1996-04-25_AgendaPacket - Laserfiche WebLink

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'Water BilllBoard ' Appleton Dam owned by the city of Appleton; and for repair work on DNR dams on Lower Trelipe Lake in Cass County, Straight Lake in Becker County, and Mille Lacs Lake in Mille Lacs County. The Division of Waters esti- mates that about $1 million of state funding will be needed each year on a continuing basis to adequately maintain Minnesota's publicly-owned dams. ® announces neW permit for bridge and culvert projects Kent Lokkesmoe, director of DNR's Division of Waters, recently released guidance to his staff regarding issuance of general permits covering public bridge and culvert projects. This guidance reflects legislation enacted in 1995 that authorizes the DNR to issue gen- eral permits to governmental subdivisions for classes of projects having minor environmen- tal impact. Included in the guidance are provisions to issue one permit that would cover a number of projects for a period of time lasting up to five years, without the governmental unit providing individual appli- cation materials and fees prior to project construction. Another key element of the guidance is the provision for an annual review session to review the past year's projects, document project specifications, discuss upcoming proposals and improve communication and coordination. Implementation of this new permit will take place at the field level through the DNR regional or area hydrologist serving the installation location. County engineers have been mailed information on these new proce- dures. Further information on this new per- mit and application procedures may be obtained from the~area or regional hydrolo- gist serving your area, or by calling 612-296- 4800. Water quality infrastructure Since last year's legislative session, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's (MPCA) Water Quality Division has been meeting with other agencies and outside stakeholders to determine what water-quality priorities the division should pursue in the 1996 legislative session. Three priority infrastructure funding issues emerged from these meetings: •maintaining funding for the state's water-quality point-source infrastruc- ture program; •developing new mechanisms to pay for upgrades or replacements of indi- vidual sewage treatment systems on private property; and •continuing the Nonpoint Source State Revolving Fund {SRF) pilot loan program. The division has clarified issues and estab- lished needed actions for these priorities as follows: 7. Maintain point-source infrastructure program. Minnesota has invested over $1.5 billion in municipal wastewater treatment facilities. However, a number of these facili- ties are wearing out or becoming obsolete. Approximately $600 million is needed in the 6