2003-08-14_AgendaPacket - Laserfiche WebLink

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Shaping Development to Protect our ater Land development and re-development projects are changing the landscape in our increasingly_urbanwatcrshed. Paved and roofed areas speed up and increase the vol- -- ume of rain~and snowmelt runoff. Uncontrolled construction site erosion can fil! , lakes and streams~with silt: Polluted runoff from roads, parking lots, industrial sites and residential lots add to water quality problems. Through careful planning, construction practices and operating procedures, however, these problems can be avoided. or minimized. Permitting Program and Cost-Share Incentives The District's permitting program works to ensure that development sites of one-acre or more properly manage their stormwater runoff and prepare plans for proper erosion and sediment control. District staff inspects permit sites and enforces permits as need- ed. The District works with interested developers to include stormwater best management practices in their project plans. Beginning in 2003 the District is providing acost- share incentive for cities and developers willing to try cutting-edge techniques to reduce runoff volume and improve water quality. This could include new infiltration technologies to reduce runoff volumes or runoff treatment to improve water quality. Protecting Wetlands - Forall the cities in the watershed, except St. Paul, the District enforces the Minnesota Wetland Conservation Act. The District reviews plans and issues permits. for wetland filling or alteration. Permits can be issued only if there is no way.to avoid altering a wetland. Permit holders, most of whom are developers, are required to create new wetland habitat or restore old wetlands. The District contin- ues to implement its 1997 Wetland Management Plan, which classifies all wetlands Trite one of four classes: Each class has stormwater treatment and buffer requirements. in 1998 the District helped evaluate the bene- fits of an innovative parking lot design at the H.By Fuller Company. The new parking lot was designed to reduce and treat stormwa- ter runoff, and prevent contaminants and sediment from affecting nearby Willow Lake. The parking lot surface slopes toward infil- frationtrenches planted with wetland vege- tation. The trenches capture and filter stormwater from the parking lot, allowing rain and snowmelt to seep naturally into the ground. The District study, partially funded by the Metropo-itan Council, showed that 73 per- cent less stormwater flowed off the site, compared to a traditional parking lot design. Research also determined that more than 94 percent of sediment was removed from the Sealing Abandoned Wells parking lot runoff -more than 500 pounds The District's abandoned well sealing cost-share pro- per year. gram is a strategy to~proteGt our groundwater. It is estimated that there are hundreds of wells in the watershed that are no longer being used or are in such disrepair that their use is no longer practical. Many of these wells'are located on porous rock structures where pollutants from the wells flr shallovV groundwater are more likely to seep into the area's deeper aquifers. These wells are identified as "higf~ priority" and are eligible fora 50 percent grant of up to $1,000 for sealing weAs. Since 1990, the District has made approximately 770 grants-resulting in the sealing of over 800 wells. 9 z,„' ~° -~< Y~ ~~ y.; _ M1y~! r. ;~:~~; ~., 3 z ~~: :~ s ~: ~.