Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Contact: Cori Rude-Young, 651-757-2680 Toll-free: 1-800-657-3864 St. Paul, Minn. - The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is seeking comments on a water quality improvement report for Long and Farquar lakes in Dakota County. The report, known as a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), focuses on pollution caused by excess nutrients. A public comment period begins Nov. 24, and continues through Dec. 24, 2008. Long and Farquar lakes are 34 acres and 67 acres, respectively. Both lakes and their watersheds are located within the Vermillion River Watershed Joint Powers Organization in the southern part of the Minneapolis and St. Paul metropolitan area. Long Lake is shallow and primarily used for non-motorized boating, aesthetic enjoyment by local residents, as well as for wildlife habitat. Farquar Lake, to which Long Lake discharges, is also a shallow lake, used for limited motorized and non-motorized boating, swimming, fishing and aesthetic enjoyment, as well as for wildlife habitat. Long and Farquar lakes have 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 pollutant concentrations and indicated that phosphorus will need to be reduced by 74 percent for Long Lake and 65 percent for Farquar Lake to meet the water-quality standard during the summer. 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 Long and Farquar lakes 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 Long and Farquar lakes 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-longfarquar-nutrients.html. Comments may be submitted to Barb Peichel, MPCA, 520 Lafayette Road North, Saint Paul, MN 55155-4194. For more information, telephone Peichel at 651-296-6300 or toll-free at 1-800-657-3864. 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
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.