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HomeMy WebLinkAboutConservation Commission - 06/12/2007 APPROVED MINUTES CONSERVATION COMMISSION TUESDAY,JUNE 12, 2007 7:00 PM, CITY CENTER 8080 Mitchell Road, Eden Prairie, MN Prairie Room COMMISSION MEMBERS: Eapen Chacko (Chair), David Seymour(Vice Chair), Ray Daniels, Laura Jester, Rita Krocak, Geneva MacMillan, Jan Mosman CITY STAFF: Leslie A. Stovring, Staff Liaison Angie Perschnick, Recording Secretary I. ROLL CALL Chair Chacko called the meeting to order at 7:01 PM. The guest speaker, Diane Spector from Wenck Associates, arrived at 7:02 PM. Commissioner Seymour was absent. Scott Neal's Intern, Luke Fischer, was also present. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA One Item was added to the upcoming events section of the agenda: IX.D. Round Lake Public Meeting. MOTION: MacMillan moved, seconded by Krocak, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 5-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. May 8, 2007 MOTION: Krocak moved, seconded by Jester, to approve the minutes of the May 8, 2007 meeting as published. Motion carried 5-0. IV. REPORTS FROM STAFF A. Anderson Lakes—Project Status Stovring stated that the Nine Mile Creek Watershed District meeting about the Anderson Lakes Water Improvement project on May 30 in the Council Chambers at City Hall was well attended. The Council Chambers were almost filled with attendees. Basically the attendees were generally in support of improving the water quality of Anderson Lakes, but concerned about the idea of a drawdown both in the short-term and long-term. The group did petition that an Environmental Assessment be completed for the project and that the use of chemical treatment for weed control be considered first. However, comments did indicate that if a chemical treatment would not work, they would support a Eden Prairie Conservation Commission June 12, 2007 Page 2 drawdown rather than doing nothing. The general consensus was that they were concerned that the proposal for a permanent water level reduction would lead to large areas of unvegetated mud flats. The proposal is for an elevation of 837.5 MSL for the outlet, it is currently at 839.0 MSL. When it was recently surveyed by one of the residents they were told the lake was at a little less than 838.0, almost where it is proposed. The Nine Mile Creek Watershed District will be holding a public hearing for an Environmental Assessment Worksheet being completed for the project on July 18 at 7:00 pm in the City Council Chambers. B. Landscaping Seminar Discussion The Landscaping Seminar went very well. Close to fifty people attended the event. Jester asked if Stovring had looked at the Blue Thumb web site and suggested Eden Prairie might want to be involved in the program. Stovring did provide information on the program at the seminar, but the program is not as detailed as the DNR's educational cd-rom on landscaping selection. Blue Thumb is still in its infancy and may be more useful at a later point in time. MacMillan suggested we follow up with people who attended the event in a few months to see what changes they have made. Stovring said that due to the great attendance, an educational seminar could be held in 2008, the commission will have to consider what topic they would like to see next year. Stovring suggested a topic such as how residents can care for their neighborhood ponds, either shoreland restoration, lawn care, pond treatment alternatives or others. Chacko mentioned that he and his neighbors were considering a social/educational event on landscaping with native grasses with Fortin Consulting as the expert consultants.. C. Draft Nondesradation Plan Discussion Diane from Wenck Associates was the guest speaker for this portion of the meeting, and she distributed copies of the City of Eden Prairie's Draft Nondegradation Assessment Report's Summary and Recommendations sections. Diane discussed what the plan is and walked through the recommended Best Management Practices (BMPs) for consideration. The study looked at 1990 and 2000 data and made projections for 2020 (1990 is used as a proxy for 1988. There is not good data available for 1988, but 1988 levels are similar to 1990 levels). They looked to see the associated changes in pollutant loadings with the land use change and also the increased volume of storm water runoff from the impervious surface change. The final step is what to do about it: the standard is for BMPs to be used to return to or to take steps to mitigate conditions that have resulted from changes since 1988. The Nondegradation Assessment shows the changes in the estimated impervious area of the City from 1990 (21%) through 2000 (29%), and it projects (based on the comprehensive land use plan) to 2020 (32%). The P8 model and actual data Eden Prairie Conservation Commission June 12, 2007 Page 3 from Purgatory Creek water quality monitoring station (WOMP station) were used. A sump manhole is an extra deep manhole, and materials (sand, leaves, dirt, weeds, trash) can be stored in the sump area. Daniels asked where you would find a sump manhole and how you could tell which are sumps. Diane stated that you could only tell by looking inside the sump. Stovring stated there are 642 sump type structures in Eden Prairie, as the City has been aggressive about putting them in. Diane stated that research has shown that sump manholes are almost as effective as more costly underground treatment devices such as Stormceptors. Wenck modeled impacts and looked at the actual materials removed from the street sweeping and sump cleanout programs. They considered the development that occurred between 1990 and 2000 and that was expected between 2000 and 2020 and then applied the watershed rules to them. The model also includes removal of pollutants from the underlying land use. This is an important distinction as undeveloped land does export some sediment and phosphorous. So when you change land use, you are removing what it was generating in the first place and changing the runoff characteristics. Study Findings: For the period between 1988 and 2020, assuming the City continues the regulatory program and existing activities are still in place the City will meet the nondegradation requirements. For the period between 1990 and 2020, the City will not meet the volume requirements however due to the increase in impervious area. The volume management activities the City could consider to reduce the storm water volume or mitigate the effects of the storm water volume (which show up as erosion and stream bank instability) are as follows: constructing structural volume management Best Management Practices (BMPs) such as infiltration basins, nonstructural BMPs such as reforestation, retrofitting with volume management BMPs where opportunities exist, and mitigation of volume impacts by stream bank stabilization, erosion control projects, etc. Daniels asked about the size of an acre-foot, and it was described by Diane as about three typical (1/3 acre) lots covered with about one foot of water. The upshot is that Eden Prairie, like a lot of more newly developed cities, is not having much trouble meeting the nondegradation water quality rules since the development rules take care of a lot of it. The watersheds in Eden Prairie do not have a volume management requirement (most cities either do not or have not until sometime during the past five years). It is only the nondegradation requirement that has raised the issue of volume. The draft of the summary and recommendations is still in progress, and there will be a focus on reducing the volume or mitigating the effects of it. It would be good to focus on considering an abstraction requirement: abstraction is the removal of storm water from runoff. The most common way to do this is by infiltration, but there are other ways that storm water does not run off Eden Prairie Conservation Commission June 12, 2007 Page 4 (evapotranspiration from trees and leaves, for example). Planting trees could make a difference in storm water volume, and pervious pavement could help infiltration. Structures such as cisterns would also capture water which could then be recycled for uses such as irrigation onsite. Diane noted that most of the storm water is generated by small storm events. About half of the annual storm runoff is generated by storm events of less than 1/2 inch of rainfall. About 70% of the volume is from storms resulting in less than one inch of rainfall. You can reduce your TP and TSS by these volume-reduction methods too, such as stream bank restoration projects. Daniels stated he was concerned that most of the damage is already done. Stovring clarified that retrofitting opportunities do exist as land is redeveloped and practices such as infiltration are added. Jester asked if we would update our ordinances to include infiltration. Stovring replied that Nine Mile Creek Watershed is in the process of updating their rules, and the City will update its ordinances as needed when they are done. Jester also asked if we need to keep promoting decreased use of fertilizer and leaf cleanup among the public. Diane said these current practices are still important and are captured in the estimates of pollutants in the future. Diane mentioned that just because the City is meeting nondegradation requirements does not mean more couldn't be done to improve water quality. Mosman said that it would be good for residents to get information on how they can impact the environment positively. Diane stated that the bulk of the damage has already been done regarding water volume, but many little practices, or micropractices, (infiltration islands in parking lots, for example) could lead to improvements in volume reduction and add up to real money savings. Even though we are placing a lot of emphasis on infiltration, it is not appropriate for all locations and some of these devices are expensive, so there is a cost associated with them. The other side is mitigating the effects instead of decreasing volume. A band-aid is sometimes the most cost- effective solution. The MPCA did not establish a standard format for the Nondegradation reports, but they are currently trying to sort out which are valid. Eden Prairie's modeling and analysis is pretty standard, so this study should be fine. The City has met with the Pollution Control Agency on the proposed methods used already. Jester asked about water volumes, Stovring stated that the City is expected to try to mitigate "to the best extent practicable." One goal is to amend the SWPPP and evaluate areas where the city could be doing work on repairing creek corridors. D. Mitchell Lake Shoreland Restoration Demonstration Project Request Stovring asked if the Commission would want to participate in the project request that she recently received regarding Mitchell Lake. The Mitchell Lake Association is asking for funding assistance from the City for a shoreland Eden Prairie Conservation Commission June 12, 2007 Page 5 restoration demonstration project that would be open to the public, and they submitted a brief project description that Stovring distributed to Commission members. Stovring asked if this is the type of thing the Commission wants to support. Daniels asked about the Commission's obligations for the project. Stovring said we would need to make a recommendation to the Council saying we recommend they do it, how much it would cost, and how it would be paid for. Stovring confirmed that they are coming to the City to get funding, and the Association is currently working on a cost estimate. Stovring wanted to get a feeling as to whether the commission is interested in a shoreland restoration grant program. This could be a good test case for this type of program. The land is part of the Association but is right by the road, and they would be willing to put up signage to indicate it is available to the public. The Commission recessed from 8:03 to 8:09pm. Mitchell Lake is an impaired water, so the storm water utility or water resource education budgets could be used. The commissioners stated they are interested in looking into supporting this type of program. Jester clarified that there are two separate issues the group is considering: (1) supporting a rebate program and (2) supporting this specific project. Chacko would want to see a presentation from this group before considering funding. Krocak would like to make sure we do not drag out the approval process before giving them the funds for this year. Stovring stated she will discuss this idea with her manager since commission appears to be in support of looking into this project. Financial support could be given as a rebate. V. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION MEMBERS A. Chamber of Commerce Meeting—Prospective Environmental Forum Chacko spoke to the City Manager, Scott Neal, about this idea, and he proposed talking to the Chamber of Commerce. Chacko met with David Ward from Cargill, Greg Olson from Anchor Bank, Pat MulQueeny (the Chamber's President), and Phil Young (the Mayor). They were not in favor of the idea of working with Dave Tillman from the University, but they warmed up somewhat to the City's 20-40-15 Initiative. They discussed the Liberty Trust project that Compellent Technologies is doing. It is a LEED Certified project at the silver level and has a number of nice design elements. For the next steps, Chacko will meet with Dave Jellison (VP for Liberty) to see if Liberty will present the project at a sponsored Chamber meeting. If he is interested, Chacko will talk with David and Greg to see if they how they want to proceed. The Commission is interested, and Krocak would like to see as many members of the Conservation Commission as possible attend the Chamber's meeting if the presentation happens. Chacko said he was asked about incentives, credits, or reduction of the sewer access charge for businesses that reduce water Eden Prairie Conservation Commission June 12, 2007 Page 6 and sewer usage. Leslie said that idea has come up and been passed along, but the businesses would save money just by reducing their water usage. Project Green Fleet—Follow-Up Chacko said the school district had very positive experiences with the Green Fleet project based on feedback from Derrick Agate, Jr, Director of Transportation for the school district. The school bus drivers have appreciated the changes also, according to Mr. Agate. B. St. Hubert's Environmental Stewardship Meeting Chacko attended an environmental stewardship meeting at St. Hubert's church in Chanhassen. He clarified the typos in the memo he sent to the group. Instead of saying on page two in paragraph three that overall temperatures would need to raise by 36 degrees, it should say 3-6 degrees. Also, right above that, it should say 21.5 instead of 215. Craig Edwards gave the general presentation, and then two other presenters talked about what the City of Chanhassen is doing. Eden Prairie may be able to adopt some of these measures too. Chacko pointed out the Community garden idea was good, and Stovring confirmed that we have two of those currently. Chacko asked if any of them involved the high school, and Stovring said that they do not and it would be difficult to create a garden that would involve the high school area. MacMillan liked the idea of boulevard tree planting. Krocak said a lot of boulevard tree planting has been done along the bike trails, but the trees are not watered enough and usually die. Chacko confirmed that the meeting was well attended, interesting, and the topic was handled diplomatically with a balanced presentation. VI. OLD BUSINESS A. Goose Management Plan—Executive Summary & Recommendations Section Review Stovring asked if there were any comments on this revised technical Goose Management report that she distributed. The group agreed it is more readable than the original version of the Goose Management Plan. Krocak asked about the estimate of the damage caused by the geese ($130,000 to $325,000), and Stovring confirmed that the amount is correct. It includes having to replace turf, beach closures, car accidents, and other goose-related expenses. Chacko suggested Stovring could regroup the information into the different types of management activities. Stovring plans to revise the report, and she will either try to finish it or see if the author(Jim Cooper) wants to further revise it. Stovring will suggest he add a note about how he is working with various groups to ensure that the processing and disposal of the geese is done as humanely as possible. After the report is revised and reviewed by the Conservation Commission again, it will go to the City Council for approval. Eden Prairie Conservation Commission June 12, 2007 Page 7 B. Wellhead Protection Plan (WHPP) — Well And Septic System Abandonment Program Stovring said we will save this topic for the next meeting. C. Eden Prairie Recycling Report—Potential actions or policies? Stovring handed out the "Recycling Works" brochure, which she plans to stuff into bags to distribute during the clean up. Anyone who wants to help is welcome to join her. The Recycling/City Clean Up on Saturday, June 16 will be attended by Stovring and her intern. MacMillan and Chacko may be there part of the time as well. If anyone can help out for a few hours, that would be helpful. D. Chanse a Light Campaisn Update Kim Sherman, the Community Marketing Manager from Xcel Energy, is leading this starting on October Is' with Ace Hardware as their partner. Wal-mart and Home Depot decided not to participate, but Frattallone's is participating along with a couple of other local retailers. There will be a press release put out around October Is' along print and television ads, 99-cent coupons and coupons for recycling compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) at Ace. Mercury Technology, a Minnesota company in Pine City, is a company that actually recycles the bulbs. The EPA bulletin on mercury is still the most current information to use. Chacko asked the group how we want to participate. A local press release could be coordinated with Xcel. Also, we could sponsor an event that ties in with that one, and distributing coupons would be a way to do that. Another idea is that it could be tied in with the 20-40-15 Initiative. The Conservation Club at the high school could participate in this event also. You can recycle light bulbs at hardware stores, take to the Hennepin County Drop-off or to City Clean Up. Jester noted that, in Minneapolis, there is a requirement that people are told to recycle fluorescent bulbs at the point of sale. VII. NEW BUSINESS VIII. INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS /HANDOUTS /COMMUNICATIONS A. Recycling Materials/Handouts for Discussion Chacko referred to the articles he sent to the group. He referenced the guide for plastic codes that is included in the materials in response to a discussion the group had earlier in the year about types of plastic. There was an EPA report put out in 2005 on municipal solid waste, and he included a few pages from that report in the materials sent to the group also. The report relates that recycling plastic bottles is not as widely done as it could be, and it states that only 9% of plastic containers are recovered whereas 45% of aluminum cans are recycled. The rest of the packet includes a letter from the Plastics Recyclers of Minnesota with local statistics. He suggested parts of the reports could be extracted and used in other materials the group may put together for distribution. Eden Prairie Conservation Commission June 12, 2007 Page 8 IX. UPCOMING EVENTS A. City Clean Up—June 16, 2007 at 8:30 am This was referenced previously in the minutes, and Stovring would welcome any volunteers available for this event. B. Public Meeting for Phase II NPDES Nondesradation Plan, Tuesday, June 26, 2007 (6:00—7:00 pm) C. Roof Bloom Workshop, Tuesday,June 26, 2007 at 7:00 pm D. Round Lake Public Meeting Stovring stated that this hearing is at 7pm in the City Council Chambers on July 25. The Watershed District is hosting the public hearing to discuss the work they will do that was decided on in 2002. The work includes an in-lake alum treatment, improving stormwater ponds, building a new pond, adding a fishing pier, and using chemical treatment for invasive weeds. Stovring noted in response to a question from Jester that silt has built up on the bottom of the beach area that will clear off naturally as more people start using the area. X. MEETING A. July 10, 2007 XI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: MacMillan moved, seconded by Daniels, to adjourn. Motion carried 5-0. Chair Chacko adjourned the meeting at 9:11 pm.