2017.08.21 CC Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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C. Legal Authority to Revise PWI 14. The Legislature detailed the procedures for preparing the PWI lists and maps and the appeal process available to individuals and counties to challenge the inclusion of public waters or wetlands in the PWI. See 1979 Minn. Laws, ch. 199 § 7. 15. In 2005, the Legislature gave the DNR the authority to revise the PWI map and list of each county "as needed to correct errors in the original inventory." 2005 Minn. Laws, ch. 138, § 1 codified at Minn. Stat. § 103G.201 (e)(2)(i) (2016). 16. The DNR addresses requests to "correct errors in the original inventory" on a case-by-case basis. In undertaking its case-by-case analysis, the DNR considers the history of the water feature at issue and whether the watercourse in question meets the statutory definition of "public waters" set forth in Minnesota Statutes Section 103G.005, subd. 15 (2016). D. The Subject Watercourses Should Be Removed from the PWI 17. The PWI process of designating public waters for inclusion on PWI lists and PWI maps mistakenly identified the subject watercourses identified in Exhibit A as part of public ditch systems. The subject watercourses were identified as public waters that were part of a public ditch system and were depicted by heavy dashed lines on the PWI maps. The subject watercourses are a subset of all watercourses shown on the PWI map as heavy dashed lines. 18. Although depicted as heavy dashed lines on the PWI maps, the subject watercourses were not listed in the PWI lists provided to counties for comment or in the PWI lists published for comment in official county newspapers. Accordingly, proper notification that the subject watercourses were intended to be designated as public waters was not provided to counties or adjacent landowners such that they would have had sufficient notice to allow them to contest the inclusion of these watercourses in the PWI. 19. The failure to include the subject watercourses in the relevant PWI lists that were circulated and published for comment constitutes as an error in the original inventory within the meaning of Minnesota Statutes Section 103G.201(e)(2)(i) (2016). 20. Because proper notice of the inclusion of the subject watercourses in the PWI lists was not provided as required by Chapter 199 of 1979 Minnesota Laws, the subject watercourses should be removed from the PWI. 21. The DNR may review the subject watercourses for possible inclusion in the PWI in the future, subject to requisite public comment opportunity prior to any additions to the PWI. 3