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Reducing phosphorus in surface waters, protecting water resources and addressing failing sewer systems are some of the goals of Clean Water Partnership (CWP) projects starting this spring.
On Feb. 16 Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) Commissioner Paul Aasen approved 10 Clean Water Partnership proposals for grant and/or loan funding.
These projects will begin this spring and continue for three years.
See the list below for the projects and their awards. The next CWP funding round will open Fall 2012.
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CWP projects awarded this year, project sponsors, grant and/or loan amounts, and major rivers basins are as follows:
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“Neighborhood Lakes Management Plans,” City of Eagan, $167,000 grant, Minnesota River Basin
- “Chippewa River Accelerated Restoration,” Chippewa County, $900,000 loan, Minnesota River Basin
- “Heron Lake TMDL Phosphorus Reduction Project,” Heron Lake Watershed District, $450,000 loan, Des Moines River Basin
- “Kanabec Water Resources Protection Project,” Kanabec Soil and Water Conservation District, $201,892 grant, St. Croix River Basin
- “Lake McCarrons Subwatershed BMP Project,” Capitol Region Watershed District, $275,000 grant, Upper Mississippi River Basin
- “Lower Sauk-Metro Area Water Quality Protection,” Sauk River Watershed District, $298,000 grant and $150,000 loan, Upper Mississippi River Basin
- “Protecting North and South Fork Yellow Bank River,” Lac qui Parle-Yellow Bank Watershed District, $260,900 grant and $370,000 loan, Minnesota River Basin
- “Snake River Watershed Resource Protection Project,” Snake River Watershed Management Board, $400,000 loan, St. Croix River Basin
- “Steele County Septic System Loan Program,” Steele County, $700,000 loan, Lower Mississippi/ Cedar River Basin
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“Targeting BMP's in the Crow River Watershed,” Crow River Organization of Water, $1.1 million loan, Upper Mississippi River Basin
Should you have any questions or need additional information please contact Peter Fastner at peter.fastner@state.mn.us or 651-757-2349.
Comments about proposed changes to MN Rules 7076, Clean Water Partnership Financial Assistance, have been posted on the MPCA's CWP rule change webpage. At a video conference Feb. 3, representatives from watershed organizations asked questions and expressed views about the proposed changes. The Clean Water Partnership Rules (Chapter 7076) have not been amended since 1995 and MPCA is also considering changes to streamline rule requirements based on current MPCA water quality objectives. Changes may include:
- Housekeeping changes to address obsolete requirements;
- Elimination of noncompetitive continuation grants; and
- Funding changes from advance payments to expense reimbursement, as well as other changes necessary to streamline and update existing requirements.
Comments are posted at Rule Related Documents. The second draft 2 scheduled to be posted on the Web by April 20, 2012.
Minnesota agencies that receive Clean Water Fund dollars recently released their first collaborative report, indicating the state is on track with its investments so far, though many challenges remain.
For example, the report found that:
- For every state dollar invested in implementation activities, such as improvements to municipal sewage plants and buffers to control agricultural runoff, an additional $1.45 was leveraged through local and federal partnerships.
- Although the pace of activities to restore polluted lakes and streams is being accelerated by Clean Water Funds, requests for cleanup funds are about three times greater than what is available.
- Drinking water protection efforts are on track, but there is a growing concern about nitrate levels in new wells and in certain vulnerable aquifers.
Eighteen measures in the report provide a snapshot of how Clean Water Fund dollars are being spent and what progress has been made. The measures are organized into three sections: investment, surface water quality, and drinking water protection. Each measure has detailed status ranking and trend information. Check out the report, the summary document and the metadata sheets at Minnesota’s Legacy website.
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Volunteers play a crucial role in assessing the health of lakes and streams in Minnesota. Through Surface Water Assessment Grants (SWAG), hundreds of volunteers have participated in projects with local partners to provide water quality data for 1,133 lakes and 1,009 stream sites. To date, the MPCA has awarded 147 SWAGs totaling $7.4 million, providing funding for training, equipment, and lab analysis of water samples. |
First funded in 2006, SWAGs provide local organizations and citizen volunteers with funds to gauge the health of lakes and streams. The MPCA uses the data collected to see if water bodies support designated uses such as swimming and fishing. Assessing the water quality of lakes and streams is usually the first step in protecting or restoring surface waters. The MPCA is the agency responsible for administering the grant program. Local government units and non-profit groups recruit the volunteers (where possible) and coordinate the monitoring and sampling efforts.
In this way, the MPCA works with citizens on the local level to identify healthy lakes and streams that need protection. They also identify waters that fail to meet state standards and need restoration. The data collected help set priorities for the agency and funding sources like the Clean Water Legacy Amendment.
For 2012-13, the MPCA awarded seven SWAGs for a total of $523,000 to the following grantees:
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Cass County Environmental Services;
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Crow Wing County Soil and Water Conservation District;
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Crow River Organization of Water (CROW);
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Headwaters Science Center;
- Red Lake Watershed District;
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Roseau County Soil and Water Conservation District; and
- Zumbro Watershed Partnership.
For more information about SWAG:
- Visit the program page on the MPCA website; or
- Contact Ron Schwartz of the MPCA at 651-757-2708, 800-657-3864 or ron.schwatz@state.mn.us.
Nonprofit and other organizations have taken a strong interest in the latest round of grant money available for habitat conservation, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Jamie Gangaware, a DNR grants specialist, said the agency received 69 applications for $3.5 million available through the state’s Conservation Partners Legacy program. Requests totaled $6.6 million.
The grant application deadline was Feb. 8. A technical panel comprised of experts from inside and outside the DNR will review the applications and make funding recommendations to DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr. Grants will be awarded in April.
The Conservation Partners Legacy Program was recommended by the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council and enacted by the 2009 Minnesota Legislature. Funding has been provided annually from the Outdoor Heritage Fund, one of three conservation-related accounts funded through the Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Constitutional Amendment.
A list of this year’s applications can be found on the Conservation Partners Legacy website under Fiscal Year 2012 Grant Information.
Sixty-four miles of river, 50,000 square miles of land, and about 851,400 tons of sediment a year. That is the scope of the South Metro Mississippi Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) project for reducing total suspended solids that make the water turbid or cloudy. (A TMDL is the amount of pollutant that a water body can accept and still meet state water quality standards.) |
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The MPCA started this TMDL project several years ago. Its focus is the Mississippi from its confluence with the Minnesota River in St. Paul to upper Lake Pepin downstream of Red Wing. Nearly half of Minnesota drains to this stretch of the Mississippi. Clearing up the river will require major reductions in the amount of sediment flowing into the Mississippi, namely from the Minnesota River.
Other basins that feed into the Mississippi include the Upper Mississippi, St. Croix and Cannon rivers, along with smaller streams that directly flow into the Mississippi.
The South Metro Mississippi TMDL is the second largest, in terms of land size, in the United States with Chesapeake Bay being the largest.
The Minnesota River TMDL is also a large, multi-year project for reducing turbidity in the river. The TMDL addresses 18 sections of the state’s namesake river and several of its tributaries. Nearly 17,000 square miles drain to the Minnesota River. The TMDL calls for significant decreases in sediment loads, particularly at high flows.
Water clear enough to sustain desired aquatic plants and aquatic life is the goal of both TMDL projects. These are separate but related projects, which are both on public notice through April 27.
The MPCA plans to host events recognizing stakeholders and advisers who have participated in the development of two major Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) water quality projects, for the South Metro Mississippi River and the Minnesota River.
On Wednesday, March 21, members of the Minnesota River Turbidity TMDL Advisory Committee and Sediment Reduction Advisory Committee are invited to a recognition event and TMDL update from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., including lunch, at the Redwood Area Community Center in Redwood Falls. After lunch there will be optional small group conversation on specific aspects of the TMDL report.
On Thursday, March 29, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., members of the South Metro Mississippi Stakeholder Advisory Committee and Science Advisory Panel are invited to a recognition event and TMDL update, including lunch, at the St. James Hotel in Red Wing.
Bob Finley, regional watershed manager for the MPCA, will provide an overview of the draft reports at the March 21 and March 29 events. Advisory group members are welcome to attend either meeting if they are unable to attend their group meeting. An RSVP is needed to determine the number for lunch:
- RSVP for the March 21 Minnesota River event by contacting Public Information Officer Forrest Peterson (email forrest.peterson@state.mn.us or phone 320-441-6972).
- RSVP for the March 29 South Metro Mississippi event by contacting Public Information Officer Cathy Rofshus (email catherine.rofshus@state.mn.us or phone 507-206-2608).
All interested people are welcome to attend, although the lunch count is limited to 100.
Details will be announced later about additional meetings to be scheduled in St. Paul and Mankato. A meeting focusing on urban stormwater aspects of the TMDLs has been scheduled for April 19. It will be 9-11 a.m. at the MPCA St. Paul office, 520 Lafayette Rd. N. Groups may also request presentations by MPCA staff.
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In addition to the MPCA meeting and lunch March 29, the public is welcome to attend two events the same day. Hosted by the Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance, these events will be held at the St. James Hotel in Red Wing. |
The first is a workshop focused on providing comment on the South Metro Mississippi TMDL, from 1-4:30 p.m. at the St. James Hotel. The event is designed to help citizens write letters expressing their support for or concerns about the South Metro Mississippi River TMDL. Topical experts will be on hand for one-on-one conversations about the issues involved in the project, including researchers, agriculture representatives and professional writers. Norman Senjem, project manager of the Mississippi TMDL from its inception in 2004 until his retirement last year, is leading the workshop.
The second is a Citizen-Led Conversation on Water Quality Goals, from 5-9 p.m. at the St. James Hotel. This conversation includes dinner at no cost to participants, but pre-registration required: Call 1-877-269-2873 (toll-free). The number of participants is limited to 80 people. Farmers are especially encouraged to attend. For more information contact Patrick Moore of Clean Up the River Environment at 320-841-1487 or Mike McKay of the Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance at 651-308-0178.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the TMDL report for Cedar and McMahon Lakes, impaired by excess nutrients, on Feb. 23. Cedar Lake and McMahon Lake (locally known as Carl’s Lake) are located in Scott County. Excess phosphorus has limited their use and quality by causing frequent algae blooms and decreasing water clarity. A diagnostic study was conducted as part of a Clean Water Partnership Project in the Sand Creek watershed.
Water quality data collected indicate that the lakes have not met state water quality standards over the past 10 years of monitoring. The land use in the lakes’ watersheds is mainly agricultural with woodland areas and rural residential type of development. The predominant phosphorus sources for Cedar Lake are lake sediment release, carp activity in the lakes, curlyleaf pondweed and watershed runoff. For McMahon Lake the primary sources are sediment release, curlyleaf pondweed and watershed runoff. Phosphorus reductions of 85 percent and 81 percent will be required for Cedar Lake and McMahon Lake, respectively, to meet state water quality standards. A separate implementation plan has been developed as part of a larger watershed project and identifies specific measures needed to achieve the desired reductions.
The Freshwater Society will hold a conference on "Precision Conservation: Technology Redefining Local Water Quality Practices" on Thursday, March 29, from 8:30 a.m.-3:45 p.m. at Silverwood Park in St. Anthony, MInn. The Minnesota chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society will hold its annual meeting in conjunction with the conference. This conference is for designed for SWCD supervisors, Watershed District managers, county commissioners, water planners and managers. To register, go to www.freshwater.org or call 952-471-9773. The 10th annual Larson-Allmaras lecture on Emerging Issues in Soil and Water is set for 2-4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 19, 335 Borlaug Hall on the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota. The theme of the lecture will be "Feeding the Future." The featured speaker for this year's lecture will be Dr. Kenneth Cassman, the Robert B. Daugherty Professor of Agronomy at the University of Nebraska and Chair of the Independent Science and Partnership Council of the Consortium Group for International Agricultural Research. His research and teaching have focused on ensuring local and global food security while conserving natural resources and protecting environmental quality. The title of his lecture will be: "How to Guide Agriculture towards Sustainable Food Security?” Dr. Cassman is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America. He has received many national and international awards for his work.
The Science of Healthy Waters
The Science of Healthy Waters is designed for anyone involved in watershed issues including water quality (rivers, lakes, wetlands), aquatic and terrestrial habitat, land use, wetlands and flooding. This series will present: a) the science underlying integrative, system-based watershed management, b) the problems, issues, and barriers hampering our ability to protect and restore watershed health, and c) alternative approaches for accomplishing goals of clean water, improved fish and wildlife habitat and reduction of flood damages and erosion. Each workshop addresses a specific topic related to stream health.
The Science of Healthy Waters: The Dam Dilemma *New workshop*
This workshop will unpack the science and implications involving dams in terms of: 1) effects on connectivity, hydrology, geomorphology, water quality, and aquatic habitat, 2) societal and ecological implications of these structures, and 3) the challenges, benefits and design approaches of dam removal, dam modification, and by-pass fishways. This class will be held May 21-23 in Fergus Falls, Minn. Cost is $300.
The Science of Healthy Waters: The Ditching Dilemma *New in 2011*
This workshop unpacks the science and implications of ditching in terms of: 1) effects on hydrology, geomorphology, water quality and aquatic habitat, 2) societal and ecological implications of these practices, and 3) alternative design concepts and approaches that work towards accomplishing sustainable agricultural goals while improving water quality and restoring channel stability and ecological health. This class will be held July 16-18 in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Cost is $300.
Download the flyer at for course descriptions and the registration form.
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