St. Louis River Watershed Mercury TMDL public forum #2

You are invited to the second in a series of in-person public forum events about the MPCA’s work to develop a mercury total maximum daily load (TMDL) study for the St. Louis River area.

The goal of this meeting is to understand preliminary information about the sources of mercury in the St. Louis River Watershed and how the information will be used in the TMDL study. We will provide information on our analysis of the mercury sources, including which land cover types and which areas of the watershed are larger sources of mercury. Attendees will also get a chance to talk with the MPCA and fellow attendees in a “world café” style of rotating discussions that will focus on key issues related to the mercury sources.

Agenda

• 6 p.m. - Welcome. MPCA’s Director of the Environmental Analysis and Outcomes Division, Todd Biewen, will offer opening remarks.
• 6:05 p.m. - Presentation of mercury sources in the St. Louis River Watershed (Dr. Jennifer Brentrup & Andrea Plevan, MPCA)
  MPCA staff will present the recent work that modeled the primary mercury sources in the watershed. We will describe the modeling process, our analysis of the major mercury sources, and their geographic variation across the watershed. We will discuss how the information will be used for the TMDL development and answer questions following the presentation.
• 6:55 p.m. Next steps. Theresa Haugen, MPCA watershed section manager, will provide information on questions from the first forum, next steps, and wrap up the presentations.
• 7 p.m. - Break
• 7:10 p.m. - Small group discussions (DeYoung Consulting Services & MPCA)
  Participants are invited to share their insights, concerns, and ask questions by participating in facilitated small group discussions designed to engage a large group of people in meaningful dialogue. Participants will be organized into small groups to discuss the mercury source results.
• 8 p.m. - Open house (MPCA staff)
  Visit with MPCA staff, who will have information available on the modeling approach and key results of the mercury source assessment work. We will also have handouts and posters describing background information on water quality standards, TMDLs, multiple programs to address mercury contamination, and similar information available from the first forum.