The 2019 Waste to Worth conference will be April 22-26 at the Graduate Hotel on the University of Minnesota Minneapolis East Bank campus. Waste to Worth brings together the nation’s best science on animal agriculture and the environment with:

• Innovative outreach
• Opportunities to meet and network with outstanding people
• Mix with multidisciplinary specialists in a collaborative atmosphere

Optional tours will visit various agriculture and livestock facilities including: Simply Shrimp near Willmar, Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative, Creekside Soil, Riverview Dairy, West Central Research and Outreach Center, AURI, and Sustane organic fertilizer. More information and registration are available on the W2W website.

Water quality in the Minnesota River is expected to improve if a number of actions are used to reduce current Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria levels, according to a report drafted for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). The MPCA invites comments on the draft report through March 6.

The draft report addresses five specific segments, or “impaired reaches,” of the main stem of the Minnesota River. The MPCA investigated bacteria levels, flow records, and water quality over time in order to develop the Total Maximum Daily Load study, or TMDL, for the bacteria. The TMDL establishes the maximum amount of pollutant the waterbody can assimilate while still achieving water quality standards, and outlines what pollution reductions are needed to meet those standards.

Primary sources of  E. coli entering the Minnesota River are livestock from unpermitted animal feeding operations, and septic systems that represent public health threats. The latter include both faulty septic systems and the illegal use of straight pipes carrying raw sewage directly to surface waters. The MPCA determined that a handful of other potential sources, including discharge from wastewater treatment plants, municipal storm sewer systems, and permitted animal feedlot operations that are in compliance, are not likely to be substantial sources of the bacteria.

The most effective practice to reduce E. coli loads from human sources is to upgrade or entirely replace faulty septic systems. Several best management practices could reduce E. coli loads from animal feedlot operations, including better waste management through additional waste storage facilities and more effective land application of manure. Other best management practices involve using filter strips or riparian buffers to filter runoff and trap pollutants before they reach waterbodies. Limiting animal access to streams and providing alternative drinking water supplies for livestock away from streams will reduce E. coli loads, too.

Overall, the level of impairment outlined in this report is low to moderate when compared to the impairment of the Minnesota River’s tributaries; however, addressing failing septic systems and adopting better manure management practices will help reduce bacteria levels and restore the impaired reaches to meet water quality standards for aquatic recreation.

Comments on the draft report should be sent to Scott MacLean, MPCA, 12 Civic Center Plaza, Suite 2165, Mankato, MN 56001, or by email to scott.maclean@state.mn.us. Written comments must include a statement of your interest in the report and the action you wish the MPCA to take, including specific references to sections of the draft report you believe should be changed and the reasons for making those changes. Comments must be received by 4:30 p.m. on March 6.

Gov. Tim Walz is recommending $2 million to fund a generic environmental impact statement (GEIS) of nitrate pollution of groundwater in the sensitive karst region of southeastern Minnesota. The GEIS would investigate sources of nitrate, evaluate ways to address nitrate contamination, and inform the review of new projects. A public information meeting is scheduled for 5:30-8:30 p.m. Monday, March 25 at the St. James Hotel in Red Wing.

The Dept. of Agriculture recently compiled extensive data on nitrate contamination of drinking water wells. The MDA Township Testing Program indicates that numerous townships in the karst region with private wells are at or above the 10 milligrams per liter health risk limit for nitrate. According to existing studies, the following sources of nitrogen most likely contribute to the current nitrate levels in groundwater, surface water and drinking water, and their respective significance in the karst region would be evaluated as part of the GEIS study:

• Commercial fertilizer and manure application applied to row crops
• Aging septic systems
• Biosolids from wastewater treatment
• Animal agriculture and feedlots
• Natural background and atmospheric deposition

The Environmental Quality Board will make the decision on whether to conduct the GEIS and the 2019 Legislature will decide on any funding.

The MPCA recently completed Minnesota's first comprehensive study of water quality and fish and insect communities in the Red River of the North from its headwaters near Breckenridge to the Canadian border. The study led to these primary conclusions:

• In places there is too much sediment to meet the standards designed to protect fish and other aquatic life. It makes it harder for many fish to find food, detect predators and reproduce in cloudy water. Some stretches are impaired for swimming due to high bacteria levels. Phosphorus levels are impacting downstream waters and nitrogen levels are increasing. Generally speaking, fish and aquatic insect communities are doing reasonably well, but decline as you go downstream.
• Solutions include: Implementing additional practices and projects that help reduce peak flows during spring runoff and heavy rains, and increase base flows during dry periods. Landowners, watershed districts and others having been working toward these goals but more is needed to keep our farmlands highly productive while at the same time improving and protecting water quality.

The report and more information are available online here. Photo: Red River access in Fargo.