Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Media Contact: Sam Brungardt (651) 282-6410 St. Paul, Minn. -- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is seeking comments on a water quality improvement report for Burandt Lake in Carver County. The report, known as a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), focuses on pollution caused by excess nutrients. A public comment period begins June 16, 2008 and continues through July 16, 2008. Burandt Lake is a deep, 92-acre lake located west of Waconia in Carver County. The 7,823-acre Burandt Lake watershed consists of the direct watershed and two indirect watersheds. The direct watershed -- the area that drains to Burandt Lake without first passing through another lake -- is 246 acres, excluding Burandt Lake. The two indirect watersheds, which drain into Burandt Lake, consist of 7,147 acres draining from 3,080-acre Lake Waconia and another 430 acres flowing from 16-acre Scheuble Lake (the areas of the two indirect watersheds include the lakes). Part of the city of Waconia lies within the Burandt Lake watershed. Burandt Lake has been placed on the state's impaired waters list because of excess nutrients levels, particularly phosphorus. While phosphorus is an essential nutrient for algae and plants, it is considered a pollutant when it stimulates excessive growth of algae or aquatic plants. The TMDL study assessed the phosphorus concentration in Burandt Lake and indicated that phosphorus reductions ranging from 32 to 66 percent will be needed to meet the water-quality standard during summer growing season conditions. The TMDL report is part of a nationwide effort under the federal Clean Water Act to identify and clean up pollution in streams, rivers and lakes. Every two years, states are required to submit a list of impaired waters to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A TMDL report is a scientific study that calculates the maximum amount of a pollutant a water body can receive (known as the "loading capacity") without exceeding water-quality standards. After receiving public comments, the MPCA will revise the draft Burandt Lake TMDL report and submit it to the EPA for approval. After the EPA approves the study, a plan will be developed to reduce phosphorus pollution in the lake. The Burandt Lake TMDL draft report is available at the MPCA office at 520 Lafayette Road N. in St. Paul or on the Web at www.pca.state.mn.us/water/tmdl/project-burandtlake.html. Comments may be submitted to Roger Ramthun, MPCA, 520 Lafayette Road N., Saint Paul, MN 55155 4194. For more information, telephone Ramthun at (651) 296-9262 or toll-free at (800) 657-3864. Written comments must include the following:
1. a statement of your interest in the draft TMDL report;
2. a statement of the action you wish the MPCA to take, including specific references to sections of the draft TMDL that you believe should be changed; and 3. Specific reasons supporting your position. More information on the state's impaired waters list and TMDL studies is available on the Web at www.pca.state.mn.us/water/tmdl/index.html.