BE IT RESOLVED, that the plan amendment submitted by the Shingle Creek and West Mississippi Watershed Management Commissions including a revised capital improvement program, be approved; that the 2019 maximum levy for the Shingle Creek Watershed Management Commission be set at $479,900; that the 2019 maximum levy for the West Mississippi Watershed Management Commission be set at $106,050; and that levies for both commissions be certified to the county auditor and be placed on all taxable property under the jurisdictions of the Shingle Creek Watershed Management Commission or the West Mississippi Watershed Management Commission.

History: The Shingle Creek and West Mississippi Watershed Management Commissions have proposed a minor plan amendment to their Watershed Management Plan. The minor plan amendment adds a phosphorus reduction project and modifies an existing project in the commissions’ Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) to specify lakes that will receive an alum treatment.

Staff reviewed the commissions’ proposed minor plan amendment and found them to be consistent with the Surface Water Management section of the Hennepin County 2030 Comprehensive Plan Update and the Hennepin County Natural Resources Strategic Plan. As a result, staff recommends approval of the proposed minor plan amendment to the commissions’ Watershed Management Plan. Additional information about the minor plan amendment is provided in a supplemental staff recommendation report.

In addition to the proposed minor plan amendment, Shingle Creek Commission requests a levy of $479,900 to fund its portion of project costs to complete four water quality projects that are priorities in the CIP. The projects will achieve the commission’s goals to improve water quality throughout the Shingle Creek Watershed and downstream resources, including the Mississippi River. Descriptions of the projects to be implemented in part by the levy funds are:

1. The City Cost Share Best Management Practices Project provides cost share for projects that provide additional infiltration and water quality treatment by retrofitting best management practices into already developed publicly-owned areas throughout the Shingle Creek Watershed. The Watershed Management Plan established a process to identify small best management practices such as iron-enhanced pond filter benches, bioinfiltration basins, plant buffers, and erosion stabilization that qualify, and established a capital levy each year to share in the cost of identified projects. The commission requests a 2019 levy of $106,050 for this project.

2. The Becker Park Infiltration Project (Crystal) adds an underground storage and infiltration system to treat runoff from 147 acres and to alleviate localized flooding and reduce pollutant loading to Upper Twin Lake. Total estimated cost of this project is $2,500,000. The commission requests a 2019 levy of $265,125 for this project.

3. The Partnership (Private) Cost Share Best Management Practices Project provides cost share for projects that provide additional infiltration and water quality treatment by retrofitting best management practices into already developed privately-owned areas throughout the Shingle Creek Watershed. The Watershed Management Plan established a process to identify small best management practices such as iron-enhanced pond filter benches, bioinfiltration basins, plant buffers, and erosion stabilization that qualify, and established a capital levy each year to share in the cost of identified projects. The commission requests a 2019 levy of $53,025 for this project.

4. The Soluble Reactive Phosphorus Reduction Project will evaluate the effectiveness of three types of filter media at reducing soluble reactive phosphorus concentrations in the discharge from altered wetlands. The project will then permanently install the best-performing filter at the outlet of two wetlands that currently discharge high concentrations of soluble reactive phosphorus to downstream impaired waterbodies. Installation locations will be Wetland 639W just upstream of Upper Twin Lake in Crystal and the Cherokee Wetland, on Bass Creek at Cherokee Drive in Brooklyn Park. This project will include inflow and outflow monitoring to document results. The estimated cost of the project is $124,680, all of which will be paid by the commission. A grant will be used to cover a portion of the costs, and the commission requests a 2019 levy of $55,700 for this project.

The West Mississippi Watershed Management Commission requests a levy of $106,050 to fund the commission’s portion of the project costs to complete two water quality projects that are priorities in the CIP. The projects will achieve the commission’s goals to improve water quality throughout the West Mississippi Watershed and downstream resources, including the Mississippi River. Descriptions of the projects to be implemented in part by the levy funds are:

1. The City Cost Share Best Management Practices Project provides cost share for projects that provide additional infiltration and water quality treatment by retrofitting best management practices into already developed publicly-owned areas throughout the West Mississippi Watershed. The Watershed Management Plan established a process to identify small best management practices such as iron-enhanced pond filter benches, bioinfiltration basins, plant buffers, and erosion stabilization that qualify, and established this a capital levy each year to share in the cost of identified projects. The commission requests a 2019 levy of $53,025 for this project.

2. The Mississippi Crossings Phase B Infiltration Vault Project (City of Champlin) will construct an underground stormwater storage and infiltration system to provide treatment for runoff from the Mississippi River Trail and parking facilities. The area currently discharges water untreated to the Mississippi River. Total estimated cost is $200,000. The commission requests a 2019 levy of $53,025 for this project, with the remaining amount being paid by the City of Champlin.

Levies authorized pursuant to Minnesota Statutes section 103B.251 are exempt from any statutory limitation on taxes. A county levying a tax under Minnesota Statutes section 103B.251 shall not include that tax in the county’s general levy but shall separately certify that amount to the county auditor. The county auditor shall extend that levy as a special taxing district. The commissions must certify their final levies to the county auditor prior to October 1, 2018.

Current Request: This request is to approve an amendment to the Shingle Creek and West Mississippi Watershed Management Plan and set the Shingle Creek Watershed Management Commission 2019 maximum levy at $479,900 and the West Mississippi Watershed Management Commission 2019 maximum levy at $106,050 for projects that will improve water quality. The amendment adds a phosphorus reduction project and revises an existing project to specify lakes that will receive an alum treatment.

Impact/Outcomes: Approval of this request will allow certification of the maximum levy to the county auditor for inclusion in the Truth in Taxation statement and facilitate improved water quality.  Projects in this request will improve water quality in Upper Twin Lake, Bass Creek, and the Mississippi River, advance research on best practices for filtering phosphorus, and reduce pollutants from throughout watershed by making cost-share funding available to private landowners.