Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Contact: Nancy Miller, (507) 280-3590 Rochester, Minn. -- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has awarded Owatonna a $500,000 flood-relief grant to support low-impact-development projects. The grant will assist the city with development of stormwater-management infrastructure designed to reduce the volume and rate of runoff and ultimately improve water quality. This and other Program Development and Implementation Technical Assistance Grants specifically allocate funds to low-impact-development projects. Low-impact development, or LID, is a stormwater-management approach and site-design technique that emphasizes water infiltration, values water as a resource and promotes the use of natural systems to treat runoff water. Low-impact development is a way to mimic the natural process and to avoid water pollution. Additional information on LID is available on the MPCA Web site at /water/stormwater/stormwater-lid.html. MPCA Commissioner Brad Moore said, "Owatonna's plan for incorporating low-impact-development designs into stormwater-management systems is innovative and deserving of recognition. We are pleased to partner with the city on projects that will result in direct and lasting improvements to water quality." Grant funds will supplement city dollars to complete several LID projects in Owatonna. The projects are designed to increase public education and outreach, address construction runoff issues and encourage pollution-prevention practices. Specifically, improvements are planned in three portions of the city, including southeast Owatonna, the Steele County Fairgrounds and the Rose Street. Parking Lot downtown. The city will promote additional LID efforts by completing revisions to its zoning code and providing educational opportunities to city staff and decision-makers. For more information on the Owatonna project, contact Sig Scheurle, project manager, or Anne Gelbmann, Low-impact Development Team leader, at MPCA, 520 Lafayette Road N., Saint Paul, MN 55155. Scheurle can be reached by phone at (507) 457-6574 or by email at sig.scheurle@pca.state.mn.us. Gelbmann can be reached by phone at (651) 215-0292 or by email at anne.gelbmann@pca.state.mn.us. For additional information on financial assistance programs, visit the MPCA Grants and Loans page on the MPCA Web site at /grants/index.html.