The Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources has selected 88 funding proposals for presentations of 181 received for 2017. The commission expects to have about $50 million available for funding, far less than the $142 million requested in all proposals and $86 million for those making the first cut.

In addition, $8.4 million remains available for 2016-17 due to Gov. Mark Dayton’s vetoes this past session. The commission is giving the seven projects vetoed a chance to present their proposals for 2017 funding, along with 10 proposals that the commission recommended for 2016 funding but the Minnesota Legislature cut.

The Legislature also extended the proposal deadline to June 26 for those seeking more than $750,000, so there may be additional submissions.

• Related story in the StarTribune: Political feud disrupts Minnesota outdoors and environment commission

The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources recently awarded nearly $8.2 million in Clean Water Fund grants for targeted conservation work in six watersheds. The program addresses water pollution by focusing funding where watershed actions needed for water quality improvement are known and can be achieved in a four-year period.

This year’s recipients:

• Buffalo Red Watershed District, $2.8 million toward reducing sediment in the Wolverton Creek watershed through best management practices (BMPs), buffers, and channel stabilization.
• Capitol Region Watershed District, $1.76 million toward reducing phosphorus in Como Lake and Lake McCarrons through BMPs and clean streets initiative.
• East Polk Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), $790,240 toward BMPs such as water and sediment control basins to reduce sediment in the Sand Hill River watershed.
• Fillmore and Root River SWCDs, $493,233 toward conservation practices to reduce sediment and phosphorus in the Root River watershed.
• Pelican River Watershed District, $1.5 million for a wetland restoration project to reduce phosphorus loading in the Detroit Lake watershed.
• Shell Rock River Watershed District, $825,610 toward grassed waterways, streambank and wetland restoration to reduce phosphorus in Pickerel Lake.
  

A new Minnesota law aims to help communities and industries save money on long-term wastewater treatment while reducing nutrient pollutants in lakes and rivers beyond what’s required.

“Cities have expressed a lot of frustration over spending money on new facilities to comply with new standards, and then having to do more – at a higher cost – a few years down the road when more standards become law. We worked with many stakeholders and legislators to develop what’s called regulatory certainty to provide some assurance for their planning and investments. We see this as a win-win for our waters and for our cities,” said Rebecca Flood, assistant commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA).

Regulatory certainty allows the MPCA to hold the line on nutrient limits in discharge permits for up 20 years in exchange for communities and industries agreeing to lower nutrients even more than current standards. Minnesota has water quality standards for phosphorus and is working on standards for nitrogen. Both these nutrients can cause algal blooms harmful to aquatic life and recreation (photo above). Nitrogen can also be toxic to fish and other aquatic life, as well as harmful to humans in drinking water.

This approach takes the uncertainty out of planning for facilities needing to upgrade or build systems to comply with phosphorus limits. By incorporating nitrogen removal too, they can avoid higher costs to comply with new standards in 5-10 years.

Regulatory certainty also allows Minnesota to start reducing nitrogen discharged by wastewater treatment facilities ahead of adopting a standard. Minnesota finalized a statewide Nutrient Reduction Strategy in 2014 that calls for a 45% reduction in nutrients in the Mississippi River Basin by 2040 to protect downstream waters all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.  For phosphorus, that’s a reduction from 4,600 tons per year to 2,500 tons, and for nitrogen, 91,000 tons a year to 50,000 tons. This strategy includes an interim reduction goal for the Mississippi River of 20% by 2025.

Instead of waiting for the nitrogen standard to be developed and mandated, the regulatory certainty approach helps Minnesota take action now to protect lakes and rivers here as well as downstream.

 For more information, contact Joel Peck, municipal liaison for the MPCA, at 651-757-2202 or joel.peck@state.mn.us.

According to recent Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) reports, some lakes and streams in the Sand Hill River watershed are polluted with excess nutrients including phosphorus, bacteria, sediment that causes cloudiness in the water, and low dissolved oxygen. In some areas, the pollution is severe enough to be harmful to aquatic insects and fish.

The Sand Hill River watershed drains 395,249 acres in northwestern Minnesota. The watershed includes portions of Polk, Norman and Mahnomen counties.

The MPCA is seeking comments on two reports on the Sand Hill River Watershed. The first report, known as a Total Maximum Daily Load or TMDL, establishes the maximum amount of each pollutant that a water body can accept and still meet water quality standards. The second, known as a Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy or WRAPS, summarizes past efforts to monitor and assess water quality, and identifies future strategies for restoring and protecting water quality in the watershed.

Because 85% of the watershed acreage is used for agriculture, many farming activities are the sources of pollution and changes in practices are needed to restore water quality. Extensive drainage has changed the watershed’s hydrology, including contributing to flooding that leads to stream and ditchbank erosion. Runoff also carries pollutants to lakes and streams in the watershed.

Strategies to restore waters include holding back water to prevent runoff and flooding, buffers along ditches, better managing fertilizer and manure, fixing septic systems, and keeping livestock out of streams.

For more information or to submit comments, contact Cary Hernandez, MPCA, 714 Lake Avenue, Suite 220, Detroit Lakes, MN 56501, or cary.hernandez@state.mn.us. Comments, which must be in writing, must be received by 4:30 p.m. on June 29.

Comments on the WRAPS report or TMDL study must include: a statement of your interest in the WRAPS report or TMDL study; a statement of the action you wish the MPCA to take, including specific references to sections of the WRAPS report or TMDL study that you believe should be changed; and specific reasons supporting your position.

The MPCA and local partners have developed a plan to restore and protect water quality from high bacteria levels in the Redeye River watershed in central and west-central Minnesota. The Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) report for the watershed is open for public review and comment through July 20.

The Redeye River watershed includes all or parts of Becker, Otter Tail, Todd and Wadena counties, and most of the land is used for agriculture.

Following extensive monitoring and analysis, a TMDL report quantifies pollutant levels, identifies sources of pollution, and proposes ways to bring water quality back to acceptable levels. These reports are being completed under the MPCA’s watershed approach, a holistic way of gauging the health of streams, rivers and lakes, and developing strategies to restore and protect water quality.

In the Redeye River watershed, the two main pollutant sources identified were fertilizer and manure runoff as well as livestock in riparian areas. Failing septic systems were identified as a minor pollutant source to this river and its tributaries. No reductions are needed from wastewater treatment facilities because their discharges are at or below the water quality standard.

Reducing bacteria in streams will require strategies such as controlling access of livestock to streams, increasing riparian buffers, reviewing manure management plans, and inspecting on-site sewer systems for compliance. Recommendations will be more detailed in a Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies document being developed by the MPCA and local partners.

Comments on the TMDL, which must be in writing, may be submitted to Bonnie Finnerty, MPCA, 7678 College Road, Baxter, MN, 56425, or by e-mail to bonnie.finnerty@state.mn.us, by 4:30 p.m. on July 20. For more information, contact her at 218-316-3897, or toll-free at 800-657-3864.

Comments on the TMDL study must include: a statement of your interest in the WRAPS report or TMDL study; a statement of the action you wish the MPCA to take, including specific references to sections of the WRAPS report or TMDL study that you believe should be changed; and specific reasons supporting your position.

Gov. Mark Dayton and Land O’Lakes, Inc. President and CEO Chris Policinski, announced a new public-private partnership to protect and improve water quality across Minnesota. This is the first of its kind in the nation, partnering the state with Land O’ Lakes and local farmers across Minnesota to improve water quality stewardship standards on their farms.

Land O’ Lakes will work to expand participation in the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program through their ag retail network across Minnesota. With 2015 annual sales of $13 billion, Land O'Lakes is one of the nation's largest cooperatives.

The Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program is a voluntary program for farmers and landowners to take the lead in implementing conservation practices that protect and improve the state’s water resources.

Since its inception in 2014, the program has certified more than 150 farms totaling more than 83,000 acres. Together, the program keeps over 6.5 million pounds of sediment out of our rivers, while saving nearly 9 million pounds of soil and 4,500 pounds of phosphorus on farms, each year.

Read the full story and watch the video of the press conference.

Photo above: Land O' Lakes CEO Chris Policinski (left) and Gov. Mark Dayton shake hands after signing the agreement.

Spicer's Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center will host the opening of Water/Ways, a traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program. The exhibit will run June 25, with a grand opening at 9:30 a.m., through Aug. 7 in Spicer.

Water/Ways reveals the central nature of water on our lives by exploring how Americans use water, how water unites communities, how water affects every element of life, and how Americans care for our water and protect this valuable resource.

In addition to the exhibit at Prairie Woods, local sponsors have been organizing related activities: June 29-Kandiyohi County Historical Bus Tour; July 2-Okee Dokee Brothers concert at PWELC; and special programs with expert speakers planned for Thursdays.

The exhibit will also be localized and presented at:

• Nicollet County Historical Society (St. Peter), Aug. 13 – Sept. 25, 2016
• Goodhue County Historical Society (Red Wing), Oct. 1 – Nov. 13, 2016
• Audubon Center of the North Woods (Sandstone), Nov. 19, 2016 – Jan. 1, 2017
• Lanesboro Arts (Lanesboro),  Jan. 7 – Feb. 19, 2017
• Becker County Historical Society (Detroit Lakes), Feb. 25 – April 9, 2017

Each local host community will use the national water story in the Smithsonian exhibition as jumping off point to tell local water stories: the history; sacredness to Minnesota’s first people, the Dakota and Ojibwe; the land changes over time; the current stresses on water – and most importantly, the future story they are part of creating.

In Minnesota, the project is led by the Minnesota Humanities Center, in partnership with MPCA, Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota DNR, Minnesota Historical Society, and the American Water Works Association in Minnesota.

For more information about exhibit host sites, tour dates, and community activities, visit mnhum.org/waterways.

And the winner is…Liberty Paper, Inc. … and the city of Becker wastewater treatment facility … and lakes and streams in the Becker area … and waters downstream. The Central States Water Environment Assoc. recently named Liberty Paper its 2016 Industrial Achievement Award winner for the company’s proactive efforts to reduce environmental impacts relating to industrial wastewater. The MPCA recently featured the efforts in its online Above and Beyond series.

Liberty Paper has been recycling old corrugated containers into new paper for packaging in Becker, Minn., since 1995. As the company grew and increased its operation, it became apparent that it could no longer meet effluent limits in the wastewater being discharged to the Becker municipal wastewater treatment facility. After nearly two years of trucking excess wastewater to the Met Council wastewater facility in St. Paul to avoid violations in Becker, the company knew it needed to find a better solution. Working in partnership with the city of Becker, Liberty Paper built an effluent treatment plant at its mill, designed to reduce carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand, or CBOD, by 80% or more. CBOD measures how much oxygen is depleted by organisms in water – the more pollution, the more oxygen used in its breakdown.

 The company’s $12 million treatment plant has been fully operating since 2013, and currently reduces CBOD by nearly 98%. No more trucking wastewater to St. Paul. No more worrying about how to meet limits at the Becker wastewater facility. And no more threat to the environment. Liberty Paper won the award, but the company knows it is not the only winner here.

Photo above: Liberty Paper employees, Tom Murphy, at left, and Jesse Moore in front of the company’s award-winning effluent treatment plant.