One has to wonder when the Freeborn County Board of Commissioners will get around to making a decision about replacing the Shell Rock River (Jugland) dam.

The Shell Rock dam has been in need of replacing for quite some time. Since 1994 the general condition of the Shell Rock River dam has been rated as poor and unstable, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources dam inspection reports. In the 2003 report it talks about considerable scouring beneath the spillway.

In 2005, $250,000 was allocated by the Minnesota Legislature to go through the Department of Natural Resources to help in the cost of replacing the dam

So, 15 years after the Shell Rock River dam was rated as poor and unstable and four years after money was set aside to replace the Shell Rock River dam, we still have a dam in poor condition that has not been replaced.

There was a plan to replace the dam and the Freeborn County Road 19 bridge at the same time and together, but the county commissioners voted down that plan on Oct. 7, 2008.

 In a story in the Albert Lea Tribune on Oct. 7, 2008, it came out that there has been negotiations going on between the landowner and two county commissioners and that a deal was done except for a few last details. 

Yet six months have passed and we still have not heard of any deal between the county and the landowner concerning land around the dam. Two big question that needs to be answered is: When will the dam be replaced?

 Will the public have access to safely enter the Shell Rock River below the dam?

 It’s true that the citizens of Freeborn County and the landowner have riparian rights to the water of the Shell Rock River.

But what about riparian duties? What is meant by that is the county and the landowner  have to exercise their rights reasonably as to not interfere with the riparian rights of others. They cannot dike off and drain, or fence off, their part of the water body.

It is also stated that:

“It is a public nuisance and a misdemeanor to interfere with, obstruct or render dangerous for passage waters by the public.” (Public Nuisance Law, Minnesota Statute 609.74)

Would NOT allowing for a safe access (portage) around a new Shell Rock dam render these waters dangerous? 

When a final agreement is reached with the landowner, will the county commissioners hold a public hearing and take input from the public before voting to accept or reject any agreement?

Will the agreement be printed in this newspaper as to what the county is getting and what the county is giving away before a vote is taken?

Will the state money to replace the dam still be available after July 1, 2009?

This issue has been going on for far too long. It is time for the Freeborn County Board of Commissioners to get down to business and resolve this issue once and for all and replace the dam to provide a safe access to the Shell Rock River below the dam for the citizens.

Mike Lee

Albert Lea