Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Contact: Cathy Rofshus, 507-206-2608 St. Paul, Minn. -- A demonstration project on reducing sediment in Heron Lake in southwest Minnesota. Community cleanups in the Minnesota River Valley in central Minnesota. Implementing practices to reduce bacteria levels in the North Cannon River in southeast Minnesota. These are a few examples of water quality projects recently approved for funding by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). The funding originated from the federal government, as part of the Clean Water Act Section 319 program. The MPCA approved $6.15 million in grants. Of that total, $2.7 million will go toward developmental, education or applied research projects. An additional $3.4 million will go toward implementing Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) projects, which identify sources of pollution, the amounts of pollutants and how to reduce the pollutants to a level that allows rivers and lakes to meet water quality standards. "Clean water, for drinking and recreation, is essential to Minnesota's ecosystem and economy. These grants represent the collaboration among government agencies and local partners, and we are striving to change how we live and work so we can ensure a legacy of clean water for future generations," said Rebecca Flood, Assistant Commissioner for the MPCA. "These projects will help improve water quality, benefiting individual communities and the state as a whole." The agency approved funding for the following development, education or applied research projects:
-- University of Minnesota: $286,128 for Alternative Designs for Agricultural Drainage Ditches
-- Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District: $89,200 for Permeable Reactive Barriers for Phosphorus Removal
-- Minnesota Department of Agriculture: $183,766 for Cottonwood River Native Vegetation Water Quality
-- University of Minnesota: $719,468 for A Decision Support Tool to Restore Impaired Waters
-- Heron Lake Watershed District: $16,500 for a Heron Lake Sediment Reduction Demonstration Project
-- University of Minnesota - Water Resources Center: $285,970 for Quantifying Phosphorus Load Reductions from Street Sweeping and $298,175 for New Tools to Support TMDL Phosphorus Reduction Plans
-- University of Minnesota: $404,000 for Enhanced Filter Media for Removal of Dissolved Heavy Metals and Phosphorus from Stormwater Runoff
-- Friends of the Minnesota Valley: $110,000 for Minnesota River Community Clean-Ups for Water Quality
-- Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources: $341,605 for Side Inlet Controls to Improve Water Quality
In addition, the MPCA approved the following projects that focus on best management practices for restoring waters:
-- Rice Creek Watershed District: $344,200 for the Hardwood Creek TMDL Implementation Project
-- Rush River Watershed: $340,000 for the Rush River TMDL Implementation Project for Fecal Coliform
-- Scott Watershed Management Organization: $475,000 for Minnesota River Tributary Phosphorus and Flow BMPs
-- Kanabec County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD): $109,750 for Groundhouse Fecal Coliform and Biota (Sediment) Implementation Project
-- Dakota County SWCD: $66,000 for the North Cannon River Bacteria Reduction Project
-- Shingle Creek Watershed Management Commission: $300,000 for Twin Lake Wetland 639 Nutrient Export Reduction
-- Renville County: $205,186 for the Lower Minnesota River Dissolved Oxygen Elevation Project
-- Redwood-Cottonwood Rivers Control Area: $175,575 for the Redwood River Watershed Nonpoint Pollution Reduction Project
-- Southeast Minnesota Water Resources Board: $900,000 for the Southeast Regional Grant for Water Quality
-- Chisago County: $190,000 for the North Branch Sunrise River TMDL Implementation Plan
-- Shingle Creek Watershed Management Commission: $82,500 for Crystal Lake Nutrient TMDL Alum Treatment
-- Carver County Land and Water: $230,000 for Burandt Lake Excess Nutrient Implementation Plan
For more information, go to the MPCA web site at www.pca.state.mn.us or contact Sara Johnson, Section 319 Coordinator for the MPCA at 651-757-2473 or by e-mail at sara.johnson@state.mn.us.