Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Media Contact: Dan Olson, 218-846-7390 Technical Contacts: Corey Hanson, 218-681-5800 Mike Vavricka, 218-846-0776 Toll free/TTY: 1-800-657-3864 Thief River Falls, Minn. - The public is invited to a meeting at 10 a.m., Friday, Dec. 1, in the Clearbrook Community Center, to learn about a new study investigating sources of pollution in the Clearwater River. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has awarded the Red Lake Watershed District $100,000 to study the sources of pollution in the river and recommend strategies to improve its water quality. The portion of the Clearwater River between Clearbrook and Plummer has failed to meet water quality standards for oxygen at critical times, and for fecal coliform bacteria. Several rivers and streams feeding into it contribute to the problem. This includes the Lost River and Silver Creek, which fail to meet standards for fecal coliform. The Poplar River, Red Lake County Ditch 57 and Walker Brook are impaired by a lack of dissolved oxygen. These pollutants impair the Clearwater River's ability to support fish and other aquatic life, and its use for recreation. The impaired segments require development of a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study. The federal Clean Water Act requires states to develop Total Maximum Daily Load studies for lakes, rivers and streams that do not meet water quality standards set to protect human health, aquatic life and recreation. A TMDL is a scientific study that calculates the maximum amount of a specific pollutant that a water body may receive each day and still meet water quality standards for that pollutant. It is a process that identifies all of the sources of the pollutant causing the impairment and allocates necessary reductions among them. Citizen participation is an important part of the TMDL process. The meeting will introduce the study concept, explain why the river does not meet water quality standards, and recruit people to participate as advisory team members. The study will last up to three years. The advisory team will meet at least quarterly. For more information about the Clearwater River study, please contact Corey Hanson of the Red Lake Watershed District, at 218-681-5800 or Mike Vavricka of the MPCA at 218-846-0776. For additional information about impaired waters and the TMDL process, visit the MPCA Web site at www.pca.state.mn.us/water/index.html.