05/02/1994 Park Board Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Local government planning As a.part of the WMO planning process described under Minnesota Statutes,section 103B.201,each local government will be required to prepare a local water management plan, capital improvement program and official controls necessary to implement the watershed plan. As part of the local water management plan, the local government will need to define water quantity and quality protection methods adequate to meet performance standards established in the watershed plan. Local governments will also be required to amend their local comprehensive plans to reflect the contents of the watershed plan. Local governments will have two years to amend their comprehensive plans from the time the WMO planning process is complete. Under rules currently proposed by the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR), WMOs have until 1995 to complete their plans. The earliest local governments are required to revise their comprehensive plans is 1997. It could take several years beyond 1997 to implement local government plans. The second piece of legislation is Minnesota Statutes,section 473.157,that requires the Metropolitan Council to prepare a water resources plan that includes management objectives and target pollution loads for watersheds in the metropolitan area. From this plan WMOs e-,rill advise localgovernments of their target pollution loads. Local governments will revise their stormwater management plans to include implementation steps that assure the target pollution loads are met. The Metropolitan Council has set as a priority developing the target pollution loads for watersheds tributary to the Minnesota River. This is a priority because of the urgency to meet the EPA/MPCA reduction goal of 40 percent by 1996. Target pollution loads for Bevens, Carver, Chaska and Sand Creek watersheds will be developed by 1992. Pollution loads for other watersheds in the Minnesota River Basin will be developed by mid-1993. The Council will also be actively pursuing the development of target pollution loads for all watersheds in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency In accordance with the Clean Water Act, Section 319, the MPCA is charged with developing a state- wide strategy for addressing nonpoint pollution. This plan is a four year plan developed in 1990 and is periodically updated as new information becomes available. This strategy both targets and prioritizes problem areas and develops a management plan for addressing these problem areas. The management plan looks at both a voluntary and a regulatory approach to addressing problems. The state plan is also required to develop various approaches to funding problem solutions from federal state and local sources. The Board of Water and Soil Resources The Board of Water and Soil Resources is the primary state agency responsible for surface water planning and is the lead agency responsible for carrying out many of the administrative aspects of the recently passed Wetland Conservation Act of 1991,better known as the"no-net loss"legislation. The act provides landowners with three options for preserving or enhancing wetlands: the wetland preservation areas option; the permanent wetland preserves option; and the wetland establishment and restoration program. If a land use practice requires the taking of a protected wetland the legislation requires a 1:1 and a 2:1 mitigation of wetlands in rural and urban areas respectively.