DECEMBER 17 BALMM MEETING AGENDA:
o Lefse & römmegröt: It's time to celebrate another year of BALMM accomplishments and the holiday season with our tradition of lefse and römmegröt.
o Root River Watershed update. Since Governor Pawlenty designated the
o CREP Update. As the year draws to a close, efforts are gearing up to resolve lingering disagreements over offering farmers the option of permanent easements. The governor's application provides a choice between 35-year and permanent easements for most land uses (exceptions being wetlands, where only permanent easements may be offered according to state law; and contour buffers, which would offer a 15-year CRP contract only). CREP coordinators and the Governor's office are meeting with farm groups who oppose permanent easements to resolve the issue by year's end. CREP Coordinator Bev Nordby will provide details. From there, the discussion will turn to CREP-related strategies in the BALMM Scoping Document - such as floodplain management and wetland restoration. Getting going on these strategies could help us to hit the ground running once CREP is funded.
o Roads and Runoff. What if we could tackle runoff and
erosion problems through how roads and bridges are built and how culverts are
sized? An
o Midwest Assistance Program - Evan Fulton of MAP will describe the kinds of services this federal organization can offer communities to improve wastewater treatment. After the BALMM presentation he will meet with the SE Minnesota Wastewater Initiative in the afternoon to explore opportunities for coordination.
BEV NORDBY HONORED BY STATE SWCD ASSOCIATION:
Bev Nordby was selected for the 2003 Outstanding SWCD Employee Award at the recently held annual convention of the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts. Bev richly deserves this recognition for the efforts she has made on behalf of BALMM and CREP, and much more.
When a small group of local resource managers started meeting
in 1999 to discuss how to get organized across the
Bev was instrumental in crafting
BALMM's Landscape Buffer Initiative and, toward the
end of 2001, seized the opportunity to launch a Conservation Reserve Enhancement
Program (CREP) initiative for
In fall 2002, in addition to carrying the ball on CREP, Bev agreed to fill in an unexpected vacancy in the BALMM leadership, acting as chair for several months, until a replacement could be found. This year, Bev has continued to lead the charge on CREP, while orchestrating a 50th anniversary for the Mower County SWCD and coping with funding restraints.
Bev is truly a leader among SWCD District Managers, and is one of those individuals who can be counted on to work outside their county boundaries to make good things happen for her SWCD, her region and her state. Congratulations, Bev.
WATER QUALITY FORUM ADVANCES BALMM AGENDA: The Southeast
Minnesota Water Quality Forum on November 12 was attended by 85 elected officials,
local government staff, and others interested in environmental issues. The event
was sponsored by the MPCA and BALMM. MPCA Commissioner Sheryl Corrigan and Tim
Scherkenbach opened the event with presentations on
Governor Pawlenty's Clean Water Initiative and the
Impaired Waters stakeholder process. This was followed by a progress report
on basin management implementation through BALMM (Basin Alliance for the Lower
Mississippi in Minnesota), which included an update on implementation of the
Regional Fecal Coliform TMDL, the CREP application, and a survey on attitudes
about septic system related issues. Next, a panel of state legislators discussed
how new water quality proposals are likely to fare in the upcoming session.
The luncheon speaker, Gyles Randall,
LCMR REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS POSTED ON WEB: The LCMR Request
for Proposal (RFP) for funding beginning
COMPUTER-BASED WASTEWATER DATA MANAGEMENT SEMINAR SCHEDULED
FOR DECEMBER 18: Sponsored by the Southeast Minnesota Wastewater Initiative,
the seminar will take place Dec. 18,
State legislation enacted in 2003 requires the MPCA and
stakeholders to develop a plan to oversee compliance with individual sewage
treatment maintenance requirements of Minnesota Rules Chapter 7080.0175 by
OTHER MEETING ANNOUNCEMENTS:
MEI's Annual Legislative Issues
Forum
Thursday, December 11
120 West Kellogg
Rep. Dennis Ozment, chair of the House Environment and Natural Resources Finance Committee, Rep. Tom Hackbarth, chair of the Environment and Natural Resources Policy Committee and other key legislators and policymakers will gather with a diverse audience of business, government and nonprofit stakeholders to discuss the major environmental issues under consideration in the upcoming legislative session. The dialogue among presenters and attendees is designed to lead to creative and collaborative solutions to our most pressing environmental challenges.
Impaired waters, the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, the Northstar commuter rail line and bonding will be among the issues discussed. The forum will be a terrific opportunity to raise your issues and pose your questions to legislative leaders
Sponsors
The 2003 Environmental Policy Forum Series is sponsored by Flint Hills Resources.
The lead event sponsor for MEI's Annual Legislative
Issues forum is Wenck Associates.
In-kind sponsorship for the event is provided by the Minnesota Environmental
Partnership and the
Registration
Please register early - last year's legislative forum sold out.
MEI Members: $40
Nonmembers: $60
Registration includes breakfast.
Register online at <http://www.mn-ei.org/policy/events.html> Or contact Suzy Knutson at 612-334-3388 ext. 100 or sknutson@mn-ei.org <mailto:sknutson@mn-ei.org>.
Prepayment is not required; you will be invoiced after the event. No one will be denied admission to the forum because of inability to pay the registration fee; inquiries about scholarship opportunities should be directed to Peter Frosch at pfrosch@mn-ei.org <mailto:pfrosch@mn-ei.org>.
For more information on the Legislative Issues Forum please contact Peter Frosch, Environmental Policy program manager, at 612-334-3388, ext. 108, or pfrosch@mn-ei.org <mailto:pfrosch@mn-ei.org>. For more information on the Environmental Policy Forum Series, click here
<http://www.mn-ei.org/policy/forums.html>.
Minnesota's Impaired Waters Stakeholder Process
Public Stakeholder Input Group
(Tentative time:
In early summer, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
and a group of key stakeholders invited the Minnesota Environmental Initiative
(MEI) to design and manage a stakeholder process that would result in a policy
framework for the development and implementation of the state's impaired waters
program. Since mid-July, dozens of stakeholders from the business, government
and nonprofit communities have been meeting regularly to develop their recommendations.
On
The Public Stakeholder Input Group is the largest and most
inclusive in the three-tier public participation process MEI created. An
audience of several hundred stakeholders ranging from local water quality leaders
to legislators are expected to converge on
Because it is a part of the stakeholder process, there will be no charge for the event. To be involved all you need to do is register online at: <http://www.mn-ei.org/policy/events.html>.
More information on the Public Stakeholder Input Group meeting will be sent out in December. If you have questions regarding the event call Peter Frosch at 612-334-3388 ext.108 or email at pfrosch@mn-ei.org. More information on the Impaired Waters Stakeholder Process is available on MEI's website: <http://www.mn-ei.org/policy/impairedwaters.html>
Minnesota Environmental Initiative is a 13-year old nonprofit
organization based in
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