Agenda - Council - 11/24/2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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COLUMBUS COMPREHENSIVE WETLAND PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT PLAN COLUMBUS, MINNESOTA Background The Rice Creek Watershed District (RCWD) is working to solve and prevent surface -water -related problems within its boundaries. The City of Columbus, which is located on the northern fringe of the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area, is in a rather difficult situation. Due its proximity to a growing metropolitan area, and easy access to and from a major freeway in close proximity, the area is slated for more intensified urban development in the next 20 years. The planning area also contains a relatively large amount of wetland and contains three public drainage systems. The RCWD is responsible for the maintenance of these public drainage systems, and as the acting Local Government Unit for the Minnesota Wetland Conservation Act, is also responsible for the enforcement of state wetland law within their boundaries. This necessitated the development of a planning document to manage the public drainage systems and natural resources within the City of Columbus while recognizing the future development plans within the Columbus Comprehensive Wetland Protection and Management Plan (CWPMP) Boundary. » Location Columbus, Minnesota » Client Rice Creek Watershed District » Contact Nick Tomczik Administrator 763.398.3079 The Project Development of the Columbus CWPMP began in late 2008 and included coordination with the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, Minnesota DNR, US Army Corps of Engineers, City of Columbus, and other local agencies. Over a year and a half, the CWPMP was developed with the main goal of balancing the development needs of the City of Columbus and the goals of the RCWD to achieve the goal of the Minnesota Wetland Conservation Act —no -net -loss of wetland acreage and ecological function. The plan directs wetland management to preserve and restore existing contiguous areas containing high - quality natural resources and restore degraded wetland (while mitigating wetland impacts from development) along contiguous corridors, ultimately improving connectivity of ecological systems. The plan incorporates flood damage reduction and floodplain management efforts by establishing a management corridor adjacent to riparian areas with the intent of improving water quality by managing areas immediately adjacent to public drainage systems, Rice Creek, and select private drainage systems. The development process included a complete wetland inventory and wetland functional analysis as well as the development of a landscape -scale natural resource corridor, which encourages wetland mitigation efforts in priority areas. The goal is increased ecological connectivity and reduced habitat fragmentation. The final outcome of this plan was the development of the regional rule (referred to as Rule RMP-4), which implements the intended outcomes of the CWPMP. For example, the regional rule implements the process for establishing and adjusting the natural resource corridor boundary, the wetland impact and replacement ratios, and the requirements for sequencing and demonstration and achievement of no -net loss of wetland. cJ » Client Benefits • Completion of the CWPMP, meeting the goals of the City, th, RCWD, and state and federal law. • Completion of a regional rule, implementing the CWPMP, and technical aspects of the public drainage system repair reports • Establishment of a preliminary natural resource corridor to direct where wetland impact and replacement will take place at the sit level at the time of permitting • Improved wetland management for the planning area, including a permitting process for land subject to the greatest likely development pressure (commercial and Industrial development corridors). 10 (5555_080_017) 10-8-20 HEI PROPOSAL OCTOCER 12,2020 CITY or RAMSEY REVIEW AND MONITORING OF WETLAND MITIGATION AREAS IN THE COR