Agenda Packets - 1987/01/12 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I Metropolitan Council Pre -Drafting Notice for Preparation of the Water Resources Management I� Policy Plan, Part I, of the Metropolitan Development Guide 1. Preface During 1986, the Minnesota Legislature passed the Metropolitan Governance legis- lation calling for improved Metropolitan Council direction for sewer service and accountability for fiscal management. Also in 1906, the Council produced new population projections that show a slowdown in the region's growth. Because of these events, the,Council is undertaking a major revision of its existing Part 1 of the Water Rasouvees Management chapter of the Metropolitan Development Guide (the sewer Policy Plan). Minn. Stat., Sea, 473.146,•subd. 2, as amended in 1986, requires that the `':'` Metropolitan Council publish a pre -drafting notice requesting comments from the public before beginning to prepare a substantial revision of the sewer Policy Plan. At least 90 days before publication of the notice, the Council shall submit a draft of it to the Metropolitan Waste Control Commission (MWCC) for review and comment. The pre -drafting notice must include by the Council's Policy Plan and the problems, issues and other matters to to be used as input to the plans, 2. Policy Plan Content a statement of the subjects to be covered MWCC's Implementation Plan, a summary of be addressed and a summary of the studies The Policy Plan will contain the items required in Minn. Stat., See. 473.146, subd. 1, as amended in 1986. The new legislation places emphasis on services rather than facilities, on a detailed fiscal component of the plan and on a monitoring procedure to evaluate the progress achieved by the MWCC in the imple- mentation of the Council's Policy Plan. Completion of the Policy Plan and the Implementation Plan will also fulfill the Council's requirements as the desig- nated areawide water quality planning agency under the federal Clean Water Act (Section 1288 of Title 33, U.S. Code). 3. Statement of the Problem .nL A reduction in the population growth rate and an aging infrastructure mean that a new service approach will be needed in which more attention is paid to using existing capacity and repairing failing parts of the system. Further adding to the need for this new approach is the changing funding picture in which federal and state grants are decreasing. The accountability of the Council and the MWCC will need to be better defined so that an appropriate balance can be achieved between the need for public oversight of sewer system spending deci- sions and the need for the MWCC to have flexibility in its operations. The Council's plan, therefore, will pay more attention to policy direction, leaving system design specifics and operations to the MWCC.