2014.01.14 CC Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Hugo City Council Meeting Minutes for January 14, 2014 Page 9 of 12 Chien Aquifer, bordered by the St. Croix River on the east and the Mississippi River on the west, with the exclusion of a part of Minneapolis. This exclusion was discussed because Minneapolis has a bonding proposal to drill wells in the Prairie du Chien Aquifer. Bryan explained that 15 individuals have been appointed to serve on the advisory team, and he has been chosen as the one to represent cities. His appointment was the result of requests by Mayor Weidt to the DNR Commissioner. Petryk said she appreciated Bryan being appointed to the Advisory Board, though this Board has no legal power. If this is a goal of the DNR, the DNR has no plans to help small communities to meet these goals and it could impact the City's budget. Weidt stated that the boundary with Minneapolis was quite surprising and transparency was in question. He asked that Bear be put on the advisory team for that reason and because Hugo has been on the forefront of water conservation for years with the goal of minimizing the impact on groundwater. He appreciated the DNR inviting Bear to be a part of the committee. No formal action was taken by the Council. Report on St. Paul Port Authority Water Injection Proiect At the December 16, 2014 Council meeting, Council Member Haas added this to the agenda to talk about the St. Paul Port Authority who has a project underway to inject storm water back into the aquifer. Through an engineered solution by Loucks & Associates, they are able to measure the pollutants that are being removed. Haas thought Hugo should know more about this, and staff was directed to investigate. City Engineer Jay Kennedy informed Council that he had met with staff members of the Port Authority on this project, which is referred to as Beacon Bluff storm water system. It is located on 163 acres of a former 3M facility brownfield redevelopment area. This project is a storm water infiltration system that is very large and also directly monitors water quality. Jay explained that there are smaller applications like this in Hugo, such as the Oneka project, which has a groundwater infiltration system similar to that. No formal action was taken. Approve Schedule for Approval of Stormwater Management Plan City staff has been working on the update to the City's Comprehensive Stormwater Management Plan. City Engineer Jay Kennedy provided Council with an update regarding progress to date, and provide a schedule for completing the plan. Jay explained there is a Stormwater Management Plan currently in place that is ten years old, and many of the policies still apply. Rice Creek Watershed District rules will have an impact on the policy as well as the City's water reuse efforts. Staff will be working with the Water Resource Committee and the DNR on the plan. A draft will be presented to the Planning Commission at their February 27, 2014 meeting and to the City Council at their March 17, 2014 meeting for comment. Jay stated that the policy is critical with what the Council is doing for water conservation. No formal action was taken.