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<<BALMM agenda Aug 20.doc>> [opens as .pdf]
PAWLENTY'S CLEAN WATER INITIATIVE FOR SE MINNESOTA HEADLINES AUG. 20 BALMM MEETING: Since Governor Pawlenty announced stream restoration goals for southeast Minnesota on June 24 (see June balmm currents for details), we've been looking for ways to link BALMM to the Southeast Minnesota focus of the Clean Water Initiative.
o The first such opportunity came on July 17, when Governor Pawlenty called a public meeting in Austin to learn more about the Southeast Minnesota Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) proposal. Based on comments made after this meeting, we are optimistic about being included in a state CREP proposal in the near future. At the next BALMM meeting, SE Minnesota CREP Coordinator Bev Nordby will lead a discussion of next steps with CREP - securing RIM funding in the next legislative session, and forming a CREP Marketing Committee to publicize the program and inform eligible landowners how they can participate in this exciting new opportunity.
o Now, Lisa Thorvig, Assistant Commissioner of the MPCA, will provide an update of Governor Pawlenty's Clean Water Initiative. This will include a discussion of selection of pilot watershed projects, on a small scale, and on a basinwide scale how BALMM can get involved in the initiative.
o In this connection, we will review the draft agenda for a "Southeast Minnesota Clean Water Initiative Forum" in Rochester this November, where we hope to hear from Governor Pawlenty and the Clean Water Cabinet, outline projects already underway to achieve the Southeast Minnesota objectives, and identify next steps BALMM can take to ensure that streams are swimmable in 10 years, and that additional soil conservation practices contribute to a saving of 2 million tons in soil erosion and a 30 percent reduction in stream sedimentation.
ALSO ON BALMM AGENDA -- FILLMORE COUNTY INNOVATIONS: As noted in "Bears Repeating" in the June edition of BALMM Currents, "True merit, like a river, the deeper it is, the less noise it makes." (Edward Frederick Halifax). Accordingly, your basin coordinator learned about two intriguing innovations in the field of inspection and compliance not by reading a press release, but in casual conversation at a field day on the "manure setaside" project south of Lanesboro. County Feedlot Officer Mike Frauenkron and NRCS District Conservationist Sue Glende will go public with their innovations at the next BALMM meeting. Following is a sneak preview of what they have to say:
Extending the County Feedlot Officer's Inspection Role:
When Fillmore County Feedlot Officer, Mike Frauenkron, goes to do a feedlot inspection, he doesn't limit his evaluation of the site to just the pollution potential from the feedlot. Frauenkron is also a licensed septic system installer. While onsite, he inspects the septic system, and if it is found to be non-conforming to the specifications of the current Minnesota Rules Chapter 7080, he notifies the county zoning office, which enforces the county's septic system ordinance. The Zoning Administrator then sends a letter to the septic system owner with information about compliance requirements in the ordinance. Any system which poses an imminent public health threat (surfacing sewage or sewage which outlets directly to a ditch, waterway, or ground water) must be brought into compliance within 10 months of notification. Frauenkron has found the majority of the septic systems he inspects during his feedlot visits are non-compliant and in need of upgrading. Malfunctioning septic systems can be a significant source of fecal coliform bacteria contamination in surface and ground water. Identifying this source of pollution while on a feedlot site better assures that another significant source will also be addressed in order to protect the quality of the water in the feedlot owner's well and in any surface waters that may be nearby.
Effective Conservation Compliance Review
Sue Glende, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) District Conservationist in Fillmore County, has made a concerted effort to complete the 900-plus conservation compliance status reviews needed for CRP contracts in the county in addition to random compliance checks for other programs. This is often something that gets put on the back burner for many NRCS offices due to heavy workloads in other program areas. However, most people would say that complying with the conditions of a contract for a conservation practice is vital to making the practice effective and assuring that taxpayer dollars are buying the conservation that was intended. Glende has found that about 50 percent of CRP enrollees are doing a good job of maintaining the practices that were cost-shared through federal programs. In the other 50 percent of the cases, seedings are not being maintained, waterway dimensions have been diminished with crops being grown on contract acres, and in extreme cases, the practice may no longer even be evident. When these situations are found, Glende contacts the landowner about the problem areas and reports the infractions to the Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Committee, which makes the funding decisions for federally funded programs in the county. The Fillmore County FSA Committee has a schedule of fines based on the severity of the non-compliance. Sometimes program payments may also be wholly or partially revoked. As word spreads about the consequences for non-compliance, more program enrollees are likely to increase their efforts to maintain their conservation practices which provide a public benefit in reducing soil erosion and other pollution and protecting water quality.
NEW ROUND OF 319 PROJECTS TO BE REVIEWED: At last count, five new 319 projects were being developed for submission this fall, four of them under the TMDL Implementation category. Project sponsors will provide brief updates, as follows:
o South Branch Root River Watershed Fecal Coliform Reduction Project - Donna Rasmussen, Fillmore County water planner;
o Designing Complete Feedlot Fixes in Targeted Areas under the Open Lot Agreement-I - Bea Hoffmann, Southeast Minnesota Water Resources Board
o Designing Complete Feedlot Fixes in Targeted Areas under the Open Lot Agreement-II -- Glenn Roberson, SE Minnesota SWCD Technical Assistance Joint Powers Board
o Implementing Low-Cost Complete Fixes in Targeted Areas under the Open Lot Agreement - Roger Lenzmeier, Hiawatha Resource Conservation and Development Council, and Mike Frauenkron, Fillmore County Feedlot Officer
o Milkhouse Waste Treatment Demonstration Project - Mark Gernes,
"NO FALL TILLAGE OF SOYBEAN STUBBLE" CAMPAIGN
UNDERWAY: Tillage-watchers in southern
The
For more information, contact: Gyles
Randall, University of
BEARS REPEATING: "We've got two tangible goals for
this area (southeast
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