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other priority environmental and public <br />health results. <br />Response: The state should lead the <br />development of sound scientific <br />information on water supply, aquifer <br />recharge, and groundwater availability <br />and quality, making good use of the <br />existing studies, data, and staff expertise <br />of municipal water suppliers. <br />The state should also be working to <br />remove barriers to water re -use, on ways <br />to incent and enable alternate uses of <br />stormwater, and ways to make sure that <br />all water users play a role in ensuring that <br />water supplies are being managed in a <br />manner that is sustainable for future <br />residents. Those solutions need to keep in <br />mind that essential residential water use <br />is the highest preferred use of public <br />water supplies. <br />Finally, in cases where sound <br />management of water resources will <br />require substantial modifications in <br />public water systems that were previously <br />determined to be adequate, the state <br />needs to be a partner in developing cost- <br />effective solutions and in providing the <br />technical and financial resources to make <br />those changes to prevent communities <br />from being economically uncompetitive. <br />SD-61. Impaired Waters <br />Issue: Despite the billions of dollars that <br />Minnesota municipalities have invested and <br />continue to invest in wastewater and <br />stormwater management systems, and best <br />management practices to protect, preserve, <br />and restore the quality of Minnesota's <br />surface waters, the quality of some of <br />Minnesota's surface waters does not meet <br />federal water quality requirements. The <br />federal Clean Water Act requires that further <br />efforts be made by the state to reduce human <br />impacts on surface waters that are <br />determined to be impaired due to high <br />pollutant loads of nutrients, bacteria, <br />sediment, mercury, and other contaminants. <br />Scientific studies of these waters must be <br />conducted to determine how much pollution <br />they can handle (Total Maximum Daily <br />Loads, or TMDLs). The pollutant load <br />reduction requirements will affect <br />municipal, industrial, and agricultural <br />practices and operations along any river, <br />stream or lake determined to be impaired. <br />While the sources of 86 percent of the <br />pollutants affecting Minnesota waters are <br />non -point sources, there will also be new <br />costs and requirements for point -source <br />dischargers, like municipal wastewater <br />treatment facilities. Municipal stormwater <br />systems will also face increased protective <br />requirements and regulation as part of the <br />state's impaired waters program. <br />Response: The League of Minnesota <br />Cities will work actively with the <br />administration, the Legislature, and other <br />stakeholders in the design and <br />implementation of Minnesota's impaired <br />waters program to: <br />a) Ensure equitable funding solutions <br />are found, such as the state general <br />fund or bonding, that broadly collect <br />revenue to address this statewide <br />problem; <br />b) Support legislative appropriation of <br />constitutionally dedicated clean water <br />revenues that will supplement <br />traditional sources of funding for <br />these purposes, not be used to cover <br />budget cuts, backfill past program <br />reductions, or to otherwise supplant <br />normal state spending on water <br />programs; <br />c) Direct the majority of funds collected <br />by the state for impaired waters into <br />programs that fund municipal <br />wastewater and stormwater projects, <br />League of Minnesota Cities <br />2015 City Policies Page 39 <br />