Laserfiche WebLink
solid waste haulers that lose competitive <br />bids in organized collection communities. <br />Further, the League supports the current <br />state policy that organized collection is a <br />valuable tool as part of a comprehensive <br />solid waste and recycling management <br />program and recognizes the need to <br />protect and preserve the authority of <br />cities to adopt solid waste service <br />contracts that protect public safety, the <br />environment and public infrastructure. <br />SD-24. Private Well Drilling <br />Issue: The state has continued to place <br />requirements on public water supply <br />providers to add drinking water treatment <br />and testing, to restrict the volume of water <br />used, and to increase the cost of water use <br />through fees and requirements on utility rate <br />structures. As a result, many water users are <br />choosing to obtain all or portions of their <br />water from wells they place on their own <br />property. This creates risks to public health <br />and safety, can affect the surrounding <br />environment, can affect city water supplies, <br />and can leave city water utilities with <br />massive losses of customer load and rate <br />revenue. <br />Providing clean, safe, cost-efficient drinking <br />water to citizens is an essential service <br />provided by 726 active municipal water <br />systems. The Minnesota Department of <br />Health (MDH) agrees that cities have the <br />statutory authority to determine whether <br />private wells are an appropriate use within <br />their boundaries and that cities must protect <br />the public water supplies from numerous <br />private wells in city boundaries. Private <br />wells in a city increase the risk of <br />contaminating public water supplies and <br />encourage over use of water. Cities have the <br />authority to regulate and even prohibit <br />private wells by local ordinance <br />Response: The League of Minnesota <br />Cities supports current law that <br />authorizes cities to protect public health <br />and safety through local controls <br />regulating or prohibiting private wells <br />being placed within municipal water <br />utility service boundaries and would <br />oppose any changes to law to remove that <br />authority. <br />SD-25. Sustainable Development <br />Issue: Minnesota cities spend significant <br />time and resources planning for growth, <br />development, and redevelopment that will <br />best serve the future needs of their residents. <br />Numerous factors are considered as part of <br />that process, but an area of increasing <br />interest involves concepts often categorized <br />as "sustainable development." Minn. Stat. § <br />4A.07, subd. 1(b), defines this term, as it <br />pertains to local government, to mean <br />"development that maintains or enhances <br />economic opportunity and community well- <br />being while protecting and restoring the <br />natural environment upon which people and <br />economies depend. Sustainable <br />development meets the needs of the present <br />without compromising the ability of future <br />generations to meet their own needs." <br />Cities play a key role in fostering <br />sustainable development and other <br />conservation practices due to their role in <br />land use planning and zoning, stormwater <br />and wastewater management, and local <br />economic development. Local governments <br />can take a lead on these issues by choosing <br />to incorporate aspects of sustainable <br />development into their local operations and <br />facilities. They can also develop local <br />policies and regulations that support and <br />guide individual and private sustainability <br />efforts. The ability of a city to affect these <br />changes can, however, be restricted by <br />policies and requirements imposed by other <br />levels of government. <br />League of Minnesota Cities <br />2018 City Policies Page 15 <br />