Despite the fact that a lot of research has been conducted on the health of the Poplar River, more data is being gathered. Karen Evens of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) told those at a December 14 Poplar River Management Board (PRMB) meeting that the University of Minnesota would be collecting data on river topography along the North Shore. The data will allow researchers to pinpoint the biggest causes of erosion along the Poplar River.
The MPCA is considering changes to the standard considered acceptable for the Poplar River, Evens said, changes that would need to be approved by the state legislature. The river was listed as impaired based on its turbidity, or cloudiness, but the MPCA is considering basing evaluations on total suspended solids (TSS). Turbidity is affected by many factors, including organic material such as leaf debris or single-celled organisms and sediment. TSS data focuses on inorganic elements that are delineated by particle size.
The MPCA is recognizing that streams are very complex and should not be evaluated on one standard alone. Universities aren’t yet teaching students to look for the complexities, Evens said, but the MPCA is beyond simply looking for single contaminant sources such as pipes or smokestacks. The MPCA is looking at developing standards that reflect specific conditions in different “eco-regions” around the state. It is also considering how to account for the variability of conditions between low flow and high flow.
The last 2.6 miles of the river, called the lower watershed, is much steeper than what precedes it and is where the river is considered impaired, especially in the spring and after heavy rainfalls.
County Commissioner Bruce Martinson pointed out that even the turbidity in the upper watershed exceeds the goal the MPCA has set for the lower Poplar River. “TheMPCA is going to get a lot of ridicule from the community [over this],” he said. It has to be attainable, [but this] could never be obtained.”
The river is meeting the standard about 50% of the time, Evens said. TheMPCA is trying to understand the impact of high turbidity during peak flow periods, she said, but hasn’t decided how that impact will be determined.
PRMB consultant Curt Sparks suggested that the river’s health should be evaluated on average turbidity levels over time rather than on individual samples. Instantaneous measures apply better to toxins in water, he said.
“We’re just not data rich in this area,” Evens said.
“Going to an average is a…good change,” Sparks said. Documenting “bedload,” or the amount of solids that can be carried along by the water, would be another way to measure the river. Bedload is affected by water velocity and other stream characteristics; even boulders can be considered part of a stream’s bedload. “It’s unfortunate that we have a turbidity standard,” Sparks said, “because it’s not used throughout the United States.”
No reference stream has been identified, Evens said. A reference stream with similar topography but less development
along it could help determine what the Poplar River’s natural state would be. Theymight not be able to find a reference stream, Evens said, and that could be a problem. A University of Minnesota scientist, under contract with the MPCA, is trying to find one and is investigating the impact of roads and ski runs on the river.
Bruce Martinson said he thought the Caribou River would make a good comparison with the Poplar River. Paul Quinn suggested the Onion River. The difference in the power of the flow must be factored in, Evens said, and often inhibits direct comparisons between rivers.
The Namadji River in Carlton County has natural reasons for high turbidity, Evens said. “Upwellings,” or rebounds from glaciers moving through, are going through the clay and causing turbidity. The MPCA needs to consider the health of the biological species in rivers, she said, which includes microscopic organisms.
Evens told the PRMB about a $4.75 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant being offered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) following President Obama’s promise to focus on the Great Lakes. The grant would require a lot of oversight by the MPCA (which has dubbed itself “the sustainable agency”), but it has been cutting back on staff. The grants require recipients to demonstrate how their projects fit into the plans of other entities and initiatives. They will be awarded to projects that incorporate collaboration, partnership, education, and outreach. She hopes Cook County would be willing to sponsor the grant. Other groups with river projects along the North Shore will also be applying for this money, Evens said.
Tom Rider said the PRMB could commit $5-10,000 in matching funds, and Lutsen Mountains could contribute $30,000. He said he would discuss with the Soil & Water board the possibility of a partnership.
The grant money should be spent on Gary, Indiana, Buffalo, New York, and Cleveland, Ohio, said Poplar River watershed property owner Paul Quinn. Closed steel mills are leeching pollutants in areas like that, he said.
“If we want to solve these problems,” Sparks said, “we’ve got to go after the money.”
The PRMB is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit made up of members whose voting privileges are “roughly proportional with the financial contribution,” according to President Tom Rider in a December 14 email to the Cook County
News-Herald.
Contributors to the Poplar River Management Board have included Lutsen Mountains Corporation, Caribou Highlands, Lutsen Resort, Charles Skinner, George Nelson, Mountain Inn, the Poplar River Condominium Association, and the Cook County- Grand Marais Economic Development Authority. He said the board hopes numerous other adjacent property owners join the PRMB next year.
In 2009, the largest contributors to the PRMB were Lutsen Mountains Corporation, with $12,000, Caribou Highlands, with $6,000, and the EDA, with $2,000.
The December 14 meeting was open to the public, but the PRMB conducts additional meetings not open to the public “to review financials, deal with governance issues (officers and directors), and review grant strategies and other uses of available funds,” Rider wrote. “…We are committing a lot of money to pursuing grants to promote better water quality and to enhance the health of the fishery.”
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