1997-05-01_AgendaPacket - Laserfiche WebLink

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For more information on Met Council initiatives, contact Kent Johnson at 612/602- 8117 or Eunice Groschen at 612/291-6419. Investigation of High-Priority Specific Sites or Issues (MPCA) The MPCA does such studies to set specific permit limits or investigate site-specific nonpoint- source problems, or to examine the magnitude and dynamics of emerging environmental issues. The studies are individually designed, not always foreseen, and sometimes require seasonal conditions not met in every year. They also often rely on pulling staff from other efforts. Funding would provide limited stable resources to address such special needs as they arise, allowing the agency to provide decision-makers with information on new issues and offer timely assistance to local partners to investigate the most pressing problems. 'T'rend Monitoring for Groundwater Quality (MPCA) The MPCA's Groundwater Monitoring and Assessment Program, as redesigned under Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCMR) funding, provides statewide data on baseline conditions and trends for groundwater quality. Funding would meet deficiencies identified by the technical community and improve the program's ability to assess how groundwater quality is changing over time and help target agency activities. Additional monitoring wells would be added in areas where the use of existing drinking water wells alone has been shown to be inadequate for trend analysis, and detailed geologic and flow information would be gathered and mapped in study areas where sufficient information does not exist. Mercury and PCB Inputs to the Minnesota River (Metropolitan Council) Fish consumption advisories based on mercury and PCB currently exist throughout the Minnesota River basin; nonpoint sources, associated with sediment, are thought to contribute the bulk of the pollutants. Funding would allow the Met Council to establish monitoring sites on the river as well as on first-order tributaries to characterize sources and loadings. Metro Area Watershed ®utlet Monitoring (Metropolitan Council) State law requires the Met Council to "adopt a water resources plan that includes management objectives and target pollution loads for watersheds in the metropolitan area." Funding would allow the council to establish automated monitoring sites in a dozen metro area watersheds to assess current conditions, set target loadings, and measure progress. Urban Nonpoint-Source Best Management Practices (BMP) Effectiveness Monitoring (Metropolitan Council) Nationally and locally, many BMPs are being developed and used to control nonpoint-source 4