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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-09-10 PACKET 08. City of Cottage Grove Environmental Commission Meeting July 9, 2014 A workshop meeting of the Environmental Commission was held at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Parkway South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, on Wednesday, July 9, 2014, in the Council Chambers and telecast on Local Government Cable Channel 16. Call to Order Bigham called the Environmental Commission meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Attendees Members Present: Karla Bigham, Ryan Fleming, Rita Isker, Rosemary Palmer, Brandon Smith Members Absent: Shauna Klug, Thaddeus Owen Others Present: Jennifer Levitt, Community Development Director/City Engineer Ryan Burfeind, Graduate Engineer Emily Schmitz, Code Enforcement Officer Jen Peterson, City Council Liaison Approval of Agenda Isker made a motion to approve the agenda. Smith seconded. The motion was approved unanimously (5-to-0 vote). Open Forum None New/Unfinished Business 5.1 North & East Metro Groundwater Management Area Paul Putzier, Hydrogeologist from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Pro- ject Manager for the North & East Metro Groundwater Management Area, stated that the area consists of all of Washington County, all of Ramsey County, and the southern part of Anoka County. He provided background and an overview of the Minnesota DNR Groundwater Manage- ment Program. He explained that the groundwater management plan for the north and east metro areas would be implemented by the DNR. The plan will have an impact on those entities that they regulate. Bigham asked if information and resources are being shared, and if they will partner, with the City and County. Putzier responded that they have members from the County on the Advisory Team as well as Levitt from the City, and he made a similar presentation to the Washington County Commission. There are so many organizations and entities that need to be involved and he is open to suggestions on how to do so. He made presentations and talked with the counties, watershed districts, and other different groups who invited him. Bigham asked if they will want Environmental Commission Minutes July 9, 2014 Page 2 of 4 feedback from the Mayor and Council or this Commission. Levitt explained that typically when the state sends out plans for a review and comment period, staff brings it before the Commission. Any formal comments the Commission wants to submit are forwarded to the City Council for en- dorsement and then provided to the state agency. Putzier stated that they don’t have a specific process yet because they just started the process and that was not in any of the enabling legis- lation. Isker asked where the 560-foot observation line was located. Putzier responded just behind the City of Woodbury’s pumping station on Woodbury Road just north of Crossroads Church. Levitt noted that is land owned by South Washington Watershed District. Isker asked if he was referring Brown’s Creek in Stillwater area when he talked about trout streams. Putzier stated that there are seven designated trout streams along the St. Croix River and six that are undesignated. He stated that he was referencing Valley Branch Creek in Afton, which is one of the more productive trout streams in the state. Isker stated that there is a lot development around Brown’s Creek and asked if the State is regulating that and checking to see if the new development is impacting the ground- water and trout streams. Putzier stated that the DNR still issues on permits for new wells. He explained that they don’t look at household wells, just high capacity wells. Isker asked if problems with a well are found, what is done and who checks the streams. Putzier responded that a number of different agencies could be involved, but it is the DNR’s responsibility to work with the well owner on problems. Isker asked who handles any impacts to the area. Putzier stated that they try to limit the impact. Isker asked if there is a problem with a well, who checks the fish in the streams to see if well is polluting the stream. Putzier responded the DNR, which has a number of different units that work on streams and wells. He explained that PCA has responsibility for water quality in aquifers, and the Department of Agriculture has responsibility for agricultural contamination such as nitrates in groundwater. Palmer asked if they created one database so everybody has equal access to the information being collected. Putzier stated one of the goals they are working on is the Hydrologic Data Domain. The Pollution Control Agency is the lead on this program. Their goal is to bring all that information together and provide it to the public similar to what they are doing at White Bear Lake but on a broader scale. A citizen will be able to easily find information compiled by Health, Agri- culture, DNR, and PCA. He does not know the schedule for completion yet. Palmer asked if they are doing anything to educate the general public on this program and what they are attempting to accomplish. Putzier responded there have been newspaper articles and stories on public radio and they are working on a communication plan. He stated that their primary customer is the permit holders; the second is interested parties, people who may not be permit holders but have specific interest in or management of the resource such as watershed districts; and the third is the public. Smith asked if they expect the plan implementation will to be handled exclusively through imple- mentation of permits or will there be general advice or information provided to cities or other large water users to use to implement efforts on their own outside a permit. Putzier stated that the main place that they can have an impact is on permits but the plan will more broadly address issues such as conservation and how to make that a bigger part of what is happening in the management area. Fleming stated that we are growing our knowledge and understanding of groundwater and surface water interaction and asked if there is revision schedule. Putzier stated that the plan will definitely be revised but they don’t yet know when the schedule will be. Fleming asked what is done with contaminated water. Putzier responded that about half of the water from the plume in this area is Environmental Commission Minutes July 9, 2014 Page 3 of 4 pumped six miles to the 3M plant to be used as in some of their processes and for cogeneration at the neighboring power plant. At Baytown, which is in Bayport, water is recycled back into the ground surface. The Twin Cities Ammunition Plant water is used by the Cities of New Brighton and Fridley in their water supply. Water from the 3M Oakdale site goes into the sanitary sewer. One of the biggest challenges is to find ways to put water back where it came from, to use it a second time, or to use different sources instead of ground water. Isker asked if the monitoring is continuous or on a certain timeframe. Putzier responded that they are moving towards continuous monitoring because it gives more information. Historically they have paid the watershed districts and others to collect monthly water levels. They want to see the effect of nearby pumping on the wells. They currently have about 800 wells around the state and are increasing the density in the management areas; of those 800, a couple hundred are instru- mented and monitored continuously. 5.2 Strawberry Festival Debriefing Burfeind stated that the Environmental Commission booth at the Strawberry Festival was suc- cessful; he was there for a few hours in the afternoon and saw a steady stream of people coming to the booth. People really liked the giveaways. Palmer commented that the giveaways were wonderful because they spanned a variety of age groups. She discovered that there was definite interest in both the rain gardens and the rain bar- rels. People were very interested in the rain barrels for specific reasons. The rain had almost more of a whimsical interest and she got the feeling that people would like to have them but didn’t know how to put a garden in, pick the plants, and how to facilitate it. She suggested offering workshops or mini-courses on rain gardens. Bigham suggested scheduling a demonstration at the booth. Levitt stated that the Washington County Conservation District offers residents the opportunity to call them to come out and look at their site to determine if a rain garden would fit and calculate how much phosphorous would be removed. The Conservation District will do the design and help with the plant selections and possibly with a financial contribution based upon the phosphorous removal. That service is available to all residents and businesses in the city. Palmer asked if they have a flyer that can be passed out along with the rain garden flyers. Burfeind believes there is some information available for contacts. Levitt stated that Angie Hong with the East Metro Ground- water Education also does booth presentations and we could ask her to do more advertisement in Cottage Grove. Isker stated that the cost for rain barrels is expensive and asked if there was some way the City or Environmental Commission can provide a discount to our residents. Levitt responded that at one time the City received a grant that enable cost sharing for rain barrel. Currently there is no grant opportunity for that. She believes that the last time around 300 rain barrels were sold. Approval of Environmental Commission Minutes from May 14, 2014 Isker made a motion to approve the minutes from the minutes from the May 14, 2014, En- vironmental Commission meeting. Fleming seconded. Motion passed unanimously (5-to-0 vote). Reports Environmental Commission Minutes July 9, 2014 Page 4 of 4 7.1 City Council Update Peterson reported stated that at the June 4, 2014, City Council meeting, the Council swore in two new police sergeants, Andrea Lindeen and Mike McCormick. She briefed the Commission on several ribbon cuttings, including at My Dog Spot at Almar Village, the grand opening of the Bike Park in West Draw Park off 70th Street and Meadow Grass Avenue, and the new G-Will Liquors location at Hadley and Grange; on July 14 there will be a ribbon cutting at Whole Health Center near Menards. She extended kudos to the Public Works and Public Safety Departments on their work during the recent flooding event in Cottage Grove. Levitt reported that the river levels are receding and all the roadways have been reopened. Peterson noted that the next Environmental Commission meeting, scheduled for August 13, conflicts with a Council meeting so no Coun- cilmembers will be in attendance. Levitt stated that the typically the August meeting consists of a tour, and this year it will be a boat tour on the St. Croix River on July 29 that will include educational information on stormwater and other issues. 7.2 Response to Commission Inquiries None 7.3 Environmental Commission Comments and Requests Levitt stated that Owen had received requests from the public about interest in pursuing bluebird houses in city parks and wanted to bring this topic to the Environmental Commission’s attention. Levitt’s recommendation is that this be referred to the Parks Commission for their review and implementation. The Commission concurred with that recommendation. Levitt announced that the next regularly scheduled Commission meeting will be on September 10 and the agenda will include reviewing the final reports on the air monitoring at 3M. The October meeting will be the joint meeting with other Environmental Commissions in Washington County, hosted by Cottage Grove. Adjournment Smith made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Isker seconded. Motion passed unanimously (5-to-0 vote). The meeting adjourned at 8:06 p.m.