07-13-2009 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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i NIINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, July 13, 2009 7:00 o'clock p.m. (Public Hearing for NPDES Phase H Storm Water Permit, Continued) Halvorson stated the City would be subject to certain enforcement if they choose not to follow the requirements, and those include action by the USEPA, MPCA. Under the clean Water Act, the City can be subjected to a criminal action, a civil action, and third party lawsuits. Local and global impacts from poor storm water pollution control include a decline in aquatic biodiversity, habitat loss, increased flooding, aesthetics, human health, and a decline in drinking water quality. Typical pollutant sources include dumping of leaves and paints down the sewer system or near holding ponds and increased runoff due to expanding impervious areas. Halvorson stated there are multiple solutions to these issues but that the best solution is educating private property owners on how to make good decisions regarding the environment. In 2008 the accomplishments of the City included passage of a construction site runoff control ordinance, passage of an illicit discharge detection and elimination ordinance, sponsoring four classes that focused on water quality protection, sponsoring spring cleanup day, and incorporating updates to the City's storm sewer map. Halvorson stated the annual reports for 2008 have been submitted and that the next step includes recording any public comments, preparing a response to each comment, and then submitting the annual report to the MPCA. • White opened the public hearing at 7:14 p.m. Mike Kuruvilla, Montessori School, asked if there would be someone available that could speak to the students at the Montessori School to discuss how they can help keep the environment clean. White stated he does have some brochures from the EPA that are geared towards children and that those could be given to the students. White stated he would provide those to Staff for distribution at city hall. McMillan stated the Minnehaha Watershed District offers educational opportunities and a grant program. McMillan suggested Mr. Kuruvlla contact them. White closed the public hearing at 7:17 p.m. The City Council took no formal action on this item. LMCD REPORT — ANDREW MCDERMOTT, REPRESENTATIVE No report was given. PLANNING COMMISSION COMMENTS — KIM KANG, REPRESENTATIVE Kang stated it has been a slow month for Planning Commission applications and that her first time • chairing the meeting went well. PAGE 2 .f",