Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources

This document comprises appendices supporting the Red Lake River Watershed Comprehensive Management Plan. It outlines resolutions for plan adoption and implementation, provides new data and assessment results, and presents goal calculation tools. The appendices also detail the Red Lake Watershed District's rules on permitting, surface drainage, flood mitigation, subsurface tile drainage, and enforcement. Furthermore, it includes agency responses with priority issues and expectations for the plan's amendment, along with the district's flood damage reduction strategy.

This Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan provides a coordinated approach for watershed managers to protect and restore the Red Lake River watershed. Its core purpose is to address water quantity, water quality, natural habitat, recreational uses, and drinking water sources through targeted and measurable implementation efforts. The plan prioritizes reducing upland erosion and nutrient loading, improving soil health, mitigating flooding, protecting groundwater, reducing bacterial contamination, managing stormwater, stabilizing streambanks, enhancing riparian areas, improving drainage systems, and protecting land.

This report details the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources' (BWSR) Performance Review and Assistance Program (PRAP), which assesses local governmental units in water and land conservation. It covers PRAP's goals to enhance LGU effectiveness in plan implementation, compliance, and collaboration, and presents a summary of 2025 program activities and results. The report also outlines key objectives for the PRAP program for 2026.

This Affirmative Action Plan for the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources covers the period of July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2026. The plan details the agency's commitment to equal employment opportunity by outlining a workforce analysis, setting goals, objectives, and timetables to address the underutilization of protected groups including females, persons with disabilities, and racial or ethnic minorities. It emphasizes assertive hiring, recruitment, and retention strategies, along with specific responsibilities for implementation, communication methods, and processes for auditing and evaluating program success to ensure compliance with state and federal anti-discrimination laws.

The meeting included the adoption of the agenda and reporting on various committee activities. Key reports detailed the MASWCD annual conference where a District Supervisor of the Year was recognized, and updates on the legislative session outlook and budget shortfall management. The Dispute Resolution and Compliance Report noted an increase in pending appeals, with several cases moving toward hearings. Committee discussions covered upcoming work on buffers and soils, and a policy revision for the RIM Reserve program. Agency reports included updates on Soil Health Equipment Grants, a new resilience grant program for public water systems, progress on the Public Water Inventory project, and the status of nutrient reduction strategy rulemaking and data center policy development. Committee recommendations involved the approval of the Elm Creek Watershed Management Plan, the Middle St. Croix Watershed Management Plan, and two RIM Easement Alteration Requests concerning Yellow Medicine County and Winona County, which involved land replacement to resolve previous encroachments. New business featured a presentation on Impaired Waters for Practitioners, detailing criteria for water quality standards failure and the TMDL process.