This project will fully fund three Nonpoint Engineering Assistance (NPEA) Joint Powers Board positions in cooperation with the NPEA Base Funding anticipated at $130,000 per year. This will allow a 2nd Professional Engineer to be retained in addition to a Lead Engineer and Technician. This 'accelerated' engineering previously was funded with BWSR Challenge Grants, and an EPA319 grant with corresponding BWSR CWF Matching Grant to handle the high workload associated with the large number of BWSR feedlot cost-share projects approved in South East Minnesota.
This project will extend two Feedlot Technical positions initially created and funded by a FY2011 CWF Feedlot Water Quality Grant that assess and help fix animal waste runoff from small feedlots. The technicians will work with and under the Technical Authority and priorities of the South East Soil and Water Conservation District Tech Support JPB lead Engineer. This project will enable more projects to be constructed resulting in a reduction of nitrogen, phosphorus and fecal coliform runoff into surface and ground water in South East Minnesota and the Mississippi River.
Funds are to be used to protect, enhance and restore water quality in lakes, rivers and streams and to protect groundwater and drinking water. Activities include structural and vegetative practices to reduce runoff and retain water on the land, feedlot water quality projects, SSTS abatement grants for low income individuals, and stream bank, stream channel and shoreline protection projects. For the fiscal year 2012, BWSR awarded 13 local governments with funds to complete 143 projects. More information is available in the detail reports below.
Most municipalities located in Cass County are adjacent to surface waters that drain into the Upper Mississippi River Watershed. In some cases, over 30% of the community consists of impervious surface coverage. Few, if any of these communities have done any work to retrofit existing stormwater systems. As a result, large amounts of untreated stormwater carrying phosphorus, nitrogen and sediments enter the river. These impacts have resulted in the degrading of water quality in the watershed.
This proposal will further Cass County's goal of having inspection records for all SSTS systems throughout the county. This project will focus on septic systems in East and West Sylvan Townships. These urbanized townships are located within 2-8 miles of the cities of Brainerd-Baxter and are adjacent to the Crow Wing River near its confluence with the Mississippi River.
Boy and Swift Lakes are connected lakes on the Boy River, the major tributary stream to Leech Lake. In cooperation with funding from the Boy/Swift Lake Association and the Initiative Foundation Healthy Lakes and Rivers program, this project will result in Subsurface Treatment System (SSTS) compliance inspections on up to 290 properties on Boy Lake and 69 on Swift Lake. The project will also result in an SSTS record review and inventory of all properties on the two lakes.
RIM Buffers Phase II combined the resource benefits of the Outdoor Heritage Fund (LSOHC), Clean Water Fund (CWF), and bond funds. This program enrolled a total of 1,336.7 acres of enhanced wildlife and water quality buffers in partnership with private landowners on 29 easements. With 1337 acres (all sources of funding) protected and restored in this phase, we exceeded the original goal of 400 acres of OHF funded buffers and 400 acres of CWF funded buffers. Bonding dollars were used to fund the remaining 537 acres.
RIM Buffers Phase 1 combined the resource benefits of the Outdoor Heritage Fund (LSOHC), Clean Water Fund (CWF), and bond funds. This program exceeded our acreage goal by 439 acres (37%), enrolling a total of 1,595.4 acres of enhanced wildlife and water quality buffers in partnership with private landowners on 46 easements.
This project is a cooperative effort including Cass Soil and Water Conservation District, the Association of Cass County Lakes (ACCL), and registered Homeowner Associations throughout Cass County. All of Cass Counties 514 lakes and streams eventually drain into the Upper Mississippi Watershed. Sediment and nutrient pollution continue to be a primary concern when addressing water quality protection issues.
The 400-mile stretch of the Mississippi River from its headwaters at Lake Itasca to Morrison County near Little Falls is the focus of this project. Working in cooperation with the eight member counties, this project will develop implementation plans and strategies geared specifically for the Mississippi River and incorporate them into the individual County Comprehensive Local Water Plans. These recommendations will be for specific strategies, often crossing county boundaries for implementation.
PROJECT OVERVIEW The Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) Wetlands Reserve Program restores wetlands and grasslands through the purchase of permanent conservation easements on privately owned land. The easements limit future land use and put conservation plans in place for future management. The Minnesota Board of Soil and Water Resources is using this appropriation to accelerate the RIM Wetlands Reserve Program resulting in additional permanently protected wetlands and grasslands throughout the state.
The RIM-WRP Partnership permanently protected 5,559 acres of priority wetlands and associated upland native grassland wildlife habitat via perpetual conservation easements on 60 sites and leveraged over $11 million of federal Wetlands Reserve Program funds.
State law (M.L. 2011, First Special Session, Ch. 6) directs restoration evaluations to be conducted on habitat restoration projects completed with funds from the Clean Water Fund (M.S. 114.D.50 Subd. 6). The Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) is responsible for convening a Restoration Evaluation Panel containing at least five technical experts who will evaluate a sample of up to 10 habitat restoration projects annually. The Panel will evaluate the restorations relative to the law, current science, stated goals and standards in the restoration plans, and applicable guidelines.
This pilot program protected 1,210 acres of wild rice lake shoreland habitat in the Northern Forest Section by securing 14 permanent RIM conservation easements and four fee-title acquisitions, surpassing our goal of 700 acres, and doing so $250,202 under budget.
This area of the Minnesota River Basin has been identified as contributing significant amounts of sediment to the watershed. The primary cause of the sediment is from gullies and ravines. This project by the Greater Blue Earth River Basin Alliance (GBERBA) continues efforts begun with FY2011 Clean Water Funds. Using data collected through Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and LiDAR, GERBA will install best management practices to address severe ravines and gullies in targeted specific locations.
Eight RIM Wetlands applications were selected for funding on 1146.2 acres from this appropriation. In addition 19 RIM-WRP easements, totaling 2,239 acres were funded. Thus a total of 3,385 acres were protected and restored to wetland and grassland habitat. All easements have been recorded. Leverage from other sources of funds was a little over $4.5M.
This project makes an additional plant growth chamber available to increase efficiency for the MPCA Wild Rice Standards Study, which is gathering information about the effects of sulfate on the growth of wild rice.
