Adopt Resolution #19-220 Ordering Public Hearing for Wellhead Protection Plan Part 2 Amendment

Purpose:
The purpose of this case is to adopt Resolution #19-220 ordering a Public Hearing for Tuesday, September 24, 2019 at 7 p.m. for the purpose of gathering public input on the City of Ramsey’s Wellhead Protection Plan Part 2 Amendment.

Background:
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is charged with protecting drinking water sources throughout Minnesota per Minnesota Rules, Chapter 4720, Public Water Supplies, which includes administering the Wellhead Protection Program.  The purpose of the program is to prevent contamination of public drinking water supplies by identifying water supply recharge areas and implementing management practices for potential pollution sources found within those areas.  Public Water Suppliers, which includes municipalities, are required to maintain a Wellhead Protection Plan, and to amend it every 10 years.
 
City Staff has been working with MDH since March of 2017 to amend the City of Ramsey’s Wellhead Protection Plan (WHPP), which was adopted January 4, 2010, and is effective until January 4, 2020.  The City’s WHPP must be amended by October 6, 2019 to meet the required 10-year update schedule.
 
The WHPP consists of two parts. Part 1 delineates the City's wellhead protection zone and drinking water supply management area (DWSMA), and assesses the vulnerability of our DWSMA and municipal water supply wells. Part 2 includes a potential contaminant source inventory, a potential contaminant source management strategy, an emergency/alternative water supply contingency plan, and wellhead protection program evaluation plan.
 
Part 1 of the WHPP was recently amended and approved by the MDH. A copy of the MDH approval letter, received February 4, 2019, is attached.  As required, copies of the amended delineated wellhead protection areas, drinking water supply management areas, and assessments of well and aquifer vulnerabilities were issued to local units of governments wholly or partially within these areas within 30 days after receiving MDH approval of the Part 1 amendment. A copy of this letter with attachments is attached.  The City was also required to conduct a public information meeting by April 4, 2019, to present the Part 1 amendments to the public. The public information meeting was conducted on March 19, 2019, as part of the Public Works Committee meeting.
 
To kick the Part 2 amendment process off, City and MDH Staff met on March 28, 2019, to discuss the scope of the required amendments.  It was discussed that numerous data elements must be compiled and assessed as related to the management of potential contaminants in the drinking water supply management area that was approved with the WHPP Part 1 amendments.  Data elements are pieces of information in the form of maps, lists, records, tables and inventories. Where appropriate, the elements should be reviewed and assessed in terms of their present and/or future implications on the 1) use of the wells, 2) quality and quantity of water supplying the public water supply wells, and 3) land and groundwater uses in the DWSMA.
 
MDH prepared a Scoping 2 Decision Notice after the meeting, which was submitted to the City via email on April 4, 2019.  The Notice included a list of required data elements.  A hard copy of this Notice, including an attachment noting Potential Contaminant Source Inventory (PCSI) requirements, was received in the mail on April 8, 2019.  Copies of the Scoping 2 Decision Notice and PCSI requirements are attached. The MDH provided a deadline of October 6, 2019, for completing and submitting the City of Ramsey’s Wellhead Protection Plan Part 2 Amendment.
 
BARR engineering was enlisted to amend Part 2 of the WHPP based on staff’s workload at the time, the scope of work required to amend Part 2 of the WHPP, and the minimal amount of time available to complete this work.  The Public Works Committee supported using BARR Engineering to prepare the Part 2 Amendments at a not to exceed cost of $25,100.  A copy of BARR’s work proposal is attached.
 
Attached is a draft of the City of Ramsey’s Part 2 Wellhead Protection Plan Amendment as prepared by BARR Engineering.  Also attached is a copy of the cover letter as submitted to other local units of government for the purpose of soliciting public comment.

Notice of the Public Hearing will be published in the Anoka Union Herald on Friday, September 13, 2019.

Observations:
As noted in the Scoping 2 Decision Notice, increased concentrations of tritium were recently observed in City wells indicating the wells are capturing post-1953 recharge waters. There are no known health concerns associated with this finding.  Tritium, which is a naturally occurring radioactive isotope of hydrogen and is also generated in very small amounts by nuclear power plants, is found in trace amounts in groundwater across the world.   This finding is being explored by BARR Engineering as part of the Part 2 amendments.

The current Wellhead Protection Plan is not attached to this case due to the large file size (over 50 MB).

Alternatives:
Alternative #1 – Motion to adopt Resolution #19-220 ordering a Public Hearing for Tuesday, September 24, 2019 at 7 p.m. for the City of Ramsey’s Wellhead Protection Plan Part 2 Amendment.

Alternative #2 – Motion to deny adoption of Resolution #19-220 at this time.

All costs for amending Parts 1 and 2 of the City’s WHPP will be funded through the City of Ramsey’s water enterprise funds, including BARR Engineering’s work, which will be paid through the professional services budget.

Staff recommends Alternative #1.

Staff will discuss the Public Hearing in more detail with the Public Works Committee at their next regular meeting on September 17, 2019.

Motion to adopt Resolution #19-220 ordering a Public Hearing for Tuesday, September 24, 2019 at 7 p.m. for the City of Ramsey’s Wellhead Protection Plan Part 2 Amendment.