Preserve Camp Coldwater Coalition
Working for Watershed Protection
The Problem
The Camp Coldwater area has no watershed protection.
Minnesota water law (509) mandated that all areas of the Twin Cities
be protected by watershed districts or water management organizations.
Unfortunately, the area of the Camp Coldwater watershed was overlooked
by this process. Perhaps this is why the 1985 Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) on the reconstruction and reroute of Highway 55 never mentioned
Camp Coldwater nor Coldwater Spring. The courts have ruled that the
statute of limitations has expired and that it is too late to revisit
the EIS to address this serious omission.
Coldwater Spring is not an artesian spring in that it does not flow
upward from groundwater pressure. Rather, the water feeding Coldwater
Spring travels laterally, sideways, from the west just at or above
the bedrock. Storm sewer construction for the Highway 55 project just
400 feet west of Coldwater Spring will make deep cuts in the bedrock
in the water recharge area for Coldwater Spring Any of these
bedrock cuts could slow or stop the flow of water to the spring.
Current plans call for monitoring the vital signs of the spring during
the construction. This is like monitoring a dying patient. Once the
vital signs drop it will show that impacts have been made on the spring.
But it will be too late to reverse the impact and save the spring.
Watershed District protection could provide the detailed site-specific
hydrogeologic study necessary to assess this threat before construction
work begins. Watershed District protection would provide the Camp
Coldwater watershed with the best overall, proactive and coordinated
water resource stewardship and protection available in Minnesota.
The Solution
The Preserve Camp Coldwater Coalition researched Minnesota
water law and the prescribed process to bring overlooked and unprotected
areas within Minnesota's water resource protection system. We began
a Citizen's Petition as prescribed by the law, but encountered differing
interpretations on just who could sign the petition.
About forty community members attended the January 13, 2000 meeting
of the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) addressing Highway
55 construction activities and their impacts on Minnehaha Creek and
Minnehaha Falls. Towards the end of the meeting, we addressed the
MCWD chair and asked for their assistance in providing watershed protection
for the Camp Coldwater area. The MCWD Managers responded favorably
and made it an agenda item for their next meeting..
The Preserve Camp Coldwater Coalition formally requested action
in a January 19, 2000 letter
to the MCWD. At their next meeting on January 20, 2000,
the MCWD Managers voted to directly petition the Minnesota Board of
Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) to include Coldwater Spring and the
Camp Coldwater watershed within it's jurisdictional boundary. MCWD staff
quickly assembled their petition and supporting documents and filed
their petition with BWSR on February 9, 2000.
The BWSR Board formally considered the MCWD
Petition for Boundary Change at their March 12, 2000
meeting. They took action to order a Public Hearing on Thursday, April
27, 2000 at 4:00 PM at the Veteran Administration Medical Center conference
room. BWSR sent notice of this public hearing to 75 municipalities
and counties.
In conjunction with this Public Hearing, the Preserve Camp Coldwater
Coalition will facilitate an Open
House at Coldwater Spring
from 12:00 noon until 4:00 PM on Thursday, April 27, 2000, just
prior to the 4:00 PM Public Hearing. This event is made possible due
to the cooperative efforts of the Coalition, the U.S. Department of
the Interior, and many others.
How You Can Help
The Preserve Camp Coldwater Coalition has initiated a Supporting
Petition to present to BWSR at the Public Hearing on April 27, 2000.
We urge all of you to join us and sign on to our Supporting Petition
to demonstrate the depth of support in our communities for watershed
protection for Camp Coldwater and Coldwater Spring. Please join us in
this action by doing one or more of the following:
Email Jim
Haertel, the BWSR staff person handling the MCWD petition at:
james.haertel@bwsr.state.mn.us
Attend the Open
House at Coldwater Spring from 12:00 noon until 4:00 PM on Thursday,
April 27, 2000.
Attend the BWSR Public
Hearing at 4:00 PM on Thursday, April 27, 2000 at the Veterans
Affairs Medical Center conference room, One Veterans Drive, Minneapolis,
MN, just across Highway 55 from Camp Coldwater and Coldwater Spring.
Documents & Progress To Date
January 19, 2000 Preserve
Camp Coldwater Coalition request to MCWD to petition BWSR to
include Camp Coldwater within it's jurisdictional boundary
February 9, 2000 MCWD Petition
for Boundary Change, Map and Description of Proposed District Boundary
Change
March 16, 2000 MnDOT
Memo to BWSR re MCWD Petition for Boundary Change
March 21, 2000 Metropolitan
Airports Commission Memo to Lower Mississippi River Watershed District
regarding affiliation
March 21, 2000 Metropolitan
Airports Commission letter to BWSR regarding MCWD Petition
for Boundary Change
March 21, 2000 Department
of the Army letter to BWSR regarding MCWD Petition for Boundary
Change
March 21, 2000 Department
of the Navy letter to BWSR regarding MCWD Petition for Boundary
Change
March 21, 2000 Department
of the Air Force letter to BWSR regarding MCWD Petition for
Boundary Change
March 22, 2000 BWSR
Findings, Conclusions and Order for MCWD Boundary Change Hearing
March 22, 2000 BWSR Notification
Memo re MCWD Boundary Change Hearing, List of Addressees, Notice of
Public Hearing, and Map of Proposed District Boundary Change
April 27, 2000 The Preserve Camp Coldwater Coalition
invites you to an Open House
at Coldwater Spring
Minnehaha Creek Watershed District
Minnesota Water
Law
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