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<br />[204185/1] 7 <br />35. DNR also uses the priority allocation law when evaluating whether and <br />when to grant water appropriation permits.35 <br />36. During times of “critical water deficiency,” Minnesota law gives the Governor <br />broad powers to impose water conservation restrictions. Minn. Stat. § 103G.291, subd. 1 <br />(2022), provides: <br />(a) If the governor determines and declares by executive order <br />that there is a critical water deficiency, public water supply <br />authorities appropriating water must adopt and enforce water <br />conservation restrictions within their jurisdiction that are <br />consistent with rules adopted by the commissioner. <br />(b) The restrictions must limit lawn sprinkling, vehicle washing, <br />golf course and park irrigation, and other nonessential uses, <br />and have appropriate penalties for failure to comply with the <br />restrictions.36 <br />37. As of the date of this Order, the Governor has not declared a “critical water <br />deficiency” in the Northeast Metro.37 <br />IV. The Purpose, Use, and Development of Protective Elevations <br />38. The Commissioner of Natural Resources is directed by statute to <br />administer: “(1) the use, allocation, and control of waters of the state; (2) the <br />establishment, maintenance, and control of lake levels and water storage reservoirs; and <br />(3) the determination of the ordinary high-water level of waters of the state.”38 <br />39. These administrative powers include the authority to “establish water <br />appropriation limits to protect groundwater resources.”39 <br />40. When establishing water appropriation limits, the commissioner works to <br />preserve “the sustainability of the groundwater resource, including the current and <br />projected water levels,” and “the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”40 <br />41. To set appropriate sustainability levels, Minnesota law also grants the <br />Commissioner of Natural Resources the power to both set “protective elevations” for <br />bodies of water in Minnesota, and to limit water appropriations to amounts that will not <br />reduce water basins below those elevations.41 <br /> <br />35 Tr. Vol. 10 at 9-10 (Moeckel). <br />36 Minn. Stat. § 103G.291, subd. 1. <br />37 See Archive of Executive Orders from Governor Walz (https://mn.gov/governor/newsroom/executive- <br />orders/) (last accessed, May 13, 2024). <br />38 Minn. Stat. § 103G.285, subd. 3(b) (2022). <br />39 Minn. Stat. § 103G.287, subd. 3 (2022). <br />40 Id. <br />41 Minn. Stat. § 103G.255 (2022).