Agenda - Council - 11/26/1979 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

· .;550 CEDAR STREBT ST. PAUL, MN. 551-01 ~(612) 296-2686 THE EQB CRITICAL AREA BULLETIN FOR THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER CORRIDOR CRITICAL AREA November 1979 Mississippi River Master Plan On October 2], 1978, President Carter signed into law P.L. 95-502 authorizino the Upper Mississippi River Basin Commission (UMRBC) to prepare a Comprehensive Master Plan'for the manage- ment of the Upper Mississippi River System in cooperation with the appropriate Federal, State, and local officials. The law not only provides for the preparation of the Master Plan but also. provides for the replacement of Locks and Dam 26, the imposition of an excise tax on fuel used by commercial cargo vessels on specified inland waterways, and a comprehensive study with respect to inland waterway users taxes and charges. A Plan of Study has been prepared identifying objectives, organization, tasks and studies necessary to fulfill the Master Plan responsibilities delegated to the Upper Mississippi River Basin Commission. The Study is designed to reflect a 4-year $12 million study effort. The work efforts outlined in the Plan of Study satisfy not only the specifics of the Act, but also other activities necessary to develop the required comprehensive Master Plan which balances present and future commercial navigation activities with respect to the economic, recreL ational and environmental objectives of the Upper Mississippi River System. The Upper Mississippi River System is defined as the commercially navigable portions of the Upper Mississippi River north of Cairo, Illinois, the Kaskaskia, Minnesota, Black and St. Croix Rivers, and the Illinois Waterway. Therefore, the navigable portions of the Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area are included. Studies will be carried out by the Master Plan Task Force and associated work teams under the guidance and direction of the Great Rive~ Study Committee of the UMRBC. The four Master Plan work teams are Resources and Transportation, Dredged Material Disposal, Computerized Ana- lytical Inventory and Analysis System, and Public Participation. The work teams are now meeting to develop detailed work programs to complete the tasks defined in the Plan of Study. Each state within the Hississippi River System, appropriate federal agencies, and appointed citizen representatives are involved in the work teams. A Minnesota Master Plan Task Force has been formed to review Master P!~n activities and participate in work team efforts. The Minnesota Task Force is made up of the staff of involved state agencies, regional con~issions, and major cities. The Critical Areas Program Coordinator is a member of this Minnesota Task Force and will monitor the work of the UMRBC in the develop- ment of the Master Plan. For information or reports on the Master Plan effort, contact the UMBRC at: UMRBC 7920 Cedar Avenue So. Minneapolis, MN 55423 (725-4690) For information on the relevance or impact of the study on the Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area, contact the Critical Areas Program Coordinator at the Bulletin address or phone nt~nber. Review Process Th~ Metropolitan Council and the EQB Critical Areas Staff have conferred on the procedures for reviewing plans and regulations. After applying the process to several plans, we've found communities and staff prefer the following general process: 1. Con~nunity submits plan and regulations; 2. ~iet Council Staff completes preliminary review of plans and regulations; 3. Hot Council Staff and community confer on identified inconsistencies to refine list and c)arify misunderstandings or misinterpretations, and agree on any needed plan amendments.