#04 WBL TIMELINE PG2 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The mission of the City of Lake Elmo is to provide planned, quality public services consistent with the City’s character in a fiscally responsible manner in partnership with our community. The City of Lake Elmo | 3880 Laverne Ave N | Lake Elmo | MN 55042 1. 2012: Lawsuit Filed. In November 2012, the White Bear Lake Restoration Association and the White Bear Lake Homeowners Association filed a suit in Ramsey County District Court alleging the permitted too much groundwater use near White Bear Lake, causing the lake water levels to drop unacceptably. 2. 2014: Plaintiffs and DNR Reach Settlement Agreement. In December of 2014, the DNR and the plaintiffs in the lawsuit reached a settlement, contingent on achieving several requirements. The settlement agreement required: • Work on water conservation and efficiency strategies with 13 area public water suppliers. • Establish a protective elevation for White Bear Lake. • Support legislative funding for a feasibility and design study to shift the source water for six communities in the White Bear Lake area to surface water. • Achieve funding for the alternative water supply by the end of the 2016 Minnesota legislative session. • Inform the plaintiffs of groundwater use permit applications and permit changes in the area, and provide them an opportunity to comment on those applications and proposed permit changes. • Invite the plaintiffs to participate as members on the North and East Metro Groundwater Management Area project advisory team. 3. 2016: No Legislative Funding for Shift to Surface Water Use. The DNR and the plaintiffs in the lawsuit met with legislators to discuss the prospects of passing legislation in the 2016 session to address the “Phase 1” alternative water supply Northeast Metro Project opens in a new browser tab outlined in the settlement agreement. In April of that year, a bill was introduced to provide some funding to assess the feasibility of the “Phase I” project, but the measure was not enacted. Because the proposed bill was not enacted, the stay on the litigation was lifted per the terms of the settlement agreement and the lawsuit went to trial. The “Phase I” project as defined in the settlement agreement would have connected six municipalities to either raw or treated water purchased from St. Paul Regional Water Services. 4. 2017-2018: Ramsey County District Court Order and Resulting Permit Modifications. Following failure to obtain feasibility funding for the “Phase I” project before