CCP 09-10-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

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WATER QUALITY IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY SURFACE WATER !YiANAGEMENT NONPOLNT SOURCE POLLUTION TO ALL METROPOLITAN WATERS SUnlmary of The Poticy Issue In 1990 lhe U.S. Environmcnlal Protection Agency (EPA) and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) agreed on a goal to rcduce non point source pollution in the Minnesota River by 40 percent [rom pre-1980 level.>. The lwo agencies have set 1996 as the lurget date to uchieve this goal. To accomplish this gaol, current land development ~nd agricultural practices must be altered to restrict nonpoint source pollutants from entering ~re~ water Ixldies. While the Minnesota River may be ~n acute case o[wntcr quality dcgradation due to nonpoint source pollution all woter bo<.Iies in the seven county area are impacted to some degree by human activities in Ixlth urban and rural areas. The Mississippi 'River, "especially in the Spring Lake and Lake Pepill area, is severally impacted by excessive algal growth. A major inter-stale and federal study is currently being conducted to identify the causes of the excessive algal growth. However, it is known that nutnenl<, nitrogen and phosphofm, from whatever Sourc~ are the prime cau~e of exces.sive algal growth. Both the State of Wisconsin and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are attempting to get the MPCA to impose phosphorus limits On the Metropolitan Plant in St:, Paul as a means to reduce the algal growth. If phosphorus limits ~re imposed on the Metropolitan Plant this could result in c~pit<ll expenditures of $80 to 360 million. Sincc phosphorus is found in surface water runoff it may be more cost effective to control nonpoint SOurceS' of runoff and have ~ more bene[icial impact On the river than by controlling point sources of phosphorus. To address the acute problems on the Minnesota River, the Council developed an interim strategy for' communities in the Minnesota River basin. This strategy incorporated basic water quality management practice.; that will improve the water quality of the area water bodies. During the public participation process in developing these strategies, it became clear that these same i"nterim ~tra[egics were appropriate for all local governments in the seven county area. A consistent and equitab"Ie policy is established to apply these strategies metro-wide. The Problem The. Metropolitan Council has documented an increase of nonpoint .~ource pollution to arca water bodies. These added pollutants reduce the recrealional valuc and acceleratc the eutrophication of area water bodies. The increase of non point source pollutants to area water bodies can be traced to twO primary sources: land development and agriculture practices.. ,und development or urbaniutioa, generally increases both the volume of runoff as well as the eoncentration of pollutants in the runoIT. This happens with the conversion of land to hard surfaces and by the destruction of wetlands. DClcfltioo ponds or artificial depressions can help mitigate these impacts. The best designed ponds, however, will not rcduce the increased volume of runoff fol1owing urbanization oor will they totally remove the additional pollutants following urbanization. An incre:>sc in runoff volume, lotal phosphorus and other pollutafl!s are thc results of urban development. I ~ I I I I I I II I I I I I I I .. I