The Legislative-Citizen
Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) recently received 273
proposals requesting a total of about $191 million for projects starting
July 1, 2019. The requests far outnumber the funding expected to be available
of $59 million each for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 from the Environment and
Natural Resources Trust Fund. This fund is derived from lottery and investment
proceeds.
The commission reviews and evaluates all proposals
against 10 adopted evaluation criteria. On June 5-6, members are scheduled to select
a subset of high-ranking proposals for presentation before the commission. Final
selections are set for July 17-18. These selected projects are then presented
to the 2019 Minnesota Legislature as the official LCCMR recommendations for funding.
Check the LCCMR schedule for the most up-to-date
information and important process dates.
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The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) announces a new funding program under Section 319 of the
Clean Water Act. This program will focus on small watersheds, and is looking
for interested watersheds to partner with in developing a long-term roadmap to
support comprehensive implementation on a small-scale.
The MPCA seeks 10 small
watersheds to develop a detailed Focus Grant Plan following the EPA’s Handbook
for developing watershed plans to restore and protect our waters. The selected watersheds will to
receive four, four-year grant awards spanning 16 years. Funds will go toward
implementing projects outlined in the grant workplan, providing a steady
source of funding, focusing implementation efforts, and achieving measurable
water quality improvements on a specific waterbody.
Eligible applicants include public and private entities,
including local governmental units such as soil and water conservation
districts, watershed districts, watershed management organizations, tribal
authorities, cities, counties, regional development centers, local school
systems, colleges and universities, local nonprofit organizations, state
agencies, organizations established by joint powers agreements, and for-profit
groups and individuals interested in leading a non-point source project.
For more
information:
The MPCA starts its second cycle of watershed monitoring throughout
Minnesota this year, circling back to major watersheds first monitored this way
in 2008. Funded in a large part by the Legacy Amendment, this monitoring
examines fish and other aquatic life in addition to levels of pollutants like
nutrients and bacteria. Under this approach, the agency will examine all 80
major watersheds in the state every 10 years.
Ten years ago the MPCA did water monitoring in the Root, Le Sueur,
Mississippi
River-Lake Pepin, Little
Fork and Sauk
river watersheds. The agency will return this year to see if conditions are
improving or declining. This second round of monitoring will focus on
detecting changes and filling in data gaps to further inform on-the-ground
practices.
Initially, staff will contact landowners in these watersheds
to let them know about the monitoring and gain permission to sample stations on
their property. From mid-June through September, the MPCA will sample rivers,
streams, and ditches for fish, macroinvertebrates (aquatic insects), habitat,
and water chemistry. Staff biologists will sample roughly 85 unique stations
across the watersheds in the north and 128 in the south.
In addition to MPCA monitoring, local partners like
watershed districts, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, watershed
non-profit groups, and citizen volunteers will study lakes and streams across
Minnesota. The agency will use all this data to determine if waters meet
standards designed to make sure they are swimmable and fishable.
Because of extreme weather last year, the MPCA will do
follow-up monitoring at about 50 stations in the north and 40 in the south,
including Pomme de Terre, Snake, Redwood, Cottonwood, Blue Earth, Rapid, Lower Rainy
and North Fork Crow rivers. Heavy rains and high flows in the south and severe
drought conditions in the north last summer prevented completion of monitoring
efforts.
MPCA scientists will also continue to monitor about 30
long-term biological monitoring network stations, which are intended to track
conditions and/or changes over time across the state.
Learn more about water quality monitoring on these webpages:
Related media coverage: Minnesota's
big water ambitions yield benefits, no simple answers in the StarTribune
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The MPCA has
withdrawn its wild rice
rule from the rulemaking process that it has been in for nearly a year.
Recent findings
by an Administrative Law Judge and the ongoing expressions of concern from all
sides led the agency to reevaluate its plans, according to MPCA Commissioner
John Linc Stine. The agency engaged Minnesota Native American tribes, elected
officials, businesses and municipal wastewater systems that may be impacted by
the rule, and also received thousands of comments from environmental advocacy
groups, other stakeholders and the public. However, the MPCA concluded it was
time to withdraw the proposed rule to allow for more work on the implementation
process.
The agency is now waiting for Gov. Mark Dayton’s
decision on whether to veto a last-minute legislative proposal.
After he vetoed a bill that would have nullified state
rules to protect wild rice, the Legislature passed a
revised bill in
the waning hours of the 2018 legislative session.
Background and
context
Wild rice is an
important part of the ecosystem in many Minnesota lakes and streams. Wild rice
has strong cultural significance and use to many Minnesotans, and is an
important economic resource to those who harvest and market it.
In 1973,
Minnesota adopted a sulfate standard to protect wild rice based on studies
showing that wild rice was found primarily in low sulfate waters. The MPCA and
many other organizations and individuals have been working on revising and
updating this standard for several years.
In 2011, the
Minnesota Legislature directed the MPCA to conduct research on the effects of
sulfate and other substances on the growth of wild rice. This research was
intended to inform an evaluation of the existing wild rice sulfate standard.
After extensive
research, data analysis and discussions, the MPCA proposed changes in the fall
of 2017 to the water quality standard designed to protect wild rice from
adverse impacts due to sulfate pollution. During the last year, the draft rule
went through a public notice and comment period. The MPCA modified its proposal
based on that public input, before forwarding the updated draft Wild Rice rule
to an Administrative Law Judge with the Minnesota Office of Administrative
Hearings.
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The MPCA has
extended the public comment period for two draft Bois de Sioux River watershed reports:
the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS).
The new deadline is June 4 at 4:30 p.m.
The TMDL
study quantifies the pollutant levels, identifies pollution sources, and
proposes ways to return water quality to an acceptable level. The WRAPS report
identifies impaired water bodies and those in need of protection, and
identifies actions needed to achieve and maintain water quality. The reports
also recommend actions that can correct existing problems and prevent new ones.
These actions include creating water impoundments to prevent flooding, taking
highly-erodible areas out of production, and adding to buffers, cover crops and
perennial vegetation.
Comments on the draft
reports should be sent to Cary Hernandez, 714 Lake Avenue, Suite 220, Detroit
Lakes, Minnesota 56501 or cary.hernandez@state.mn.us. He is available
for more information at 218-846-8124.
In a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on a proposed rule that would restrict science used to develop regulations that protect human and environmental health , MPCA Commissioner John Linc Stine and Minnesota Dept. of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm wrote:
“The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) are deeply disappointed in, and troubled by, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule, “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science,” published April 30, 2018, at 83 FR 18768, under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OA-2018-0259. This proposed rule to ‘strengthen transparency’ does not provide transparency or clarity at all — rather, it causes confusion and mistrust, and it will threaten the lives of real people. EPA should withdraw this dangerous proposal.”
The EPA’s “Transparency of Science” proposal would extremely limit scientific study and exploration by blocking all scientific reports that are not fully “public information.” This would mean data tracked by agencies like MDH across the United States that looks at human health disease patterns, and in many cases uses blood and other health data to identify health patterns, would not be useable in making rules to protect environmental and human health from pollutants. The data is not fully public because it can include people’s personal data such as names and other identifying information. If such a rule had been in place during the 1970s, a link to the harmful effects of leaded gasoline on developing brains would not have been identified and regulated.
The letter concludes with:
“The promulgation of this proposed rule would set a dangerous and potentially life-threatening precedent regarding the use of health-based data, modeling, and research in regulatory decision-making. As proposed, the rule is arbitrary, capricious, unethical, and intellectually dishonest. The EPA should immediately announce that it is withdrawing this proposal.”
Related media coverage:
The U.S. EPA recently approved the Little
Fork River watershed TMDL aimed at reducing sediment in the river. Located in the Rainy River-Lake of
the Woods River Basin, a majority of the watershed’s water quality is
considered good to excellent and lake water quality is very good in 15 assessed
lakes. This is due to the watershed’s significant acreage of forests and
wetlands, as well as limited development pressure. As a result, the Little
Fork watershed is one of Minnesota’s most treasured resources.
Protecting the
watershed’s water quality is also dependent upon the continued use of best
management practices when managing timber harvests and other forest activities
to prevent erosion and other detrimental impacts.
The MPCA
approved the related WRAPS
report in November 2017.
Thanks to the work of local partners, three lakes in the
Twin Cities Metro Area are now meeting water quality standards designed to make
sure waters are fishable and swimmable. Their success shows that long-term and
sustained efforts can pay off in better water quality.
Crystal Lake in Burnsville, McMahon Lake in Scott County,
and Bryant Lake in Eden Prairie were all previously impaired by high phosphorus
levels. Phosphorus fuels algae blooms that interfere with recreational
activities like boating and swimming. Sometimes harmful
blue-green algae form, which can sicken people and their pets.
Stormwater is a common way for phosphorus and other
pollutants to get into lakes. One way to reduce that pollution is to direct
stormwater to places where it can soak into the ground and contaminants can
filter out. The MPCA regulates municipal stormwater and requires cities to educate
citizens on stormwater management, make plans to detect and stop illicit
discharges, control runoff on construction sites, and more.
Crystal Lake
To reduce phosphorus in Crystal Lake, the City of Burnsville built an
underground system to treat stormwater before it’s discharged to Keller Lake
that feeds into Crystal Lake (photo above). A Clean Water Fund grant helped
fund the system. Water monitoring showed that 20-25% of phosphorus in Crystal
Lake was coming from Keller Lake. The City of Apple Valley built a
stormwater pond on Keller Lake that keeps an estimated 55 pounds of phosphorus
out of the water every year. In addition, Lakeville and Burnsville dredged some
existing stormwater ponds near Crystal Lake, which improves the ponds’
filtering ability and efficiency.
Harvesting curly leaf pond weed is another restoration
strategy the City of Burnsville used to improve Crystal Lake. The city hired
machines that spent two weeks cutting back the plant over about 50 acres of the
290-acre lake. If not cut back, the weed would die off in the peak of summer,
releasing nutrients into the water that feed algae blooms.
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Bryant Lake
For Bryant Lake in Eden Prairie, new stormwater standards
adopted in 2008 have helped improve the lake’s water quality. The project
partners also restored wetlands just west of the lake, which helps control
stormwater as well.
The Nine Mile Creek
Watershed District in Eden Prairie undertook in-lake treatments to help
reduce phosphorus in Bryant Lake (photo at right). In 2008 and 2013, the district
treated the lake with aluminum sulfate, which forms a fluffy substance called
floc. As the floc settles to the lake bottom, it removes phosphorus and other
materials (including algae) from the water. The floc forms a layer over the
sediment that acts as a barrier to phosphorus. It binds phosphorus released
from the sediment and prevents it from fueling algae blooms.
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McMahon Lake
Addressing shoreline degradation is another way to help
lakes. An eroding shoreline can contribute sediment and soil to lakes, which
can increase phosphorus levels. A project by the Scott Soil and Water Conservation District
and a shoreland property owner used large rocks and rolls of coconut fibers
called coir logs to stabilize vulnerable shoreline on McMahon Lake (photo at
right). Vertical banks were graded into gradual slopes with native plants to
sustain the shoreline and protect the lake. Grants from Clean Water Fund helped
pay for the shoreland restoration.
Local partnerships
pay off
All the lake cleanup projects relied on multiple players in
addition to those already mentioned. Black
Dog Watershed Management Organization helped to do water monitoring,
organize projects, and apply for grants to benefit Crystal Lake. The City of Eden Prairie and Three Rivers Park District have
assisted in monitoring Bryant Lake and making project recommendations. The Scott
Watershed Management Organization, the New Market Sportsman’s Club,
and shoreland owners participated in the cleanup of McMahon Lake.
And the cleaner lakes are a boon to their communities.
“Overall, Crystal Lake now has a higher value to residents,” says Daryl
Jacobson, natural resources manager with the City of Burnsville, who led the
water quality improvement efforts.
Paul Nelson, environmental services program manager with
Scott County and coordinator for the McMahon Lake work, says the lake is more
attractive for swimming and other recreation, and is a source of local pride.
These organizations are also working to restore water
quality in several other lakes and streams. So their work identifying and
remedying sources of water pollution will continue.
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The Minnesota Dept. of
Agriculture recently enhanced its Minnesota
Water Research Digital Library (MNWRL). The library now includes more than
2,600 peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed articles and reports. The lead
person at MDA for this project is Steve Roos, Agricultural Marketing and
Development Division, 651-201-6631, stephan.roos@state.mn.us).
Landscape Revival will hold a native
plant expo and market June 2, from 9 a.m.- 1 p.m., in Shoreview and June 9,
from 9 a.m.- 2 p.m., in Oakdale. The purpose is to encourage choosing native plants—plant species
that have grown in this area for hundreds of years and are thus well adapted to
Minnesota weather and soil conditions— that can create beautiful gardens that support wildlife and protect waters.
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On June 2, the expo and market will be held at Shepherd of the Hills Church, 3920 Victoria St. N., Shoreview, MN 55126.
- On June 9, it will be held at the Richard Walton Memorial
Park, 1584 Hadley Ave. N., Oakdale, MN 55128.
Landscape Revival is organized by volunteers,
and sponsored by St. Paul Audubon
Society, Wild Ones, Blue Thumb, the Shepherd of the Hills Church, and the
cities of Shoreview and Oakdale.
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