Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Contact: Dan Olson, 218-846-8108 Detroit Lakes, Minn. -- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is seeking comments on a draft water quality report for two segments of the Mustinka River near Lake Traverse in Traverse County. The report, known as a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), focuses on pollution harmful to aquatic life caused by excess turbidity from small particles. The public comment period ends June 17, 2009. Minnesota TMDL reports are part of a nationwide effort under the federal Clean Water Act to identify and clean up pollution in streams, rivers and lakes. A TMDL report establishes the maximum amount of a pollutant a water body can receive without exceeding water-quality standards. After receiving public comments, the MPCA may revise the draft report and then submit it to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approval. After the EPA approves the report, a plan to reduce turbidity in the river will be made final The impairments are located along a 4.7-mile segment, or "reach", that runs from the Grant County-Traverse County line to Five Mile Creek and a 8.3-mile reach that runs from an unnamed creek to Lake Traverse. Primary cause of turbidity in the Mustinka River is suspended sediment. The main sources of the sediment are upland soil erosion and stream-bank erosion. Sediment reductions near 90 percent will be needed to achieve the turbidity water quality standard during wet conditions and high flows. Several monitoring activities in the Mustinka River watershed are tracking water-quality trends and assessing the effectiveness of improvement projects. The Bois de Sioux Watershed District, with the assistance of its Flood Damage Reduction Project Team and various soil and water conservation districts (SWCDs) in the watershed will develop a detailed implementation plan within one year of the EPA's approval of the TMDL report. The five SWCDs and the watershed district have identified best management practices (BMPs) and structural controls to reduce erosion in critical areas. BMPs include crop residue management, grass waterways, shelter belts, filter strips, buffer strips, side inlet control structures, stream bank stabilization practices and channel restoration. There are also a number of federal programs (for example, the Clean Water Legacy Act, EPA grants, Clean Water Partnership grants, Natural Resource Conservations Service programs, and Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program) that fund activities to address local water-quality problems. These plans and programs will continue to play a major role in the protection and restoration of surface waters within the watershed. The draft Mustinka River Turbidity Total Maximum Daily Load report is available for viewing on the MPCA Web site at www.pca.state.mn.us/water/tmdl/index.html. Questions and comments about the report, as well as requests for additional information, should be directed to Jack Frederick (e-mail john.frederick@state.mn.us; phone 218-846-8110). Written comments should be mailed to Jack Frederick, MPCA, 714 Lake Ave., Suite 220, Detroit Lakes, MN 56501. The written comments must include a statement of your interest in the draft TMDL report; a statement of the action you wish the MPCA to take, including specific references to sections of the draft TMDL report that you believe should be changed; and specific reasons supporting your position. For information on various issues related to TMDLs and impaired waters, visit the MPCA Web site at: www.pca.state.mn.us/water/tmdl/tmdl-publications.html.