Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Contact: Robin Grawe (507) 454-4141 or Norman Senjem (507) 280-3592 Rochester, Minn. -- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), in cooperation with the Mississippi River Citizen Commission and several local sponsors, will hold community meetings in four Lake Pepin area neighborhoods this month. The purpose of the meetings is to build community awareness and support for a water quality improvement project about to get underway. The meetings are open to the public and there is no charge for admission. The Lake Pepin Community Meetings are scheduled from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. as follows:
· Monday, May 16 - Frontenac Sportsman's Club - Territorial Road, just west of Frontenac, Minn.
· Thursday, May 19 - Pepin Village Hall - 508 2nd St., Pepin, Wis. · Tuesday, May 24 - Lake City City Hall - 205 W. Center Street, Lake City, Minn.
· Thursday, May 26 - Bay City Village Hall - W6371 Main St., Bay City, Wis.
The agenda features information about Lake Pepin water quality concerns and possible implications, river management tools and ways that citizens can help with lake restoration. The "how to help" topics include proper disposal of recreational waste, cleaning up trash, managing boat wakes and participation in citizen lake monitoring programs. Presenters include representatives from the MPCA, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and various local organizations. Lake Pepin and its surrounding watershed are on the Minnesota list of impaired waters. Pollution concerns include poor water clarity and high nutrient levels. The watershed covers approximately 55 percent of Minnesota's total land area as well as a portion of western Wisconsin, making the Lake Pepin water quality improvement project the largest project of its kind ever undertaken by the MPCA. Co-sponsors for the Lake Pepin Community Meetings include the Mississippi River Citizen Commission, the MPCA, the Lake City Yacht Club, the Lake City Marina, the Audubon Society, the Nature Conservancy, the Mississippi River Revitalization Project, the Red Wing Wildlife League and the city of Lake City. For more information on water quality improvement projects, also known as Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) studies, visit the MPCA Web site at hhref="/water/tmdl/index.html. For the Lake Pepin Community Meetings agenda and additional information about the Lake Pepin project visit http://www.celebratelakepepin.org.