Minnesota's Impaired Waters and TMDLs
TMDL Project: Minnesota River — Turbidity
Background
This TMDL project addresses 18 impairments on the Minnesota River and its tributaries. The TMDL study is currently underway, and the MPCA is partnering with Tetra Tech, an environmental consulting firm, to develop the TMDL study. A stakeholder committee representing urban, agriculture, watershed projects, government and citizens is currently meeting. See the meetings and events listed below for public stakeholder meetings.
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Minnesota River TMDL Project for Turbidity (wq-b3-33) - Identifying Sediment Sources in the Minnesota River Basin (wq-b3-36)
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Map and location
TMDL report and implementation plan
- Minnesota River Turbidity TMDL Draft Report (wq-iw7-32b)
- Public Notice open for comment February 27, 2012 – May 29, 2012
- Comments received on the Minnesota River Turbidity TMDL Draft Report:
- Agricultural groups (wq-iw7-32r1) (363KB)
- Municipalities (wq-iw7-32r2) (4.2 MB)
- Nonprofit groups (wq-iw7-32r3) (663 KB)
- Governmental units (wq-iw7-32r4) (2.07 MB)
- Individuals (wq-iw7-32r5) (338 KB)
- Minnesota Soybean Growers (wq-iw7-32r6) (20.9 MB)
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Other documents
Model Calibration and Validation Report (wq-iw7-32n)- Minnesota River Model Calibration Appendices D, E, F (wq-iw7-32o)
- Minnesota River Basin Turbidity TMDL Scenario Report (wq-iw7-32p)
- An Integrated Sediment Budget for the Le Sueur River Basin (wq-iw7-29o)
Work groups
Project schedule and work products
- Minnesota River Basin TMDL Project Workplan
- Papers Related to Minnesota River and Other Research Projects
- Report: Identifying Sediment Sources in the Minnesota River Basin (wq-b3-43)
Links
- July 1, 2010, Stakeholder Meeting - 9:30-12:00 p.m., Holiday Inn, New Ulm.
- Catch-up conversations, What’s up with the turbidity TMDL?
- Progress and plans
- Research status
- Hydrology simulation
- The new TMDL approach
- MPCA policies
- Urban partners
- A healthy, prosperous basin
- Catch-up conversations, What’s up with the turbidity TMDL?
- August 27, 2009, Advisory Committee Meeting - 10:00-3:00 p.m., New Ulm Public Library.
- Agenda: Summary of turbidity research synthesis, HSPF model results
- Presentations
- February 3, 2009, Advisory Committee Meeting - 12:30-3:30 p.m., New Ulm Public Library.
- Agenda: Model results, Lake Pepin allocations, communication strategy
- Presentations
- Elements of modeling scenario - Larry Gunderson, MPCA
- Model results - Chuck Regan, Barr Engineering
- Allocation process for TMDL - Larry Gunderson, MPCA
- Lake Pepin allocations for the Minnesota River - Norman Senjem, MPCA
- Next steps - Hafiz Munir, MPCA
- December 16, 2008 Stakeholder Committee Meeting - 10 a.m.-3 p.m., New Ulm Holiday Inn
- Agenda: Project status and latest modeling results.
- July 24, 2008 Stakeholder Committee Meeting - 10 a.m.-3 p.m., New Ulm Holiday Inn
- Agenda: Preliminary modeling results.
- March 10, 2008 Stakeholder Committee Meeting - New Ulm
- November 2007 Stakeholder Committee Meeting, developing scenarios for the water quality model, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 27, Country Inn and Suites, Mankato. Contact Larry Gunderson for more information.
- September 2007 Stakeholder Committee Meeting, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 12, Holiday Inn, New Ulm. Contact Larry Gunderson for more information.
- July 2007 Stakeholder Committee Meeting, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Wednesday, July 11, Holiday Inn, New Ulm. Contact Larry Gunderson for more information.
- March 2007 Stakeholder Committee Meeting, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Thursday, March 29, Redwood Area Community Center, Redwood Falls.
- November 2006 Stakeholder Committee Meeting
- Agenda
- Presentations:
- Sediment Delivery Concepts, Pete Cooper
- TMDL Update, Larry Gunderson
- Minnesota River Turbidity and Sediment Values , Pat Baskfield
- Practices For High Sensitivity Lands, Linda Meschke
- Erosion Sensitivity in the Minnesota River Basin, Jason Ewert.
- September 2006 Stakeholder Committee Meeting, 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday, September 11, New Ulm Community Center. (Note new location!)
- Draft Agenda
- Presentations:
Streambank/Bluff Erosion Estimate for High Island Creek and Watonwan River Watersheds (file size = 1.6 MB)
- Presentations:
- July 2006 Stakeholder Committee Meeting, 9:30 a.m., Thursday, July 20, University of Minnesota Southern Research and Outreach Center, Waseca.
- June 2006 Stakeholder Committee Meeting, 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, June 6, Redwood Area Community Center, Redwood Falls.
- Draft Agenda
- Presentations:
Agricultural Practices in South Central Minnesota
Agricultural Practices in South Central Minnesota - Maps (file size = 7 MB)
Chippewa River Watershed Project Since 1998 (file size = 6MB)
- Presentations:
- March 2006 Stakeholder Committee Meeting
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- Presentations:
March meeting Agenda - Larry Gunderson, MPCA
Middle Minnesota River Watershed Report - Kevin Kuehner, Brown-Nicollet-Cottonwood Water Board (file size = 2.5 MB)
Natural and Background Turbidity Sources - Jim Klang, MPCA
- Presentations:
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See the TMDL Meetings, Events and News page for notices of general interest and event-related information on impaired waters/TMDLs.
Links
- Minnesota Watershed map
- Basins in Minnesota
- EPA Office of Water: Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Program
- USGS Home Page
- Minnesota River Basin Data Center
- Upper Mississippi Basin Stakeholder Network
- Basin Alliance for the Lower Mississippi in Minnesota
Information contact
For information about the Minnesota River Turbidity TMDL Project, contact:
- Larry Gunderson, 651-757-2400
- Forrest Peterson, 320-214-441-6972
- Cathy Rofshus, 507-206-2608