After over two years of cooperative efforts of six southeastern Minnesota counties, the process to create and implement the One Watershed One Plan (1W1P), which encompasses the entire Root River watershed of about 1.3 million acres, is nearing completion.
In June 2014, the Root River watershed became one of the five large watersheds in the state to serve as a pilot program for the 1W1P. Three committees were created for the planning process: a planning work group consisting of local water planners, SWCD staff, and a consultant; a policy committee consisting of 13 members, including one commissioner and one SWCD staff member from each of the six counties, plus a representative of the Crooked Creek Watershed District; and an advisory committee made up of local community members, organizations, and businesses.
Mark Deutschman of Houston Engineering, Inc., Maple Grove, was hired as a consultant to create the written document.
The policy committee chaired by commissioner Duane Bakke is the administrative decision- making body. The policy committee approved a draft of the 10-year implementation plan for a 60 day public review and comment period in mid June 2016.
Public hearings were held earlier this month in Stewartville and Caledonia. There had been no comments from the public prior to the first of these hearings in Stewartville. State agencies including the MN Department of Health, MN Department of Agriculture, the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR), and MN Department of Natural Resources, and the MN Pollution Control Agency had submitted written comments on the draft plan.
Several individuals commented at the Stewartville public hearing. None seemed to be negative against the implementation of the plan, but only asked for clarification. One Dodge County commissioner asked about taxing authority. Bakke said the 1W1P won’t replace watershed districts. The main source of funding for the plan may be clean water money through BWSR. One man acknowledged that all organizations want clean water before discussing the source of nitrogen leaching. Bakke explained the plan won’t eliminate use of nitrogen to raise crops. A retired ag teacher commented that you should receive praise for doing this, adding the “idea of working together” on the watershed is a great idea.
Jennifer Ronnenberg, Fillmore County SWCD Water Management Coordinator, stated the 1W1P is meant to dissolve county boundaries and bring a plan together for the whole watershed. The 1W1P is drawn from each county plan. The entire area of the Root River watershed planning boundary includes 1,318,600 acres located in Dodge, Fillmore, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, and Winona Counties. It includes the Crooked Creek Water District. The watershed area includes the Minnesota part of the Upper Iowa River watershed and the Mississippi-Reno watershed.
The plan prioritizes concerns and issues. Measures are to be implemented to mitigate threats to our water resources and to determine the effects of those mitigation efforts. Practices used to benefit the environment and the protection of water resources will be measured as to their effectiveness.
With one plan for the entire watershed, duplications on both the local and state level should be eliminated. With the cooperation of local political units and a centralized management of the watershed, it is expected that there will be greater efficiencies both in the use of available funding and staff. Instead of each county having an individual watershed plan, there will be one plan to address issues of the entire watershed area as a whole.
A Joint Powers Agreement allows all local government entities to continue to work together to maintain and improve water quality and water quantity in the Root River watershed area. Measurable goals have been outlined. The plan identifies threats to future water resources. Implementation of the plan will require the identification of funding needs and sources.
All comments submitted during the comment period must be answered. The policy committee reviews comments from state agencies and the public. The committee will then approve the submittal of the planning document to the BWSR, which has 90 days to approve the plan. The next step is for each local government unit to adopt the plan. Local government units have 120 days to adopt the 10-year plan. Implementation could occur as early as January 2017. The 10-year plan will be evaluated in five years and revised in ten years.