FORUM: "CLEAN WATER - We all want it ... but how
do we pay for it?"
On
Clean Water
Despite decades of progress in cleaning up water pollution, hundreds of
Minnesota's lakes, rivers and streams are still not healthy enough for
people to use safely and enjoy. These "impaired" waters do not
meet Minnesota water quality standards and pose risks to people, aquatic
life, and recreation. They can contain too much sediment, bacteria, mercury,
and nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen).
Impaired Waters
Minnesota's 2004 Impaired Waters List has 1,916 impairments on 1,123 water
bodies listed. The impairments affect 920 lakes and 203 stream segments.
The federal Clean Water Act requires states to:
(1) Identify and list surface waters that fail to meet applicable water
quality standards.
(2) Evaluate impaired waters to determine sources of pollution and the
amount of reduction needed to restore the waters.
(3) Make reasonable progress in cleaning up or restoring these waters.
Need for Funding
The Clean Water Act requires that all states address their impaired waters.
This mandate is currently underfunded. Money is needed to implement restoration
activities.
Funding Proposal-An Opportunity
In January 2003 Governor Pawlenty presented his Clean Water Vision at
a statewide TMDL Stakeholder meeting in St. Cloud. At this meeting he
announced his "Clean Water Cabinet" and laid the groundwork
for a broad stakeholder process to develop a strategy to address impaired
waters in Minnesota.
The Impaired Waters Stakeholder Process is facilitated by the Minnesota
Environmental Initiative. Since July 2003, a group of over 56 stakeholders
from across Minnesota has been working to identify and develop a method
of providing long term, stable funding. An estimated $270 million is needed
annually to address Minnesota's impaired waters.
The stakeholder group has reviewed over 100 different funding scenarios
to identify a single method to collect an estimated $80 million per year
to go into a Clean Water Protection Account. The funding package selected
would place a fee of $3.00 per month ($36.00 per year) on every household
across the state. Multi-unit housing and commercial properties would contribute
based on Equivalent Dwelling Units.
Hear more complete details about this proposal and the opportunities it
may bring to counties, cities and townships within the Minnesota River
Watershed. Your perspective is needed as this proposal moves forward to
ensure it meets your needs. If you are unable to attend, please feel free
to send someone else from your organization.
For
More Information
MPCA's Impaired Waters website:
http://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/tmdl/index.html
Impaired Waters Stakeholders website:
http://www.mn-ei.org/policy/impairedwaters.html
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