The Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council decided at its Sept. 29 meeting to
recommend $103.3 million in funding for 34
proposals to the 2017 Minnesota Legislature. The council makes annual recommendations to
the legislature on appropriations from the Outdoor Heritage Council, which is
funded by the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment.
With the Minnesota
Dept. of Natural Resources receiving $150,000 each for restoration evaluations
and contract management, along with $571,000 for the council’s administrative
budget, the funding recommendations total $104.1 million.
The council received a
total of 44 requests totaling more than $317 million in funding for 2017-18,
far exceeding the $100 million expected to be available for projects.
Proposals making the final cut range from
$600,000 for the Wild Rice Watershed District’s Goose Prairie Marsh Enhancement Project in Clay County to nearly $10.4 million to
continue the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources program, Reinvest in
Minnesota (RIM), to restore wetlands.
Visit the Minnesota’s
Legacy website for more information about environmental funding in
Minnesota.
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The Clean
Water Partnership Loan Program recently awarded $3.45 million in
low-interest loans to four local partners to reduce pollution by upgrading
subsurface sewer treatment systems (SSTS) and implementing best management practices
(BMPs) in their watersheds.
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Pine
County received $600,000 to provide low-interest loans to implement 20
SSTS upgrades each year for three years in Pine County, resulting in bacteria
load reductions and estimated annual reductions of 50 pounds of phosphorus and 200 pounds of nitrogen.
- The Lac qui
Parle-Yellow Bank Watershed District received $500,000 to fund low-interest
loans to implement up to 45 SSTS upgrades in Lac qui Parle County, resulting in
estimated annual reductions of 210 pounds of phosphorus, 14 tons suspended
solids, 5,060 pounds of biological oxygen demand, and 675 pounds of nitrogen.
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The Crow River Organization
of Water (CROW) received $1.35 million to fund low- interest loans to
implement 115 SSTS upgrades, resulting in an estimated annual reduction of 339
pounds of phosphorus, 7,566 tons of sediment, 13,696 pounds biochemical oxygen
demand, and 834 pounds of nitrogen.
- The Cedar
River Watershed District received $1 million for its capital improvement project.
This project will assist in implementing 25 fixed structures, which will be
designed to trap, treat and store rain events as a means of reducing sediment,
phosphorus and to a lower extent nitrate delivery to the Cedar River and its
tributaries. This project will result in an estimated annual reduction of 112
pounds of phosphorus, 112 tons of sediment, and 15 pounds of nitrogen.
The Clean Water Partnership program continues to accept
applications from local governmental units interested in loan funding to lead a
nonpoint source pollution control project for protection or restoration of
Minnesota water bodies. Applications can be made at any time, and more
than $5 million of low-interest loan funding is available.
The Clean Water Partnership Loan Program Request for
Proposals can be found on the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)
website. The application and related information will be accepted
through an email address listed in the RFP.
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Fish and other aquatic life are
faring well in most trout streams in the Zumbro River watershed, but there are
water quality issues to work on throughout this area in southeast Minnesota,
according to an MPCA study.
The agency recently posted a stressor identification report for streams in the watershed on the following problems for fish and other aquatic life:
- Habitat
- Total suspended solids (TSS)
- Nitrate
- Temperature
- Dissolved oxygen and eutrophication
- Flow alteration and connectivity
The most common stressor was lack of
habitat, with sediment clouding the water (as measured by Total Suspended
Solids) a closely related problem. High nitrate levels, which can be toxic to
fish and bugs, were also common throughout the watershed, along with changes to
the way water flows and obstacles to fish migration. In a few stream sites, high
water temperatures and low dissolved oxygen levels were stressing aquatic life.
The Zumbro watershed spans 1,422 square miles in Rice, Steele, Goodhue, Dodge,
Olmsted, Wabasha and Mower counties. It flows northeasterly and joins the
Mississippi River near Kellogg. This watershed is home to the growing city of
Rochester and the famous Mayo Clinic.
The
MPCA considers streams to be biologically impaired when they support less
diversity and fewer numbers of fish and bugs than they should. In the
Zumbro watershed, the agency identified a total of 28 streams as impaired for
biology. Of those, there were 21 streams with macroinvertebrate or bug
impairments, 4 with fish impairments, and 3 with both fish and bug impairments.
The conditions stressing aquatic
life are largely
tied to land use activities in the watershed. Some sediment issues are related
to poor riparian area management, while others are more systemic. Watersheds
that have a high degree of human alterations seem most at risk for not only
habitat and suspended sediment, but nitrate issues as well. Overall, the
stressors will need to be addressed in various ways depending on the location
in the watershed.
For
the Zumbro River and its tributaries, three high priority strategies to improve
fish and bug conditions are:
- Focus
on reducing sediment eroding from areas along streams, such as cattle pastures,
and directly from streambanks. Erosion from streambanks often occurs because of
increased flows from cropland drainage and more frequent storms.
- Re-establish
high-quality habitat along streams, planting native vegetation such as trees
and tall plans to hold soil in place and reduce erosion; shade the water and
help keep the water cooler; and increase woody debris used by fish and bugs for
many purposes.
- Plant
cover crops, better manage nutrients from fertilizer and manure, and implement
other practices to reduce nitrate levels.
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently approved
the following Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) reports:
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Twelve
Mile Creek dissolved oxygen impairment. Increasing dissolved oxygen levels in
this tributary to the North Fork Crow River in central Minnesota will require
reducing the nutrient load from its headwater, Little Waverly Lake, and concentrating
flow through wetlands areas of the creek. Managing manure better, reducing
erosion, and better controlling phosphorus in the lake bottom are ways to
reduce the nutrients coming from Little Waverly Lake. Increasing the flow will
require engineering low-flow channels through the wetlands.
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Coon
Creek Watershed District. Several streams in in this metro watershed are
impaired for aquatic life and high levels of E. coli bacteria. Stream bank
erosion and stormwater runoff are having a negative effect on the watershed’s
water quality. Urban development and agricultural activities in the watershed
have resulted in runoff that carries excess phosphorus, sediment, and bacteria
into bodies of water. Restoration strategies include installing buffers of
plants along shoreland, stabilizing stream banks, and implementing
stormwater-controls.
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The upcoming Mississippi River
Forums will focus on the updated “State of River,” a report on the health
of this mighty river. At the Nov. 4 and Dec. 9 forums, Lark Weller of the
National Park Service and Trevor Russell of the Friends of the Mississippi will
talk about the important trends and emerging issues impacting the health
of the river, as well as potential solutions.
The forums will
be held 8-9:30 a.m. Nov. 4 at the St. Cloud city council chambers and Dec. 9 at
the McKnight Foundation in Minneapolis. There is no fee to attend but an RSVP
to Lark Weller at the National Park
Service is requested.
MPCA’s fall Watershed Network for
the Minnesota and Crow rivers will meet Thursday, Nov. 10 at the Pizza Ranch in
Mankato. Topics being planned include:
- A One Watershed, One Plan governance
strategy: Tim Gieseke, Ag Resource Strategies
- Panel: Water quality professional
emeritus’ perspectives: Bob Finley (MPCA) and Chris Hughes (BWSR)
- “A day in the life’ of independent
crop consultants”: Steve Sodeman
- Updates: Minnesota River Congress,
Smithsonian Water/Ways, Governor’s Year of Water Action initiative
At the previous 14 meetings partners have enjoyed a wide variety
of interesting and informative topics. As always, the events provide a
great opportunity to network and meet informally with water quality
colleagues. If you have ideas for topics please contact Forrest Peterson, MPCA
public information officer, at 320-441-6972 or forrest.peterson@state.mn.us.
Following six regional
meetings in August and September, the 7th Minnesota River Congress will take
place Thursday, Nov. 17 at the Kato Ballroom, 200 Chestnut St., Mankato. Doors open
at 4:30 p.m. with a networking fair. A meal will be served at 6:15 p.m. At 7
p.m. Scott Tedrick will give a presentation on the Granite Falls whitewater
park plan, followed by the Congress business meeting at 7:30 p.m. The agenda
includes the presentation of the policy collection process to date, receiving
any new policy submissions, discussion for each policy and potential
modification considerations, and vote to prioritize the top four or five or
incorporation into a public policy statement. At 8:45 p.m. there will be
Interest Network Team reports and updates. The congress will adjourn at 9:15
p.m. For more information contact Scott Sparlin at 507-276-2280 or sesparlin@gmail.com.
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