DNR begins river rulemaking process — public comments and committee applicants sought

The Mississippi River Corridor looking southeast from the Pine Bend Bluffs Scientific and Natural Area in Inver Grove Heights.

Photo: Irene Jones

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has been charged by the state legislature with writing new rules for the Mississippi River Critical Area, a protected corridor from Dayton to Hastings that is also a National Park. The new rules will delineate and define new districts within the critical area corridor and establish minimum guidelines and standards for development within these districts.

To kick off what will likely be a two-year effort, the DNR:

• set up a website and email listserve to keep interested parties apprised,
• published a request for comments, due March 22nd, and
• is taking applications, due January 22nd, for stakeholders to join advisory committees that will meet periodically through the end of this year.

The DNR website offers much for the avid researcher, including fact sheets, maps and links to legislation, executive orders and other pertinent documents. You can also sign up for the listserve and download an application form for the advisory committees. (For a general overview, you may want to review FMRs Mississippi River Critical Area fact sheet.)

The DNR published their official request for comments December 14th and the 90-day public comment period ends March 22nd at 4:30 p.m. There will be other opportunities to comment after the draft rules have been published, but this first comment period provides stakeholders with the opportunity to express their recommendations, hopes and concerns at the front end of the process.

The DNR will be putting together four geographically determined stakeholder advisory groups: Northwest – Ramsey and Dayton to the Minneapolis border; Urban West – Minneapolis to Ft. Snelling; Urban East – St Paul, Mendota Heights and Lilydale; and Southeast – Maplewood and South St. Paul to Ravenna Township. The stakeholder groups will meet two to four times, March through December 2010.

The DNR seeks to engage a diversity of stakeholders, including local cities and townships, watershed districts, landowners, developers and interest groups. Citizens may apply, but ideally they should represent a broader constituency such as a neighborhood organization, resident association or advocacy group. The application form can be downloaded from the website and is due to the DNR by January 22nd.

Protecting the many special and unique features of river corridor is core to FMR's mission, and we will be fully engaging in the rulemaking process. If you want additional information or to coordinate efforts with FMR, please contact Irene Jones at 651/222-2193 or via our contact form.