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Home My WebLink Aboutre: illegal filling of lake y�P,��OF MINpFSOr9 Minnesota De�artment of Natural Resources m W Metro Waters- 12 Warner Road, St. Paul,MN 55106-6793 D �Q Telephone: (612) 772-7910 Fax: (612) 772-7977 yo ��FNATUaP�Q� CERTIFIED MAII, October 23, 1996 Tracey Marks �G� � .�_i ` 3535 Ivy Place Wayzata, M'innesota 5 5 3 9 Re: Illegal Excavation/Filling ofLake Mu�netonka(27-133-09), City of Orono,Hennepin County Dear Mr and Ms. Marks: In response to a report from a Lake Minnetonka boater, I inspected the lake portion of your lot on October 21, 1996. I found that excavation in the dock azea.had occurred and the spoils had been placed on the bed of Lake Minnetonka. An attempt had also been made to start stabilizing the spoil piles with 6-8" field stone. Activities below the ordinary high water (OFiV� of 929.4' for Lake Minnetonka are subject to DNR jurisdiction, and it is a violation of State law to perform such activities without a DNR permit. You are advised that while it is possible to get a pennit to do dredging in order to gain navigational access (if certain conditions are met), it is NOT pernrittable to place the spoils below the OHW of 929.4'('i.e.,within what is officially considered part of the lake). Most of the area excavated appears to be more of a ditch azea and on the side of the dock where you would not reasonably moor a boat and, therefore, does NOT meet the conditions for a navigational access channel. To be in compliance with State regulations, you must: remove the field stone, regrade the spoils in order to restore the condition of the lakebed that existed prior to the illegal excavation and filling within Lake l�nnetonka, and stabilize the disturbed area. in a manner approved by me or the Nfinnehaha Creek Watershed District (e.g., mulch and seed or an erosion control blanket). This restoration must occur within 10 days of your receipt of this letter. Before the actaal restoration grading occurs, a silt fence must be installed to prevent turbidity or sedimentation outside of the work azea(see the enclosure entitted"6.3 Silt Fence"). Once the restoration has been completed, you must contact me or Conservation Offcer 7im Konrad (at 476-8736) so that completion of the restoration can be verified. In addition to the violation of State laws, you are advised that there were violations of regulations administered by the M'innehaha Creek Watershed District and the City of Orono. Either the Watershed District or the City may require restoration work beyond that required by the DNR. � If you have any questions about the restoration requirements, I can meet you or your representative at the site and clarify. It also may be beneficial to arrange to have a representative of the Watershed District and City on-site at the same time to ensure that their concerns are also addressed. DNR Information: 612-296-6157, t-S00-766-6000 • TTY:612-?96-5484, 1-800-657-3929 - An Equal Opportunity Employer I� Prinred on Rzcycled Paper Con[aining a � Whu Values Diversitv �� Vlinimum uf 10�'r Po+t-Cunsumer Waste Mr. and Ms. Marks October 23, 1996 Page 2 You are fiuther advised that if the restoration is not completed within 10 days of receipt of this letter, or under way in accordance with agreements made in a subsequern meeting with the DNR, Watershed District and the City, that we will address the violation through the criminal legal process. This would mean a misdemeanor citation and a mandatory court appearance(with a fine of up to $700 and/or 90 days in jail), in addition to the requirement to restore the azea. Please contact me at 772-7914 if you have any questions. Sincerely, � Ceil Strauss Area Hydrologist Enclosure CCS c: City of Orono, 7eanne Mabusth/Bruce Vang � 11Tnnehaha Creek Watershed District,Dionne King Conservation Officer Tim Konrad Fro�: Ceil Strause To: Jikonrad, Internet:"dking@mnwatershed.org" Data: 10/28/96 2:43pm Subject: David/Tracey Marke violation statua Jim and Dionne: David Marka and I swapped voice mail messagea on Friday, 10/25. He acknowledged receipt of my 10/23 letter and had asked about the poseibility of getting a permit for the work done. I had said that it wouldn't be poasible to get a permit for placing the spoils and rock where it was, but may be poseible to get a permit for navigational access excavation. David called back today around noon, and I explained the OHW and 100-year floodplain elevations. Z also explained how to get a feel for the OHW and 100-year locationa based on current water elevations (that he could qet from the WSD) . They apparently just bought the property at the beginning of the summer and were not too familiar with lake-related regulations. David had done the work himself, apparently working over a good portion of the summer. He will be working on restoring the area over the next few days. I said he had to remove the rocka and that he either had to put the apoils back where he excavated thePn from. or glace them somewhere above the floodplain. David will touch base with me at the end of the week on his progress. He thought he might need more than 10 days. Z said that as long ae it's in progreas, the time could be extended. I noted my concern was that the work get done before freeze-up. We also discussed the silt fence requirement. He noted that with the low water there is a higher strip separating the disturbed area from the open water. I said that if that is the case, ailt fence would not be required; our concern is that the mucking around not send a plume into the open water. Most of the work was close to the shoreline, so I have no reason to disagree with his description of the area. We discussed the proceas for an excavation permit. He indicated he'd been to the WSD this morning and gotten application forma. Zt also sounded like he'd started to contact poeaible contractors. I encouraged him to work with his neighbor on the dock plan and excavation. The Marks' dock is apparently actually on the neighbor's property and the neighboring lot is juat finishing building a new house. Z noted he'll need to show the OHW on the plan and alerted him to LMCD requirements. Most likely, the Marka will work with a contractor on plana over the winter. David was very cooperative, and mainly needed guidance on allowable work and applicable regulationa. Ceil 10/28 c: City of Orono, Jeanne Mabuath/Bruce Vang � C� 3 � �� 'P��pF MINNFSo�9 Minnesota De�artment of Natural Resources o �, Metro Waters- 12 0 Warner Road, St. Paul, MN 55106-6793 Dp �e Telephone: (612) 772-7910 Fax: (612) 7'72-7977 0 ��F NATURP�� ,��1 ; 6 �, October 23, 1996 �� David and Tracey Marks 3535 Ivy Place Wayzata, Minnesota 55391 Re: Restoration of Lake Minnetonka(27-133-09), City of Orono, Hennepin County Dear Mr and Ms. Marks: After I received David's November 7, 1996 notification that the restoration had been completed, I asked Bruce Vang (City of Orono) to inspect the site. On November 18, 1996 I spoke with Mr. Vang and he verified that he had inspected the site (while David was there, as I understand) and that the area had been restored, as nearly as practicable, to pre-project conditions. Therefore,we consider the violation matter closed, and no further action is required on your part to meet DNR requirements. However, if the Mumehaha Creek Watershed District or the City of Orono had any outstanding requirements, you would still need to address those concerns. It was my understanding that you were considering applying to dredge for navigation access and that there were some outstanding issues related to the location of the docks of you and your neighbor. As David and I discussed in an earlier telephone conversation, you would apply to the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District(Dionne King @ 471-0590)to do any dredging, and you and your neighbor would need to work with the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District (Greg Nybeck @ 473-7033) regarding placement of the docks (since it appears you will not be able to meet the setback requirements of the LMCD). T:��:�'c y�u f�r yo,.:r co��erat:cr. :n res�!•�:ng the il:ega� acti��it�y matt�:. Dl�ase �;,n�act me at 7?2- 7914 if you have any questions about any of the matters discussed above. Sincerely, , A�—. \ � , V�.�/1�� Ceil Strauss Area Hydrologist c: City of Orono, Bruce Vang � Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, Dionne King Lake Minnetonka Conservation District, Greg Nybeck Conservation Officer Jim Konrad DVR [n�ormation: 61�-'-96-61�7. I-�OI)-76f,-6UO0 • TTY: hi� '_�)b-�-l�-l. I-�0(1-6�i-3�)'_'9 :An fiyu:il Oppurtunin Einpl��crr � Prin�c�i nn Rcr�rlyd P:iper Coni:unin,�u W'ho Valuc.Di��niic � Vlinimum u� 111��7 Pu.l-Con,umcr Wa,�e ��P,��OF MIN�yFso�9 � Minnesota De�artment of Natural Resources o �, Metro Waters- 12 Warner Road, St. Paul,MN 55106-6793 y �� Telephone: (612) 772-7910 Fax: (612) 772-7977 yo ��FNATURP�� CERTIFIED MAII, October 23, 1996 , 4 ',.:; David and Tracey Marks �;G 4 3535 Ivy Place Wayza.ta, Minnesota 55391 Re: Illegal Excavation/Filling ofLake Mumetonka(27-133-09), City of Orono,Hennepin County Dear Mr and Ms. Marks: In response to a report from a Lake Mmnetonka boater, I inspected the lake portion of your lot on October 21, 1996. I found that excavation in the dock azea.had occuired and the spoils had been ;�laced on the bed of Lake Minnetonka. An attempt had also been made to start stabilizing the spoil piles with 6-8" field stone. Activities below the ordinary high water (O�iVV) of 929.4' for Lake Minnetonka are subject to DNR jurisdiction, and it is a violation of State law to perform such activities without a DNR permit. You are advised that while it is possible to get a pernut to do dredging in order to gain navigational access (if certain conditions are met), it is NOT permittable to place the spoils below the OHW of 929.4'(i.e.,within what is officially considered part of the lake). Most of the area excavated appears to be more of a ditch area and on the side of the dock where you would not reasonably moor a boat and, therefore, does NOT meet the conditions for a na.vigational access channel. To be in compliance with State regulations, you must: remove the field stone, regrade the spoils in order to restore the condition of the lakebed that existed prior to the illegal excavation and filling within Lake Minnetonka, and stabilize the disturbed area in a manner approved by me or the Nfinnehaha Creek Watershed District (e.g., mulch and seed or an erosion control blanket). This restoration must occur within 10 days of your receipt of this letter. Before the actual restoration grading occurs, a silt fence must be installed to prevent turbidity or sedimentation outside of the work area(see the enclosure entitled"6.3 Silt Fence"). Once the restoration has been completed, you must contact me or Conservation Officer Jim Konrad (at 476-8736) so that completion of the restoration can be verified. In addition to the violation of State laws, you are advised that there were violations of regulations administered by the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District and the City of Orono. Either the Watershed District or the City may require restoration work beyond that required by the DNR. , If you have any questions about the restoration requirements, I can meet you or your representative at the site and clarify. It also may be beneficial to arrange to have a representative of the Watershed District and City on-site at the same time to ensure that their concerns are also addressed. DNR InFormation:612-?96-61�7, I-800-766-6000 • TTY:61?-'_96-5-18�. I-800-6�7-3939 An Equal Oppurtunit� Employrr I1 Primed un Rec}cled Paper CuntaininL a 1Vhu Valurs Divcnitv �� linimum ul'10'?Pu,t-Cun.umer Wa.ta ., �. Mr. and Ms. Marks October 23, 1996 Page 2 You are further advised that if the restoration is not completed within 10 days of receipt of this letter, or under way in accordance with agreements made in a subsequent meeting with the DNR,Watershed District and the City, that we will address the violation through the criminal legal process. This would mean a misdemeanor citation and a mandatory court appearance (with a fine of up to $700 and/or 90 days in jail), in addition to the requirement to restore the area. Please contact me at 772-7914 if you have any questions. �incerely, � � Ceil Strauss Area Hydrologist Enclosure CCS c: City of Orono, 7eanne MabusthBruce Vang ✓ M'innehaha Creek Watershed District,Dionne King Conservation Officer Tim Konrad