From: Senjem, Norman [Norman.Senjem@state.mn.us]
Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2003 11:11 AM
To: Rasmussen-Donna-Fillmore-Co (E-mail)
Subject: balmm currents EXTRA
balmm currents EXTRA
Basin Alliance for the Lower Mississippi in Minnesota
November 4, 2003
SOUTHEAST MINN. WATER QUALITY FORUM NOVEMBER 12: What does Governor Pawlenty's Clean Water Initiative hold in store for Southeast Minnesota? Only time will tell, but some intriguing possibilities are already beginning to take shape. The Water Quality Forum affords an opportunity to further define those possibilities through dialog between the Governor's new Clean Water Cabinet and BALMM partners engaged in implementation.
o Representing the Clean Water Cabinet are Tim Scherkenbach, Executive Director, and Sheryl Corrigan, MPCA Commissioner. They will describe the process underway to select pilot project in four regions of the state, and to develop a legislative proposal for the 2004 Legislative Session. As of today, we know that securing long-term, stable funding sources for water quality restoration and studies is a high priority of the Stakeholder Policy Work Group (the "Group of 16"). One likely outcome is a multimillion dollar package that includes funding for monitoring and TMDL studies, but is heavily weighted toward implementation funding.
o Next on the agenda is BALMM's "Group of Five" -- for lack of a better term -- who will describe our collaborative system for establishing environmental goals and working together on strategies to achieve them. See attached agenda for details. Highlights include:
o Update on the CREP application, which Governor Pawlenty sent to Washington D.C. on October 13;
o Unveiling results of a Septic System Issues Survey of Southeast Minnesota residents, which reveals that the vast majority think owners of contaminating systems should be required to fix them, preferably with the help of a low-interest loan;
o Cost estimates for achieving a 65% reduction in human and animal sources of fecal coliform bacteria (total is about $200 million over 10 years), as described in the newly published Regional Fecal Coliform TMDL Implementation Plan; and
o Detailed plans for achieving reductions in turbidity and fecal coliform in the South Branch Root River Watershed - a primary focus of attention for the Clean Water Initiative for the next three years.
o A Legislative Panel will look ahead to how the 2004 Legislative Session is likely to respond to water quality-related proposals. Included are:
o Rep. Ray Cox, vice-chair, House Environment & Natural Resources Policy Committee;
o Rep. Dennis Ozment, chair, House Environment & Natural Resources Finance Committee;
o Representation from the Minnesota Senate also has been invited.
o Dr. Gyles Randall documents the continued shift of land from hay and pasture to row crops, particularly soybeans, in the highly erodible and groundwater-sensitive karst area. Among the potential solutions the soil scientist explores in his luncheon address are: re-examine our "feed the world" philosophy; substantially reduce row-crop production in erosion-sensitive agroecoregions; and increase landscape diversity by integrating livestock back into the system.
o Southeast Minnesota Water Quality in Three Dimensions rounds out the forum with three presentations. Department of Natural Resources groundwater hydrologist Jeff Green sets the stage with a discussion of how karst influences surface-groundwater communication, and what this implies for addressing water quality in SE Minnesota; MPCA's Lee Ganske describes the monitoring data and water quality standards framework that have led to the designation of so many southeast Minnesota streams as impaired by turbidity and fecal coliform bacteria. Finally, Eric Anderson of the Minnesota Department of Health discusses the human health risks posed by water-borne pathogens.
<<SE MN Water Quality Forum Agenda.doc>>
DATE: November 12, 8:30 - 3:30
LOCATION: Rochester Community and Technical College -- Heintz Center DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: <http://www.rctc.edu/campustour/getting-to-ucr.html>
Confirm your attendance with Brenda Phillips, MPCA Southeast Regional Office. Call 507-280-5561, or email Brenda.Phillips@pca.state.mn.us <mailto:Brenda.Phillips@pca.state.mn.us>
CREP COMES CLOSER TO COMPLETION: With Governor Pawlenty's trip to Southeast Minnesota October 14, announcing the Minnesota Conservation Reserve Program application that includes acreage for SE Minnesota, NW Minnesota and SW Minnesota, the Southeast Minnesota CREP effort that started two years ago took a major step forward. Although acreage targets were reduced to accommodate two other regions in a single statewide application, broader participation will generate more political support for an estimated $23 million Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) Reserve bonding bill expected to be introduced in the coming legislative session. That would fulfill the state's requirement to match federal funding at a ratio of 1 to 4 - which represents significantly better leveraging of state funds than was available in the Minnesota River CREP. Acreage amounts are:
o Riparian Zones: 11050 acres
o Groundwater Protection: 4,675 acres
o Highly Erodible Land: 15,000 acres
o Rotation Contour Strips: 2,880 acres
o Wetland Restoration: 8,925
o Total Acreage: 42,500 acres (1.6% of cultivated cropland)
Easement choices in the Governor's Minnesota CREP proposal include 35-year (in addition to a 15-year CRP contract) or perpetual easements for riparian zones, groundwater protection, and highly erodible land. By state law, perpetual easements are required for wetlands. Only 15-year CRP contracts will be available for Rotation Contour Strips.
The application will need approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Nearly $200 million in federal money combined with $40 million from the state would fully fund the statewide CREP application. Every $1 allocated by the state will be matched with $4 of federal funding.
Southeast Minnesota CREP Coordinator Bev Nordby (Mower SWCD District Manager) is organizing a local CREP Coalition, with contacts from each county 14 counties plus several non-government organizations. At its first meeting (Nov. 6, MPCA Rochester Office, 9-noon), the coalition will accelerate the task of Building Local Support.
For more information, contact: Bev Nordby at 507-434-2603 or email bev.nordby@mn.usda.gov <<Local CREP Contact.doc>>
FECAL COLIFORM TMDL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FINALIZED: The Implementation Plan describes how the source-reduction targets of the Regional Fecal Coliform TMDL will be achieved for the most significant human and animal sources of fecal coliform. It begins with a summary of water quality standards, degree of impairment of southeast Minnesota streams, and the extent of reductions needed in the main sources of fecal coliform in order to achieve water quality standards. The plan then describes detailed reduction measures for seven major sources of fecal coliform bacteria, which agencies and organizations are taking the lead in working toward these reductions, and grant monies allocated to specific projects. The plan also describes how progress toward TMDL goals will be measured, and provides estimates of the cost of fully implementing the plan over a 10-year period.
Posted at
Upper Mississippi River Basin Stakeholders Network Website: http://www.umbsn.org/news/balmm_updates.shtml.
MPCA Web Site: http://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/tmdl.html#finaltmdl
WHERE RIVERS ARE BORN: See the link below for a 24-page overview on Headwater Streams and Wetlands, written by 11 ecologists (who used more than 235 scientific
publications) and produced by American Rivers and the Sierra Club (with grants from the Sierra Club Foundation, Turner Foundation, and American Rivers). September 2003 Where Rivers are Born: The Scientific Imperative for Defending Small Streams and Wetlands <http://www.amrivers.org/docs/WhereRiversAreBorn.pdf>
MINNESOTA PROJECT AWARDED GRANT TO ENROLL FARMERS IN CONSERVATION PROGRAMS: Loni Kemp, Senior Policy Analyst with the Minnesota Project, was recently informed by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation that her grant application of $40,000 for Enrolling Farmers in Conservation Programs has been approved. "For sure we need to be on the January agenda to begin planning," writes Loni. "Recall we'll need a person from each participating county to form a work group, and they'll each get $1000 cash for outreach expenses, though their time is contributed." Could be a good way to beat the drum for CREP and other new NRCS conservation programs, including possibly the Conservation Security Program. For more information, contact Loni Kemp at 507-743-8300, or email lkemp@mnproject.org <mailto:lkemp@mnproject.org>
REPORT ON NUTRIENT IMPACTS ON MINNESOTA STREAMS AVAILABLE:
The following report is now available in hard copy and on the MPCA web site below "Establishing relationships among in-stream nutrient concentrations, phytoplankton and periphyton abundance and composition, fish and macroinvertebrate indices and biochemical oxygen demand in Minnesota USA rivers. 2003"
This work was accomplished in part by support of an EPA Nutrient Criteria grant and portions of the work were done in conjunction with the USGS, Moundsview office. Copies available at the following web site: <http://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/biomonitoring/bio-streams-algae.html#reports>
For more information, contact Steve Heiskary at 651-296-7217 BEARS REPEATING: "The River itself has no beginning or end. In its beginning, it is not yet the river; in its end, it is no longer the river. What we call the headwaters is only a selection from among the innumerable sources which flow together to compose it. At what point in its course does the Mississippi become what the Mississippi means? - T.S. Eliot (taken from Where Rivers are Born: The Scientific Imperative for Defending Small Streams and Wetlands.)
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