06.01 - Wellhead Protection Update

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Protecting, maintaining and improving the health of all Minnesotans October 12, 2011 Ms. Dawn Bittner Zoning Administrator - City of Pequot Lakes 4638 County Road 11 Pequot Lakes, Minnesota 56472 Dear Ms. Bittner: Subject: Scoping Decision Notice No. 1 for Pequot Lakes Public Utilities, PWSID 1180019, for Amending the Wellhead Protection Plan This letter provides notice of the results of the Scoping 1 meeting that Mark Wettlaufer and I (Minnesota Department of Health) held with you on September 20, 2011, regarding amending Pequot Lakes' existing wellhead protection plan. The city of Pequot Lakes is amending its wellhead protection plan because eight years have expired since the approval of its last wellhead protection plan (Minnesota Rules, part 4720.5570, item Q. During the meeting, we discussed amending Pequot Lakes' existing Part I wellhead protection plan to address changes that have occurred. The amended Part I plan will document the 1) delineation of a wellhead protection area, 2) delineation of a drinking water supply management area, and 3) assessments of well and aquifer vulnerability related to these areas for Pequot Lakes Wells. 3 and 4 (Unique Nos. 241514 and 626480, respectively). The wellhead protection area is the surface and subsurface area supplying water to the city's wells. Understanding the extent of the wellhead protection area allows the city to take steps to safeguard the drinking water supply from known and potential sources of contamination. As you may remember, the drinking water supply management area completely encloses the wellhead protection area and is delineated using recognizable landmarks. According to the state wellhead protection rule, the city will have until July 15, 2013, to amend its entire Wellhead Protection Plan, Part I and Part H. It is our understanding that the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) will assist the city with amending its Part I report. There will be no cost to the city for any involvement by MDH staff with this work. It will be the responsibility of the city to assist with data collection to aid in the delineation and vulnerability assessments. At our scoping meeting, we also discussed rule requirements and the types of information needed to prepare the Part I plan. The wellhead protection plan must be prepared in accordance with Minnesota Rules, parts 4720.5100 to 4720.5590. General wellhead protection requirements and criteria for delineating the wellhead protection area and data reporting are presented in Minnesota Rules, parts 4720.5500 to 4720.5510. The enclosed Scoping Decision Notice No. 1 formally identifies the information that the city must provide to MDH to meet rule requirements for amending Part I of the wellhead protection plan. The wellhead rule refers to the existing information required for wellhead planning as data elements. Much of this information is already available in the public domain, as described in the Scoping Decision Notice No. 1 form. You only need to provide the information that is not in the public domain and, therefore, not available to MDH. The Scoping Decision Notice No. 1 form also 1) lists the Minnesota General Information: 651- 201 -5000 • Toll-free: 888-345-0823 • TTY 651- 201 -5797 • wwwhealth.state.mn.us An equal opportunity employer