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Original HLRP Presentation

Here is the original presentation that was developed during the Healthy Lakes and Rivers Program training. This presentation was also used during two BLA meetings and serves as a warm-up to the Visioning session on April 12, 2008.

HLRP: What is it?

What is the Healthy Lakes and Rivers Partnership Program?

(Lifted right from the website: http://www.ifound.org/environmental_faq.php).

A small group of Beebe Lake Association members have started training with The Healthy Lakes and Rivers Partnership Program (HLRP). The HLRP builds the capacity of citizen leaders to develop and implement lake or river management plans. Over two sessions, participating lake and river advocacy groups will be trained to develop a locally shared vision and plan, set measurable goals and report on their progress and outcomes, all of which are conditions of entering the program. The program is designed to:

• Improve leadership skills of key lake/river association members. Provide a forum for shoreline property owners to plan for the future of their watershed.
• Provide opportunities for shoreline property owners to network, work cooperatively and learn from each other and create a voice for healthy waters in central Minnesota
• Establish visions, missions, goals, and management plans for their watershed, using a template developed by the HLRP program and modeled after the State Interagency Lakes Coordinating Committee guide.
• Establish indicators to measure the success of each association’s efforts.
• Provide training, technical assistance and support to associations as they go through the process of planning and project implementation.

What is "citizen-based" planning?

Historically, most communities have relied on government to address environmental problems such as factory discharges, siting of solid or hazardous waste disposal facilities, or treatment of concentrated wastewater. To a large degree this approach was successful; large pipes discharging industrial waste or sewage are virtually unknown today. Increasingly the remaining problems are best addressed on the local level through education and zoning choices. Even in situations where regulatory solutions are necessary, they tend to be most successful when identified, developed and supported by the affected community.

The program emphasizes four principals of citizen- (or asset-) based planning and community development:
Inside Out -- community change is best made by concerned citizens who can gain a sense of ownership and empowerment;
Relationships -- communities are built on relationships; professional systems should not be substituted for local resident or organization involvement.
Assets -- Focus on the gifts and capacities of local individuals, associations, institutions, and other built or natural resources.
Participatory Democracy -- Voting in not enough; democracy is built upon citizen volunteers and civic participation.


Does the program work?

Perhaps the best measure of success is when the technical assistance initially requested from the Initiative Foundation is no longer needed; as the various citizen groups mature they each develop an expertise in the issues that are most pressing in their community. Because of the relationships established in the common training that each group receives they are able to contact one another, and share practical experiences on sources of assistance or funding, situations or "solutions" to avoid, and sources of further guidance at regulatory agencies or academic institutions. Another measure of the success of the program is the amount of financial or technical assistance the groups have successfully leveraged from regulatory agencies. While the HLRP program cannot take exclusive credit for these new collaborations or sources of support, most regulatory agencies will readily admit that working with a well-organized, knowledgeable citizen group is far more likely to lead to successful implementation than in a community with divided or polarized goals and objectives. Likewise, many "graduates" have used their prioritized actions to successfully pursue grants or other support from local, regional, and even national nonprofit funders.


How can shoreline organizations apply for training and funding?

The training sessions are offered to eight lake or river groups from the same watershed, county or region. Usually the host (and grant administrator) is a County's Environmental Services Department or Water Plan Administrator, a nonprofit such as a Coalition of Lake Associations (COLA), or a watershed district. The Initiative Foundation encourages inquiries from individual associations, but will likely refer interest back to these local coordination vehicles. Participating river groups or lake associations are eligible to earn three grants during the initial training; $800 when five or more (of the same) people attend both training sessions and subsequently host a facilitated community visioning/planning session; $800 when a draft Lake Management Plan is submitted to the foundation for review, and $800 when implementation of one of the goals identified in the plan is begun. A limited number of grants (above and beyond the $2,400 earned in the training, plan development and initial implementation) of up to $5,000 are available to groups whose goals address "causes, not symptoms" or otherwise pursue actions that should result in lasting protection or improvement of local conditions.

Visioning Session

We would like to request your participation in a very important Beebe Lake Association event.

As you may know, Beebe Lake was recently declared an “Impaired Lake” by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. This means that Beebe Lake does not meet water quality standards and designated uses because of pollutant(s), pollution, or unknown causes of impairment.

Last spring, a handful of BLA members and eight other Wright County Lake association groups attended the Healthy Lakes and Rivers Partnership Training (sponsored by the Wright County Soil and Water District, and funded by The Initiative Foundation) last March. The purpose of the training was to equip citizen leaders develop and implement effective lake management plans. Upon successful completion of a lake management plan as well as the completion of the highest priority action items, each participating Lake Association will be eligible to receive grants from organizations to help support ongoing lake management efforts.

A key element to any successful lake management plan is broad community involvement. As lake residents, neighbors, and users of Beebe Lake, we share a similar vested interest in ensuring that this body of water remains a healthy natural resource and community asset for years to come.

Therefore, the BLA cordially invites you to attend the Beebe Lake Strategic Visioning Session on April 12, 2008, from 9-12 p.m. at Hanover Hall. A catered lunch will be served from 12-1 p.m., along with an opportunity for the session attendees to enjoy some unstructured socializing.

Thank you for your attention to these matters. We look forward to seeing you on April 12th!

Beebe Lake has been declared an Impared Lake

As if Eurasian Water Milfoil and Curly-leaf Pondweed were not enough for us to deal with, we now have a new concern regarding the quality of Beebe Lake:

Beebe Lake has been declared by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency as an “Impaired Lake”

What does this mean? It means that Beebe Lake does not meet water quality standards and designated uses because of pollutant(s), pollution, or unknown causes of impairment!

The federal Clean Water Act (CWA) requires states to adopt water-quality standards to protect waters from pollution. These standards define how much of a pollutant can be in the water and still allow it to meet designated uses, such as drinking water, fishing and swimming.

The standards are set on a wide range of pollutants, including bacteria, nutrients, turbidity and mercury. A water body is “impaired” if it fails to meet one or more water quality standards.

To identify and restore impaired waters, Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act requires states to:

1. Assess all waters of the state to determine if they meet water-quality standards
2. List waters that do not meet standards (also known as the 303d List) and update every even-numbered year
3. Conduct TMDL studies in order to set pollutant reduction goals needed to restore waters.
4. Federal and state regulations and programs also require implementation of restoration measures to meet TMDLs.

MPCA responsibilities include performing assessment activities, listing impaired waters, and conducting TMDLs in Minnesota. The agency also coordinates closely with other state and local agencies on restoration activities.

The Clean Water Legacy Act, passed in June 2006, allocates first-year funding to accelerate water monitoring, TMDL development and restoration activities throughout the state. The Clean Water Council was established by the Legacy Act to provide recommendations on the administration and implementation of the Act.

If the Beebe Lake Association completes a Lake Management Plan it could apply for county, state and federal funds to help manage and improve water quality.

For more information, attend The Beebe Lake Strategic Visioning Session on April 12th, or visit: http://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/tmdl/index.html