Lake groups hoping to bypass the Shell Rock River Watershed advisory board by lobbying the county board should think again, board members said Tuesday.

Wednesday, April 04, 2001

Lake groups hoping to bypass the Shell Rock River Watershed advisory board by lobbying the county board should think again, board members said Tuesday.

The board was petitioned by several lake advocates to implement water testing at ice-out this spring, but voted to refer all letters to Environmental Services for review.

It is appropriate for groups to address the board concerning the issues, but not for the board to make decisions regarding the requests without staff input, said Chairman Dave Mullenbach.

&uot;If we don’t do that, we have all these groups … they are just going to continue to bombard us with this stuff,&uot; Mullenbach said.

Several advisory board members recommended the board wait for a recommendation from the advisory group before initiating water testing.

&uot;I believe monitoring should wait until we finish our planning process, and be started after we plan it out,&uot; said advisory board facilitator Rick Hanna.

Six water testing units have been reserved for Freeborn County to use free of charge when they are ready, Hanna said. But, rather than &uot;testing for the sake of testing,&uot; the county needs to determine what data are already available, what they want to test for, where, and under what conditions, said Environmental Services Director Randy Tuchtenhagen.

&uot;We’re excited to get started too, and we’re hoping the planning gets done ASAP so we can get out there,&uot; Tuchtenhagen said.

The Shell Rock River Watershed advisory board has completed its review of the county’s existing water plan, and has broken into lake, urban, rural, and conservation subcommittees to research and present goals to the entire advisory board for a vote in early May, Hanna said.

After voting, the advisory board will prioritize goals, estimate cost and develop an implementation recommendation, Hanna said.

The advisory board has stepped up its efforts to stay within the deadlines set forth in the watershed district abeyance agreement with the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR), and expects to present a recommendation to the county board in May.

The advisory board has brought a number of diverse groups together for good discussion on lake issues, said BWSR representative and advisory board member Dave Peterson.

&uot;There’s a lot of respect in that group, and it really works well,&uot; Peterson said.

Coordinating lake advocates will multiply the effects of these diverse groups’ efforts, he said.

&uot;I told the committee when they complete their work, I think they would be a strong asset, if they get their organizations in line, to implement a lot of this,&uot; Hanna said.