The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) will hold a series of public meetings throughout the state in September and October to discuss the nearly 400 impairments added to the draft list of the state’s impaired lakes and stream segments.

The meetings schedule is as follows:

Monday, Sept. 28, 1-3 p.m. St. Paul-MPCA Office 520 Lafayette Rd. N

Tuesday, Sept. 29, 1-3 p.m. Detroit Lakes-MPCA Office 714 Lake Ave.

Wednesday, Sept. 30, 1-3 p.m. Brainerd-MPCA Office 7678 College Rd., Baxter

Thursday, Oct. 1, 1-3 p.m. Duluth-MPCA Office 525 Lake Ave. S

Monday, Oct. 5, 2-4 p.m. Marshall-MPCA Office 1420 E. College Dr.

Tuesday, Oct. 6, 1-3 p.m. Blue Earth County Library, Mankato

Wednesday, Oct. 7, 1-3 p.m. Rochester-MPCA Office 18 Wood Lake Drive SE

Updated every two years, the draft 2010 list brings the current total of impaired waters to 3,049 statewide on 1,205 lakes and 436 rivers. Water bodies can be listed for more than one pollutant or reach. The draft list is developed by the MPCA, and then sent to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for approval following an extensive public comment process.

Only a fraction of Minnesota’s waters have been monitored and assessed so far for impairments. The MPCA has initiated or completed water monitoring in 21 percent of the state’s 81 major watersheds. The state is on track to monitor all of the state’s watersheds on a 10-year schedule.

“Monitoring the state’s waters and determining their health is an involved process,” Shannon Lotthammer, MPCA manager said. “We first gather at least two years of monitoring data, then analyze that data to determine if the waters meet state and federal standards for swimming, boating and fishing. If they don’t, the waters are listed as impaired and undergo further study to determine how they can be restored to a healthy condition.”

Of the 3,049 impairments on the list, the MPCA has already intensively studied and initiated restoration plans for 1,158. Many of the studies were completed with the active involvement and leadership of local partners. A water body is removed from the list only after it has been restored and meets all state and federal water quality standards. Nearly two-thirds of the new funding appropriated from the constitutional amendment passed last year will be used on water quality restoration and protection activities for the current two year budget period.

The proposed 2010 Impaired Waters list and methodology for listing are available on the MPCA’s Web site. The list is formally on public notice from Oct. 19 to Nov. 19, 2009. Submit questions, comments or requests for additional information to Howard Markus at MPCA, 520 Lafayette Road N., St. Paul, MN, 55155, by phone at 651-757-2551 or e-mail at howard.markus@pca.state.mn.us.

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