This project will support the review of all public comments submitted for the Buffalo Creek TMDL and make appropriate edits and changes to the draft TMDL based on MPCA guidance.
Phase I built the foundation for the South Fork Crow River Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) and created a civic engagement plan. Civic engagement strategies were identified to create greater communication and watershed activities. Phase II provided the analytical and strategic foundation essential to prescribing protection and restoration strategies. These strategies focus on both protecting current fully supporting and restoring impaired surface water resources to water quality standards in the South Fork watershed.
This project will develop Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) allocations and complete a final draft TMDL report for the five lake impairments listed for the South Fork Crow River Watershed.
The South Fork Crow River Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan (SFCR CMWP) identifies priority concerns, short-term and long-term goals for drainage water management, loss of water storage and altered hydrology, nutrient loading to surface waters, wind and water erosion, and soil health. Through the plan, specific details for structural and management practices are described in the implementation schedule for each of the planning regions and priority areas.
The goal of the project is to sustain the existing Volunteer Nitrate Monitoring Network (VNMN) domestic well network for long-term groundwater quality studies by generating ambient groundwater quality data in domestic drinking water wells completed in various southeastern Minnesota aquifers, contrasting vulnerable and non-vulnerable hydrogeologic settings.
Imminent Health Threat (IHT) systems are those that are discharging improperly treated human waste onto the ground surface or into surface waters. In addition to the potential water quality impacts, untreated sewage has the potential to introduce bacteria and viruses into the environment. When IHT systems are identified, county or city staff assist the homeowners through the process required to bring their systems into compliance with the septic ordinance.
Successful long-term treatment of sewage depends on a system capable of providing adequate treatment and effective on-going operation and maintenance. Clean Water Fund Subsurface Sewage Treatment System (SSTS) Program Enhancement funds are used by counties to strengthen programs dedicated to SSTS ordinance management and enforcement. These funds are used for a variety of tasks required to successfully implement a local SSTS program including inventories, enforcement, and databases to insure SSTS maintenance reporting programs.
Lake Minnewashta Regional Park construct 2.1 miles of trail and bridge on Minnesota River Bluff Regional Trail; includes engineering, parking lot and landscaping.
Continue Recreation and Volunteer Specialist position initiated in 2014 to develop and implement recreation and volunteer programs. Engage 3,000 park visitors through 90 programs provided in the County Regional Parks in outreach programming. Legacy funds will leverage $42,000 in County General funds.
Continue full time position of Recreation and Volunteer Specialist. The position entails focused work in recreation programming, special events, volunteer recruitment and programming. Specifically, the position develops, implements, instructs, markets recreation and volunteer programs. Additionally, the position contributes to the overall planning, evaluation, and promotion of recreation and volunteer services for the Parks Department.
Continue full time position of Recreation and Volunteer Specialist. The position entails focused work in recreation programming, special events, volunteer recruitment and programming. Specifically, the position develops, implements, instructs, markets recreation and volunteer programs. Additionally, the position contributes to the overall planning, evaluation, and promotion of recreation and volunteer services for the Parks Department.
Having current and accurate data on historic and archaeological sites is important to understanding our past and to preserving Minnesota’s history for future generations. In 2010-2011, the Minnesota Historical Society awarded contracts for these survey projects:
Each fiscal year of ACHF funding, a majority of the twelve regional library systems agree to allocate 10% of their ACHF funding to support statewide partnership projects. SELCO serves as the fiscal agent for statewide projects.
We will deploy acoustic detectors and revisit roost trees identified in our previous ENRTF project to measure effect of seven years of white-nose syndrome on Minnesota bats.
To hire qualified professionals to conduct a structural engineering assessment for the Fairmont Opera House, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
This project seeks to provide data on insecticide contamination in the soil and the insect community across the state and the effect of sublethal insecticide exposure on insect reproduction.
Grants to counties to implement SSTS programs including inventories, enforcement, development of databases, and systems to insure SSTS maintenance and of reporting program results to BWSR and MPCA and base grants.
To support teachers in addressing new science standards , we propose a series of workshops across Minnesota facilitating conversation about sustainability and water conservation, specifically integrating western science and Indigenous perspectives.
This project will collect additional water quality and flow data on tributaries on the South Fork Crow River and Buffalo Creek. Further assessment of these reaches will provide a better understanding of what impacts these tributaries have on the impaired South Fork Crow River and Buffalo Creek.
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.
To be able to manage resources in the Blue Earth and Le Sueur Watersheds into the future and have a positive effect on water quality, resource managers need high quality accurate data to support decision making of best management practice (BMP) implementation. Digital elevation data is a valuable resource for modeling water flow, however in its current state it cannot represent water conveyance through features such as roadways. These flow barriers limit the accurate use of data for recently developed targeting tools identifying BMP suitability and effectiveness down to the field scale.
