balmm currents  

Basin Alliance for the Lower Mississippi in Minnesota

July 1, 2004

 

NEXT BALMM MEETING:  Wednesday, August 18, 9-12 am at the Rochester MPCA office.

 

 

MAKING THE MISSISSIPPI MIGHTY: Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and Governor Jim Doyle of Wisconsin on June 30 renewed their two states’ commitment to protecting the water quality of the Mississippi River during a joint appearance – and steamboat race – as part of Grand Excursion 2004, the 150th anniversary of an expedition by President Millard Fillmore to highlight the upper Mississippi River.  The Governors have each directed a member of their Cabinet to work with the other state on developing a plan for a more coordinated approach to protecting the country’s most important river.  

 

“From Mark Twain’s childhood stories of life along the Mississippi to the millions of tons of grain and goods shipped down the river each year, the mighty Mississippi is part of our history and character,” Governor Pawlenty said.  “We’re hopeful that this Grand Excursion will also draw attention to the need for a focus on environmental and water quality along the river.  Governor Doyle and I are committed to doing what we can to make the Mississippi mighty again.”

 

Governors Doyle and Pawlenty outlined several goals for their joint effort:

 

·        Establish a long-term goal of making the Mississippi River unimpaired, fishable, and swimmable again;

 

·        Focus on meeting the two states’ shared responsibility of nutrient and sediment reduction, including making progress on the multi-state plan to reduce nitrogen discharges into the Gulf of Mexico by 30 percent by 2015;

 

·        Work together, wherever possible, to protect water quality on the River, and restore those waters impaired;

 

·        Expand the partnership beyond Minnesota and Wisconsin to also include the other three states in the Upper Mississippi River basin: Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri;

 

·        Put a higher statewide environmental priority on efforts to protect the Mississippi River, including strategic efforts at the watershed level to develop watershed plans and means by which to track results.

 

"Governor Pawlenty and I have a shared commitment to the Mississippi River, and we want to take a shared approach to protecting it," Governor Doyle said.  "This isn't a Republican or Democratic issue – it’s a responsibility for all parties and for all time."

 

Spearheading the joint state effort will be Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Secretary Scott Hassett and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (PCA) Commissioner Sheryl Corrigan. 

 

Governor Pawlenty added that initial Cabinet-level contacts with Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri have found a high level of interest from those states in the effort.

 

MOWER COUNTY PASSES NEW ISTS ORDINANCE: A new Mower County Individual Sewage Treatment System (ISTS) ordinance that takes effect August 1 will help ensure longer system life and eliminate failing (noncompliant) systems through a number of changes. In order to correct failing systems that are contributing to ground or surface water contamination or creating an imminent public health threat, the following have been added to the ordinance:

§        Compliance requirements at the time of issuance of a zoning permit for a new or replacement dwelling;

§        Compliance requirements at the time of property transfer;

§        Stricter compliance standards for existing systems installed since March 31, 1996;

 

To assist in enforcement, a provision was included requiring that in the event of a failing system and upon receiving notice of violation or a notice of non-compliance from the county, a property owner shall submit a replacement plan within 30 days or be in violation or the ordinance.

 

The ordinance also included several measures to comply with state requirements.

 

For more information, contact: Bill Buckley of Mower County at 507-437-9564.

 

 

NEW LOOK AT LIVESTOCK:  Taking action on BALMM Strategy A1 (“Maintain and, if possible, increase the production of beef and dairy in the basin by promoting the economic and environmental sustainability of cattle production.”), the South Branch Root River watershed project is forming a group to take a “New Look at Livestock” as its watershed plan moves ahead. The MPCA and SE Minnesota Ag Alliance agreed on the broad elements of such an initiative last winter, consisting of two main components: one to inform the public about the environmental benefits associated with livestock production, particularly the increased hay and pasture associated with cattle production; second, to explore ways of promoting expanded been and dairy production in SE Minnesota by identifying, evaluating and disseminating information about promising “new directions”  in production agriculture and marketing.  The South Branch Root River watershed project, supported with 319 funding, has included “New Look at Livestock” among its strategies for improving water quality. For more information, contact: Donna Rasmussen, Fillmore County SWCD, 507-765-3878, ext. 122.

 

ZUMBRO RIVER WATERSHED MEETING: Elected officials, watershed residents and other interested parties are invited to attend a meeting to discuss water quality impairments of the Zumtro River. The meeting is scheduled for 1-4 pm, Tuesday, July 20, at the Zumbrota-Mazeppa High School Auditorium at 799 Mill Street, Zumbrota. Speakers include Representative Steve Sviggum, Minnesota Commissioner of Agriculture Gene Hugoson, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Gene Merriam, Board of Water and Soil Resources Executive Director Ron Harnack, and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Assistant Commissioner Lisa Thorvig.  The event is sponsored by the Zumbro Watershed Partnership. For more information, see their web site at:

www.zumbrowatershed.org

 

FILING FOR SWCD SUPERVISOR IS JULY 6 – 20: Minnesota citizens interested in influencing natural resources issues at the local level are encouraged to run for supervisor of their local soil and water conservation district.

 

SWCD supervisor positions are filled through general elections November 2.  Individuals who wish to be on the ballot must file for the election between July 6 and July 20.  Any citizen of legal voting age residing in the nomination district in which a vacancy exits is eligible for election.  Interested citizens should file a Minnesota Affidavit of Candidacy (available from the county auditor), along with a $20 filing fee.

 

"Serving as an SWCD supervisor is a not only a meaningful way to influence the environment, it's a great way to get involved in local government," says Scott Hoese, Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation District President.

 

SWCDs are local units of government that manage and direct natural resource management programs. Minnesota's 91 SWCDs cover the entire state and generally follow county lines.  Each SWCD is divided into five districts, with one supervisor elected for each district.  Because SWCD supervisor terms are staggered, at least two of the five positions in each district are generally up for re-election.

 

SWCD supervisors have three main responsibilities during their four-year terms.  They set overall policy and long-term objectives for their district; develop their district's annual and comprehensive plans; and work with SWCD staff to see that policies and plans are implemented. They are not paid a salary; however, they do receive compensation for attending meetings and are reimbursed for expenses.

 

For more information about SWCD supervisor positions or filing for the election, contact the county auditor, or your local SWCD.  Visit the MN Board of Water & Soil Resources website - see local government

directories:  www.bwsr.state.mn.us

 

DANCING WITH SYSTEMS:

Les Everett, University of Minnesota, brought the following item to our attention: 
http://www.globalcommunity.org/timeline/74/index.shtml#1
The March/April 2004 issue of Timeline magazine,
available for free reading at the web site above, includes an
article on making change in the world by means of a
comprehensive, integrated, "whole systems" approach. The
article was written by the late Donella Meadows, a Dartmouth
professor and systems analyst, and is from a chapter of
Meadows' "Thinking About Systems," to be published
posthumously by the Vermont-based Sustainability Institute.
Decades of research taught Meadows that natural and
human systems - a watershed, a large corporation, the US tax
code -- are inherently unpredictable and not fully controllable.
Rather than seek the levers of control for a system, Meadows
urges that people seek to understand and then "dance" with
systems.
She draws an analogy between kayaking, gardening,
skiing, playing music and living successfully in a world of
systems, stating that "All those endeavors require one to stay
wide awake, pay close attention, participate flat out, and respond
to feedback. It had never occurred to me that those same
requirements might apply to intellectual work, to management, to
government, to getting along with people."
In this article, Meadows presents her "systems
wisdoms," which can be seen to apply to all of life, and which
include a discussion of each of the following:
1. Study the behavior of a system.
2. Don't destroy a system's self-maintenance capacities.
3. Models are not reality; consider several models.
4. Stay humble and a learner. Use intuition to help understand a system.
5. Use accurate and timely information.
6. Locate responsibility in the system.
7. Make policies that use system feedback to move systems.
8. Pay attention to what is important, not just what is quantifiable.
9. Don't maximize parts of systems while ignoring the whole.
10. Take actions within the context of long time horizons.
11. To better understand systems, think across disciplines.
12. Expand the boundary of caring: all systems involve people.
13. Don't shrink from the messy, chaotic aspects of systems.
14. Hold fast to high expectations for system behavior.

 

GAO CRITIQUES NATION’S WATERSHED RESEARCH :

GAO's report, WATERSHED MANAGEMENT: Better Coordination of Data Collection Efforts Needed to Support Key Decisions (GAO-04-382), was just released today by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.  The report is available at http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-04-382.

 

For additional information, please contact Steve Elstein (202-512-6515) or John Stephenson (202-512-3841).

 

BEARS REPEATING: “The making of the illusions which flood our experience has become the business of America….To discover our illusions will not solve the problems of our world. But if we do not discover them, we will never discover our real problems. To dispel the ghosts which populate the world of our making will not give us the power to conquer the real enemies of the real world or to remake the real world. But it may help us discover that we cannot make the world in our image. It will liberate us and sharpen our vision. It will clear away the fog so we can face the world we share with all mankind.” Daniel Boorstin, “The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America”, 1961

 

Send comments and items for future editions to:

balmm currents editor: Norman Senjem, MPCA

Phone: 507/280-3592

Fax: 507/280-5513

norman.senjem@pca.state.mn.us