The Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources recently selected 65 projects totaling $45.3 million for recommendation to the 2018 Legislature for funding from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. This fund derives from lottery proceeds and investment income. The commission whittled down the original list of 217 proposals totaling $183 million to the 65 recommended through a multi-step competitive process.

If approved by the Minnesota Legislature and Gov. Mark Dayton, the funded projects would begin in July 2018.

The projects range from $30,000 for the “Get Outdoors After School” initiative to connect underprivileged youth to the outdoors, up to $3.25 million for the DNR’s Scientific and Natural Areas that preserve natural features and rare resources of exceptional scientific and educational value.

Among the recommend projects is one led by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA): $700,000 for a Wastewater Treatment Plant Optimization Pilot Program,” an effort to improve existing processes for removing nutrient pollutants to meet water quality standards without adding substantial new infrastructure.

The Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council recently decided to recommend $107.2 million in funding for 45 proposals to the 2018 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.

The council received a total of 52 requests totaling more than $338 million in funding for 2018-19, far exceeding the $100 million expected to be available for projects.

Proposals making the final cut range from $539,000 for the Lake George Dam and Rum River Erosion project, a proposal from Anoka County Parks to replace the dam and repair two severe erosion sites, up to nearly $10 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.

The MPCA will be awarding nearly $2.8 million in grants to 10 projects under the federal Clean Water Act Section 319 program. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded the funds in the 2017 federal fiscal year to address nonpoint source pollution, which derives from many indirect sources such as runoff. Project sponsors must match the grants by at least 40% of total costs, bringing the total investment to nearly $4.8 million.

Addressing runoff from both agricultural and stormwater sources, the projects plan to reduce nutrient, bacterial, and sediment runoff from nonpoint sources. Selected from a pool of 21 eligible applicants, the projects are:

• Carnelian Marine Stormwater Phase 2, Carnelian-Marine-St. Croix Watershed District, $92,588
• Goose Lake Total Maximum Daily Load Final Implementation, Carnelian-Marine-St. Croix Watershed District, $76,000
• Hawk Creek Watershed Improvement Project, Hawk Creek Watershed Project, $397,000
• Lake Osakis Minor Watershed Nutrient Reduction, Todd County Soil and Water Conservation District, $300,000
• Lower Sand Creek Corridor Restoration, Coon Creek Watershed District, $269,563
• Lower St. Croix Targeted Phosphorus Reduction, Washington Conservation District, $300,000
• Mankato Watershed-Renville County Improvement, Hawk Creek Watershed Project, $297,000
• National Water Quality Initiative Seven Mile Creek, Gustavus Adolphus College, $475,524
• Reducing Bacteria Runoff from Southeast Minnesota Feedlots, Southeastern Minnesota Water Resources Board, $336,000
• Whitewater Watershed Nitrogen Reduction, Whitewater Joint Powers Board, $232,825

Learn more about the program on the MPCA’s Section 319 webpage.

Decades before water quality concerns led to environmental protection laws, maritime and industrial activities left a legacy of contaminated sediment throughout the Duluth-Superior harbor. These chemicals and heavy metals still remain today and continue to pose a threat to the public and aquatic life. Cleaning up remaining pollutants takes decades, as well, and progress is often measured one slip at a time.

Or, in this case, three slips. After researching options and gathering public input, the MPCA selected final remedies for Slip 3, Azcon/Duluth Seaway Port Authority Slip (photo above), and Slip C along the city’s waterfront. 

At a combined estimated $9.9 million cost to complete the process from design through construction, the selected remedies now move into the design phase. Ultimately, construction will cover the contaminated sediment with about 3 feet of clean material and require no offsite disposal. Barring unforeseen design or funding delays, all three sites’ construction is expected to begin in 2018.

All cleanup options considered were weighed against four goals: 

• Minimize exposure to sediment contaminants that contribute to fish-consumption advisories
• Minimize exposure of aquatic organisms to contaminated sediments
• Preserve water depth to enable the current use of the slip
• Enhance deep-water aquatic habitat where possible

In partnership with the U.S. EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the MPCA will complete the remedial design at all three sites. This effort will include environmental review and permitting that will provide opportunities for additional public comment. Funding comes from the 2017 state’s bond funds and the federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. 

The three slips are located within the St. Louis River Area of Concern. This Area of Concern is one of 43 Great Lakes locations in the United States and Canada where historic shoreline alterations and industrial contamination caused impairments affecting wildlife habitat and aquatic life.

These three projects are part of a group of 10 contaminated sediment sites whose cleanup will contribute to a healthier St. Louis River ecosystem.

For more information, visit the MPCA’s St. Louis River Area of Concern webpage or contact Project Manager Heidi Bauman at heidi.bauman@state.mn.us, 218-302-6607 or 800-657-3864.

As Minnesota continues its statewide checkup of waters and lists those failing to meet standards, some good examples of protective and restorative work are starting to surface.

Water bodies that fail to meet standards are considered impaired. The impaired waters list represents an assessment of how well lakes and streams support fishing, swimming, and other beneficial uses. This assessment is mandated by federal law and requires a cleanup study for each impaired water body.

Success stories

For the first time, MPCA is proposing to remove an impairment listing for PCBs. Fish sampled in the Red River of the North now have PCB levels low enough to meet the standard for consumption, though some impairments like mercury remain.

PCBs — polychlorinated biphenyls — were chemicals once used as insulators in electrical equipment and for other purposes. They were banned in 1979 because of their potential risks to human and environmental health.  Though scientists cannot pinpoint the reasons for lower levels of PCBs in the Red River in northwest Minnesota, it’s likely because PCBs have declined in the environment over the past 38 years.

Additionally, the MPCA is proposing to remove these water bodies from the list because of restorative actions to improve water quality:

• First Fulda Lake (Murray County) now has nutrient levels low enough to meet recreation standards.
• The Poplar River (Superior Hiking Trail Bridge to Lake Superior, in Cook County) is now clear enough to meet the standard for aquatic life such as fish.
• Bryant Lake (Hennepin County), Crystal Lake (Dakota County), Gem Lake (Ramsey County), McMahon Lake (Scott County), and Mitchell Lake (Hennepin County) now have nutrient levels low enough to meet recreation standards.
• Seven Mile Creek (Nicollet County) now has pesticide levels low enough to meet the standard for aquatic life such as fish.

Some common restoration actions include stabilizing streambanks, holding back water long enough to let sediment settle out, and better management of fertilizer.

New lakes, streams added to impaired waters list

There are, of course, new impairments proposed for the 2018 list. Highlights include:

• 201 streams and 23 lakes that cannot fully support aquatic life.
• 100 streams with elevated bacteria levels, most of them in the Red River basin in northwest Minnesota.
• 55 lakes and streams with high levels of nutrients.
• 32 water bodies with mercury levels in fish tissue that are too high to meet standards.
• 3 streams that fail to meet the chloride standard designed to protect aquatic life.

Summary of numbers

In all, the number of impaired Minnesota waters on the draft 2018 impaired waters list totals 5,101 impairments, with 618 new listings, covering a total of 2,669 water bodies across the state (many water bodies are impaired by several pollutants). Minnesota is detecting more waters in trouble because of its 10-year plan to study all 80 major watersheds in the state, funded by the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment. The MPCA has started this study in all but a few watersheds.

While scientists find more impairments, the overall percentage of impaired waters in Minnesota remains at 40%. The other 60% are in good condition and need protective strategies to stay healthy.

Public meetings

The MPCA will hold a series of meeting around Minnesota beginning Nov. 8. See details on the impaired waters list webpage. A public comment period will follow later this year.

Related coverage

• Success at last: Poplar River meets water quality goals on the MPCA website
• First Fulda Lake removed from Minnesota impaired waters list on the Fulda Free Press website
• Poplar River flows with good news for Lake Superior on Radio WTIP
• 618 more Minnesota waterways added to state’s ‘impaired’ list in the Pioneer Press

The Crystal Darter is an endangered fish species, and as such is difficult for water monitoring crews to find while sampling lakes and streams. But positive news of the Crystal Darter’s existence and reproduction has emerged during recent sampling events, including the summer of 2017.

Darters are a relatively unknown species of fish to most people in Minnesota, but are found in streams, rivers, and lakes throughout the state. Of the roughly 140 darter species found in North America, 14 exist in Minnesota, with the Crystal Darter being perhaps the rarest and least known. Crystal Darters are small, slender fish colored a pale yellow with several dark bars along their sides. Once fully grown their length is typically 3-4 inches, rarely growing past 5 inches.  

Little is known about the life history of the Crystal Darter within Minnesota. Specimens have been collected from rivers in southeastern Minnesota, in moderate to large water bodies with clean water and active flows. These rivers include the St. Croix, the Mississippi just north of Red Wing, the Zumbro, and the Root.

Crystal darters are typically found near sand and/or gravel substrates, which they use to their advantage by burying their bodies while keeping their eyes exposed and ambushing prey as it swims or drifts by.

Due to their rare existence, unknown life history, and relatively low sampled populations, they were initially designated a species of special concern within Minnesota in 1984. However, after targeted surveys and analysis, the designation was elevated to endangered in 2013.

Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR) crews found Crystal Darters when sampling fish near Folsom Island in the St. Croix River in August 2014 and June 2015. John Waters, DNR invasive carp fisheries coordinator, and his crew found one Crystal Darter during each sampling event.

Then, in late 2017, four additional Crystal Darters were sampled in the same general area. Each darter was found over sandy substrate in about 5-8 feet of water.

Similarly, Konrad Schmidt, a retired Minnesota DNR biologist, found a single Crystal Darter over sand/gravel substrate in roughly 3 feet of water using a seine.

Crystal Darter populations are very susceptible and sensitive to environmental changes such as:

• Habitat degradation and modification
• Pollution
• Flow alteration
• Lack of connectivity

Populations are dependent on clean gravel/sand substrates for reproduction and foraging, which makes them sensitive to siltation often arising from erosion, logging, or agriculture.

Moderate to fast-flowing streams where the Crystal Darters reside often have enough current to keep substrates clean. However, flow alterations such as dams, slow the flow of streams allowing sediments to settle to the bottom. Flow alterations often prohibit fish passage, negatively affecting the darter’s (and other fish species’) ability to disperse and establish new populations.

“Although Crystal Darters are a small, relatively unknown fish to most in Minnesota, there is no denying their uniqueness, not only in appearance but as well as lifestyle. In order to ensure this unique species does not become extinct in Minnesota, care should be given to reduce sediments entering streams and limit blockages to fish passage where known populations exist,” said Tony Dingmann, MPCA biologist.

For more information on the Crystal Darter and other rare fish species in Minnesota, visit the DNR website.

Our state’s namesake river, the Minnesota, tells a story different from the general perception of good water quality in Minnesota’s lakes and rivers.

The Minnesota River story is one of unique geography, many challenges to water quality from surrounding land use and development, and dedicated efforts by many to make it better. 

The Minnesota River begins at Big Stone Lake in western Minnesota, and flows 335 miles across the southern third of the state to its confluence with the Mississippi River at Fort Snelling.

Overall, the Minnesota River is suffering in water quality, according to a recent MPCA study based on recent water monitoring and decades of research. Sediment clouds the water, phosphorus fuels algae growth, nitrogen and bacteria pose health risks. 

Too much water flowing into the river plays a big part in all these problems. There’s more rain, more artificial drainage, and not enough places to store this water. Worse yet, the landscape is naturally vulnerable to erosion.

“There are no magic solutions. Government alone cannot solve this. This study informs us to focus our actions, and people must work together to find solutions,” said Glenn Skuta, director of the MPCA Watershed Division. 

As part of its statewide checkup of lakes and streams, the MPCA studied the entire length of the Minnesota River. Once a massive, prehistoric river, today its remnant strains under pressure from geography, surrounding land use and changing climate. The Minnesota River basin provides fishing and other recreation for much of southern Minnesota. But it’s also the biggest contributor of sediment and nutrient pollution to the Mississippi River in Minnesota. And nitrate levels are a growing concern because of the Minnesota River’s influence on drinking water in the Mankato area. 

There are some signs of progress. Many farmers are exploring and using conservation practices such as minimum tillage, cover crops and building soil health. The fish population is generally healthy, though there are concerns about aquatic insects that are food sources for fish. Cities and industries have improved wastewater treatment, vastly reducing the phosphorus they discharge to the Minnesota River basin. Local watershed organizations help landowners with water quality projects such as buffer strips and grass waterways.

But there is still more to do if Minnesota’s namesake river is to meet water quality standards designed to protect river life and recreation.

Special report in the Mankato Free Press: Torrential flows threaten area rivers