Basin Alliance for the Lower Mississippi in Minnesota
September 15, 2003
SEPTEMBER 17 BALMM MEETING HIGHLIGHTS:
* Governor Pawlenty's Clean Water Initiative, including recommendation of Root River as pilot watershed project; planning a proposed "Southeast Minnesota Water Quality Forum", and Brainstorming ideas for LCMR Funding of SE Minnesota Projects.
* Proposed Revisions to Implementation Plan for Fecal Coliform TMDL, including cost estimates for feedlot fixes, septic system upgrades, rotational grazing, and other implementation activities; plus, a discussion of county manure management ordinances in relation to the state feedlot rule.
* New Look at Livestock in SE Minnesota - This draft proposal attempts to address root causes of the decline in perennial vegetation in the region by exploring ways to maintain and improve the number of beef and dairy cattle in the region.
* Septic System Survey - A large majority of those surveyed stated that residents with septic systems that are found to be causing contamination should be required to fix them; but a large majority also opposed government inspections. See "Sneak Preview" below.
* Another round of 319 Grants - With an application deadline of October 20, the pressure is on to complete the five new proposals in the works. They'll be reviewed at BALMM once more before our annual ranking ceremony.
* Coordinating with SE Minnesota Water Resources Board - With counties in a budget crunch, the idea has been suggested that the SE MN WRB cut down on the number of meetings, both by commissioners, and the advisory committee of water planners. Could we help fill the void and save some time, too, by having BALMM meetings on alternating months? That's what's up for discussion.
ROOT RIVER WATERSHED RECOMMENDED AS CLEAN WATER PILOT:
Part of Governor Pawlenty's Clean Water Initiative involves pilot projects in four areas of the state. In southeast Minnesota, where the Initiative focus is on impaired waters, the pilot will be a watershed project. At the August 20 BALMM meeting, it was decided that a small group representing local, state and federal government agencies in the region should review the selection criteria, discuss the matter, and choose a watershed to recommend to the Clean Water Cabinet by September 18. The selection occurred on September 3. In the morning, the advisory committee of the SE Minnesota Water Resources Board considered a variety of watersheds - including Prairie Creek, Wells Creek, Whitewater River and Straight River -- and ended up unanimously recommending the South Branch Root River watershed. Among the key reasons: the watershed has been recently assessed through a Clean Water Partnership Phase I project, has an implementation plan that has not yet been funded, and satisfies the criteria for selection.
That afternoon, the selection committee met, discussed the strengths and weaknesses of a similar list of watersheds, and ended up confirming the recommendation made that morning, but with a twist. The entire Root River watershed should serve as a pilot project, with the South Branch subwatershed serving as an area of special focus for implementation and evaluation of results over a three-year period. A plan for systematic transfer of results from the subwatershed to the whole watershed will be built into the pilot project. Among the reasons for choosing the entire Root River are its growing recreational uses coupled with relatively high levels of impairment for fecal coliform and turbidity. Of all the southeast Minnesota tributaries, the Root River appears to be the highest contributor of sediment to the Mississippi River.
Goals of the project are:
1. To reduce harmful bacteria entering rivers and streams.
2. To reduce sediment loading to rivers and streams.
3. To coordinate and target delivery of farm programs' funding to cost effectively remediate current impairments and prevent future ones.
SNEAK PREVIEW OF SEPTIC SURVEY AT BALMM MEETING: Doug Malchow of the SE Minnesota Wastewater Initiative will present some highlights of a recently conducted survey about residential wastewater treatment by individual sewage treatment systems, water quality and related issues. This random survey of 3,300 Southeast Minnesota residents indicates that the majority of respondents tend to over-estimate water quality of streams, rivers and lakes in the area, and to under-estimate the extent to which their septic systems are contributing to water quality degradation. A large majority said that they would be motivated to correct problems if their systems were not working. However, a similarly large majority also opposed regular government inspections of septic systems. At the same time, a small majority (55%) said that more needs to be done to address the issue of water contamination from nonfunctioning septic systems. A large majority said that homeowners should be required to repair or replace septic systems that are found to be causing contamination. Nine out of ten also favored the government's provision of low-interest loans to finance septic system repair and replacement, and one-third of respondents said this would be their preferred way of financing septic system repair or replacement. These are a few highlights of the survey.
FILLMORE COUNTY INNOVATES IN WETLAND PROTECTION: Two existing wetlands in Fillmore County have been protected from future impacts, thanks to a voluntary agreement landowners have made with the county and the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources.
The Wetland Conservation Act, Minnesota's wetland protection law, allows a county or watershed district to enroll existing wetlands located in areas that are both high priority regions (counties that have lost 50 percent or more of their pre-settlement wetland acres) and high priority areas (which are identified in local water management plans) into a "wetland preservation area." Fillmore County is the first county in the state to use this natural resource protection tool.
The first enrolled wetland in Fillmore County is located on Gary and Deb Anderson's land in Sumner Township. It has 5.5 acres of wetland and 3.3 acres of buffer. The second is on land owned by Dennis Severson. That wetland preservation area, located in Chatfield Township, has 1.4 acres of wetland and 1.9 acres of buffer.
Fillmore Soil and Water Conservation District coordinates the program in the county. According to Jeremy Maul, GIS technician for the conservation district, the county became involved for two reasons. "We wanted to help preserve our remaining wetlands and provide an extra incentive to enrollees," he said.
The Severson wetland preservation area is located on the Decorah Shale outcropping, a groundwater recharge zone that occurs in southeastern Minnesota. The wetland acts as a filter for an important source of groundwater for the area, according to Maul.
"I felt it was a good way to preserve the wetland and keep our water quality high," noted Dennis Severson. "It's too wet to farm over there. It was only good to farm one out of four years anyway."
A landowner who enrolls in the program signs a restrictive covenant, which prohibits him or her from developing the land or restoring the landscape, unless it is done for habitat or natural-resource improvement purposes. In turn, a landowner is exempt from paying property taxes on that piece of land. Once in the program, a landowner has to manage the wetland and surrounding area with sound soil conservation practices to prevent excessive soil loss and control invasive weeds.
Participation in the program by counties or watershed districts is optional, according to Maul. If a county chooses to accept applications, the Department of Revenue (DOR) reimburses a county for lost tax revenue; the actual amount is based on a DOR formula.
Once a WPA is enrolled, it is considered permanent unless and until a landowner initiates a request for termination. If a termination is requested, the landowner has to wait at least eight years to be released from the restrictive covenant.
For more information, contact the Fillmore Soil and Water Conservation District, phone: (507) 765-3878, or Tom Mings, Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, (651) 284-4153.
OPEN LOT AGREEMENT PROJECT PROGRESSES: (from MPCA Feedlot Update Newsletter) Implementation of the Open Lot Agreement (OLA) is moving into high gear in several of the counties participating in the Targeted Feedlot Runoff Reduction project in Southeast Minnesota. Lessons learned may be valuable to counties that aren't quite as far along in OLA signups.
The project, funded by the EPA's Section 319 Program and administered by the Southeast Minnesota Water Resources Board, involves eight counties -- Dodge, Fillmore, Goodhue, Houston, Olmsted, Rice, Wabasha, and Winona. These counties made use of 319 grant funds of approximately $70,000 per county to hire part-time and retired farmers or agriculturists, in addition to technicians, to assist with feedlot registration and signup for the Open Lot Agreement (OLA). This provision of the revised state feedlot rules allows farmers with fewer than 300 animal units to come into compliance in two phases: 50% runoff reduction by October 2005, and full compliance by October 2010. The goal of the three-year project, which began in October 2001, is to enroll 90% of eligible feedlots in priority areas in the Open Lot Agreement.
Focusing on the OLA makes sense for these eight southeast Minnesota counties for several reasons.
o First, 88 percent of the 6,786 registered feedlots in these counties are in the eligible size category of fewer than 300 animal units.
o Second, of the feedlots that are eligible for the OLA, more than half, or 3357, are likely to pose a pollution hazard, according to county feedlot staff estimates.
o Third, a recently completed Fecal Coliform Total Maximum Daily Load study for southeast Minnesota called for a 65% reduction in significant pollutant sources, including feedlots, adding to the urgency of addressing the problem.
When the feedlot rules were revised in 2000, the OLA was widely seen as a relaxation of current rules in that it extended the period for compliance. This so-called relaxation, however, is resulting in significantly higher rates of compliance where counties are actively promoting the OLA. In the eight-county project area, thousands of livestock farmers who previously had no feedlot permits have now registered; 40% of the smaller feedlots that are thought to pose a pollution hazard have enrolled in the OLA; and half of those feedlots have developed or are implementing fixes.
Results in the second year of the project show differential rates of progress by the counties, with some rapidly approaching the 90 percent enrolment goal and others lagging behind. In Houston County, 92 percent (378) of eligible producers countywide have been enrolled in the OLA. Four additional counties are in the 28 - 63 percent range of enrollment of eligible feedlots thought to pose pollution hazards, and appear to be on the way to meeting the 90% target - in some cases, for the entire county rather than just in targeted areas.
Although each county followed a distinct approach to achieving OLA signups, the leading performers had one thing in common - and it wasn't fancy marketing. In on-farm visits, county staff framed the farmer's choice in clear terms: Either sign the OLA, and have a phased in compliance schedule during which you will not be subject to enforcement action; or, run the real risk of being inspected, identified as a pollution hazard, and required to come into compliance within two years under an interim permit. Information-education approaches, by themselves, did not appear as effective as the more direct approach.
As the project moves beyond registration and OLA signups into implementation, counties are finding that many of the feedlot fixes can be done at a fairly low cost ($2,000 to $15,000), in contrast to expensive manure storage structures. Some plans utilize simple devices such as roof gutters, earthen berms, filter strips, concrete curbs and drainpipe that runs under the feedlot.
However, even apparently simple solutions often require engineering expertise. As implementation proceeds, demand for engineering services is expected to mushroom. How to address this need - along with the need for additional cost-share dollars to fund thousands of low-cost solutions - is a topic of urgent discussion. - Norman Senjem and Jerome Hildebrant
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, Winona County Feedlot Officer
"NO FALL TILLAGE OF SOYBEAN STUBBLE" CAMPAIGN UNDERWAY: The following letter was mailed by the Southeast Minnesota (Area 7) NRCS Office to 450 commercial farmers in the region as part of a campaign to encourage farmers not to till soybean stubble in the fall. Mailing lists were submitted by NRCS field offices. Here's how the letter reads:
Dear Southeast Minnesota Crop Producer,
As you know, timeliness counts when it comes to crop farming. Whether you plant corn in late April or mid May, or whether you spray herbicides at the right stage of weed and crop growth, or too late, can significantly affect how many bushels you harvest in the fall.
Similarly, the timing of tillage can significantly influence soil erosion and water quality, issues of increasing public concern in southeast Minnesota. Fall tillage of soybean fields frequently leaves almost no residue to stop erosion the following spring. We all see the results - rills and gullies cut into bare, sloping fields after spring and early summer rains.
For this reason, the University of Minnesota's recently published tillage guidelines (enclosed), based on 18 years of University field trials, advise that farmers attempt to avoid fall tillage of soybean stubble and strictly limit spring tillage. Use of a straw chopper on the combine can help to evenly distribute soybean residue, which helps in managing residue successfully the following spring. If a field cultivator is used for one-pass spring tillage before planting, equipment must be carefully outfitted and operated to avoid burying too much soybean residue.
On June 24, 2003, Governor Tim Pawlenty set forth explicit environmental goals for southeast Minnesota as part of a statewide commitment to clean water. "Cropland soil erosion will be reduced by at least two million tons per year and sediment delivered to streams will be cut by 30 percent in the next decade" in southeast Minnesota, he announced at a water quality conference in St. Cloud.
Those goals can be met through reduced tillage in conjunction with other conservation practices. Fortunately, today's technology offers ways of reducing tillage while maintaining or even increasing net income. Detailed information on the performance of a full range of tillage systems under varying soil conditions and crop rotations in southeast Minnesota is included in the publication Tillage Best Management Practices for Water Quality Protection in Southeast Minnesota. We urge you to review this information in light of your specific farming operation. If you are among the growing number of farmers who no longer conduct fall tillage of soybean stubble, thanks for your contribution to a better environment. If not, we hope you will try skipping fall tillage on at least one soybean field, and see how it works.
Here's wishing you a successful growing season and a bountiful harvest.
Co-Signed -- Gyles Randall, University of Minnesota; John Nicholson, NRCS; Norman Senjem, MPCA
BEARS REPEATING: "We've got two tangible goals for this area (southeast Minnesota). First, rivers in this area, such as the Cannon, Zumbro, Whitewater, Straight, Cedar, Vermillion and Root Rivers - in addition to more than 100 trout streams - should be swimmable within ten years. Second, cropland soil erosion will be reduced by at least two million tons per year and sediment delivered to streams will be cut by 30 percent in the next decade." -- Governor Tim Pawlenty, June 24, 2003
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