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Mr. Petersen advised that, under current legislation, a Groundwater Management Plan is mandatory on Greater MN and voluntary in the metropolitan area but that there was no reason that a small WMO couldn't have their own plan. Mr. Petersen advised that the original initiatives were put together by a Task Force consisting of cities that had chosen to participate, along with watershed districts that had chosen to participate. Further discussion included funding set aside by watershed districts in their annual budgets to seal abandoned wells; inability to fully leverage funding and a lack of clear guidance for infrastructure interaction; and the need to proactively identify and mitigate current known groundwater contamination issues. Member Manzara suggested that the Board provide a statement to Ramsey County that the GLWMO Board supported the initiatives; however, they were concerned with the lack of clear funding mechanisms and interagency interaction. By consensus, members were asked to provide their individual comments to Mr. Petersen by Monday, November 1, 2010 by 12:00 noon; for him to coordinate with Chair Ferrington, who was directed to synthesize comments into a letter from the GLWMO Board, with a CC of the Board- endorsed statement returned to Mr. Petersen for forwarding to the Ramsey County Manager's Office. Shoreview Meeting on Lake Owasso Water Levels Mr. Maloney provided an update on a citizen meeting recently hosted by the City of Shoreview regarding water levels on Lake Owasso, mediated by Dick Osgood. Mr. Maloney advised that there were approximately 200 people attending, with substantial interest shown from representatives from most lakes; and topics covered including the relationship between groundwater and lake water levels and how different lakes worked. Member Manzara requested that Mr. Maloney provide a list of those attending to be used by the GLWMO Board as contacts for Board outreach. Chair Ferrington observed that there was a substantial amount of citizen interest being shown in surface water quality dynamics; however, there was still considerable confusion with subsurface water quality. Chair Ferrington opined that the presentation given was informative and well organized; however, probably not well digested by all those representing the general public, and may need further review in the future at a technical workshop, which could be facilitated by the GLWMO. Mr. Maloney advised that the City of Shoreview was still trying to determine their role in brokering water quality discussions, given the varying organizations and agencies and differing opinions and levels of expertise. Mr. Maloney, however, noted that the residents were seeking out this information from the City, thus their decision to provide a public forum to address public concerns and questions. 14