Summary: The proposed project is an improvement to Judicial Ditch in Blue Earth County, MN located in the McPherson Township. This project has the potential to cause serious environmental degradation of the LeSueur River by dramatically increasing the amount of water going into the river. The LeSueur is already listed by the MPCA as an impaired water all along its length. The river is widely considered one of the largest contributors of sediment to the Minnesota River. Finally, the project crosses protected wetlands and has the potential to adversely affect the integrity of the wetland.

We are requesting that due to the serious environmental concerns raised in our request that the drainage authority order and complete an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW). An EAW is a simple document designed to lay out the basic facts of a project necessary to determine if an environmental impact statement (EIS) is required for the proposed project. In addition to the legal purpose of the EAW in determining the need for an EIS, the EAW also provides permit information, informs the public about the project, and helps identify ways to protect the environment.

Click HERE to view a complete copy of the Blue Earth County JD 33 petition with project details.

Summary: The proposed project seeks to incorporate an existing private tile and a private open waterway into the drainage system known as CD 26 (“proposed lateral 1”). The project also seeks to bury the tile deeper, increase its size, and increase its grade. In the case of one of the options in the plan, it has the likely potential to TRIPLE the amount of water being drained into the Blue Earth River at the outlet of CD16, creating a high risk of erosion of the banks near the outlet and further downstream.

For this reason, we are requesting that the drainage authority order and complete an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW), which is a document designed to provide a brief analysis and overview of the potential environmental impacts for a specific project.

We ask you to support our effort to stop the continued pollution of the Blue Earth River by joining us in signing this petition requesting that the drainage authority order and complete an Environmental Assessment Worksheet.

Click HERE to view a complete copy of the Faribault County Ditch 26 Lateral 1 petition with project details.

Summary: The proposed project seeks to clean, deepen all or portions of the open ditch, to enlarge, extend, straighten, re-route and/or deepen the existing sections of CD 11. Currently, there is significant concern for groundwater degradation from increased fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural chemicals, and a potential effect on the water table. As a result, the project has the potential to negatively impact the water quality of the North Fork Watonwan and the Watonwan Rivers as well as other downstream waters, through increased sediment pollution caused by erosion.

This is of particular concern because the North Fork Watonwan and the Watonwan rivers flow to the Blue Earth and the Minnesota rivers, waterways that already suffer from sediment pollution thus increasing the accumulative impact on these water ways and the ecosystems they pass through.

For this reason, we are requesting that the drainage authority order and complete an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW), which is a document designed to provide a brief analysis and overview of the potential environmental impacts for a specific project.

We ask you to support our effort to stop the continued erosion and pollution of Watonwan River Watershed by joining us in signing this petition requesting that the drainage authority order and complete an Environmental Assessment Worksheet.

Click HERE for a complete copy of the Watonwan County Ditch 11 petition with project details.