Dan Schutte, district manager of the Lake County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) and Ilena Berg, Cook County water plan coordinator, appeared before Cook County commissioners on April 19 with an update on the “One Watershed, One Plan” pilot project.
Schutte said there was great collaboration between groups, open conversation and a lot of transparency. “The full draft will be available soon,” he said.
The collaboration began in 2008-2009, said Schutte, when the Local Government Water Roundtable (Association of Minnesota Counties, Minnesota Association of Watershed Districts, and Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts) recommended local governments charged with water management should develop plans focused on a watershed scale.
In 2012, the Minnesota State Legislature, through the One Watershed, One Plan (OWOP) legislation, authorized the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources to adopt methods to allow comprehensive plans, local water management plans, or watershed management plans to serve as substitutes for one another; or to be replaced by a comprehensive watershed management plan.
Statewide, five watersheds were selected as pilot OWOP projects. These pilot areas include Red Lake River, Lake Superior North, North Folk Crow River, Yellow Medicine River, and Root River. The only area left out was the seven county metro area.
The 10-year plan will address the largest threats to the Lake Superior North Watershed. The OWOP boundary is defined as all of Cook, Lake and a small portion of St. Louis County. It runs from Knife River to Grand Portage.
Cook and Lake counties as well as Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the 1854 Treaty Authority, and a variety of local government, state agencies and community members have worked on this plan for more than 1½ years, said Schutte.
The OWOP vision is to align planning on major watershed boundaries with prioritized and measurable watershed projects developed and implemented locally.
Schutte said the new proposal builds on existing efforts, including each county’s current water plans.
While most plans focus on restoration, the OWOP focuses on “a lot of preservation,” said Schutte. “We want to make sure we don’t have to move towards restoration.”
Over the last year and a half, 220 action items were identified. “That was a little overwhelming,” said Schutte. “Out of those, the committee pared down to 35 items the group felt could be done in the 10-year timeframe.”
The OWOP will undergo annual reviews and a five-year formal review. Schutte said a finished plan would help the county obtain funding for restoration projects like those on Poplar River (erosion control) and Flute Reed River where turbidity was reduced and culverts were replaced.
Once the plan is ready, there will be a 60-day public comment and review, said Berg. Public meetings and a second 90-day public comment will follow. The One Watershed, One Plan will go through a final revision and is then presented to county boards for passage.
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