
90-Day Appeal Periods
- Carlton County - 6/24 to 9/22/2022
- Lincoln County - 7/20 to 10/18/2022
- Watonwan County - 7/8 to 10/6/2022; 8/12 to 11/9/2022 for City of Madelia
Letters of Final Determination (LFDs)
Effective (6 months after LFD date)
- Lyon County (levee panels) - Sept. 15, 2022
- Nicollet County - Oct. 13, 2022
- Lake of the Woods County - Oct. 27, 2022
- Koochiching County - Nov. 17, 2022
- Pennington County - Dec. 1, 2022
Additional Map Update Information:
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Our DNR Land Use Unit staff have many great photos highlighting plantings for pollinators, shoreline restorations and other examples of land management we are working with our local partners to encourage. We will start sharing a couple in each Water Talk newsletter.
Loon at home on a Minnesota Lake
Such a great site to see our state bird (the loon) on a Minnesota lake while enjoying a nice summer day!
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The latest hot restaurant for flock of monarchs
These monarch butterflies were visiting meadow blazing star plants that were just planted last fall. In spite of being only ten feet from a residential street, the monarchs has been regular visitors since the flowers started blooming. Five monarchs in one cluster were caught in this photo, and up to a dozen have been visiting at once!
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