2005-10-25_PWETC_AgendaPacket - Laserfiche WebLink

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Capitol Region Watershed District Rules Adopted XlXX/200X General Policy Statement The Capitol Region Watershed District (District) is a political subdivision of the State of Mi1111esota, established under the Mi1111esota Watershed Law. The District is also a watershed management organization as defined under the Mi1111esota Metropolitan Surface Water Management Act, and is subject to the directives and authorizations in that Act. Under the Watershed Law and the Metropolitan Surface Water Management Act, the District exercises a series of powers to accomplish its statutory purposes. The District's general statutory purpose is to conserve natural resources through development planning, flood control, and other conservation projects, based upon sound scientific principles. As required under the Metropolitan Surface Water Management Act, the District has adopted a Watershed Management Plan, which contains the framework and guiding principles for the District in carrying out its statutory purposes. It is the District's intent to implement the Plan's goals and policies in these rules. Land alteration affects the rate, volume, and quality of surface water runoff which ultimately must be accommodated by the existing surface water systems within the District. The watershed is 40.6 square miles and highly urbanized. Land alteration and urbanization has and can continue to degrade the quality of runoff entering the waterbodies of the District due to non-point source pollution. Sedimentation from ongoing erosion processes and construction activities can reduce the hydraulic capacity of water bodies and degrade water quality. Water quality problems already exist in all of the lakes and other water resources of throughout the District. The Mississippi River is the principle receiving water for all runoff from the District and is listed by the EP A as "impaired" for nutrients. Como Lake, a high priority water resource of the District, is also listed as impaired. Projects that do not address the increased rate or volume of stormwater runoff from urban development can aggravate existing flooding problems and contribute to new ones. Projects that do not address the quality of runoff can aggravate existing water quality problems and contribute to new ones. Projects which fill floodplain or wetland areas without compensatory storage can aggravate existing flooding by reducing flood storage and hydraulic capacity of waterbodies, and can degrade water quality by eliminating the filtering capacity of those areas. In these rules the District seeks to protect the public health and welfare and the natural resources of the District by providing reasonable regulation of the District's lands and waters to reduce the severity and frequency of flooding and high water, to preserve floodplain and wetland storage capacity, to improve the chemical, physical and biological quality of surface water, to reduce sedimentation, to preserve waterbodies' hydraulic and navigational capacity, to preserve natural wetland and shore land features, and to minimize future public expenditures to avoid or COlTect these problems. Relationship of Capitol Region Watershed District to Municipalities The District recognizes that the primary control and determination of appropriate land uses is the responsibility ')fthe municipalities. Accordingly, the District will coordinate permit application reviews involving land CRWD Draft Rules - 45 Day Review Version October 6, 2005 Page 1 ofl4