Barnes County Water Resource District PO Box 306 Valley City, ND. 58072 701-845-8508 03-12-12 Meeting minutes Present: Jeff McMillan-Chairman, John Kohler-Manager, Jerry Hieb-Manager, Duane Lettenmaier-Manager, Pat Hurley- Manager, Sean Fredricks-District Lawyer, Mike Opat-District Engineer Also Present: Donald Jorissen, Shawn Anderson, Barry Ronningen-GCWRD, Robert Brooks- GCWRD, Kevin Harstad, John Schwehr, Dennis Ertelt-SRJWRD, John Froelich BC Commissioner, David Lokken, Duane Farnquist, Leroy Triebold, Neil Aaman, Chad Engels, Scott Legge, Harold Pross, Shelly Nelson-BCSCD, Amanda Brandt-NRCS, Kurt Tompkins-USFWS, Jim Lyons-RCWRD, John Triebold Chairman McMillan called the meeting to order at 9:00 AM. Manager Kohler moved to approve the minutes of the February meeting. Manager Lettenmaier seconded the motion. All were in favor, the motion carried. Manager Lettenmier moved to approve the Revenue and Expenditure Reports. Manager Kohler seconded the motion, all were in favor. The motion carried. Stewart-Anderson drain (Legal Drain #2) Amanda Brandt, NRCS District Conservationist, was present to discuss the extension of the drain into the N1/2 of Section 2 T140 R60W. She stated that the proper forms were not filled out with the FSA/NRCS for the work that had been completed. Mrs. Brandt stated that there are potential wetland violations. Restoration will need to be completed unless the landowners affected request a wetland determination. Mr. Fredricks advised the board that more information should be gathered and that this should be tabled until the April meeting. Manager Kohler moved to table the drain extension issue until the April meeting, seconded by Manager Lettenmaier. All were in favor. The motion carried. Steele County Snagging and Clearing Project
Discussion was held on entering into a Joint Water Resource District with Steele County for the sole purpose of a snagging and clearing project on a tributary of the Maple River. This project will extend into Ellsbury Township. Mr. Fredricks explained that he had assisted Steele Counties Lawyer in drafting the agreement. According to the agreement; Steele County will house the Joint District, provide administration and carry all joint business. The Barnes County Board will be responsible for only Barnes County Manager travel and payroll expense. The Joint Board will consist of 6 members with 3 Managers from each county. Manager Lettenmaier moved to approve the Joint Board Agreement with Steel County, seconded by Manager Kohler. All were in favor. The motion carried. Chairman McMillan and Manager Kohler are the current portfolio holders for this project and will serve as 2 of the 3 Barnes County Manager s for this board. Manager Lettenmaier moved to appoint Jerry Hieb to serve on the Joint Board, seconded by Kohler. All were in favor. The motion carried. Chad Engels, Moore Engineering, presented information pertaining to an Upper Sheyenne Retention Project. The Lower Sheyenne Joint Water Resource District has completed a study to identify possible retention sites along the Sheyenne River. One of the more favorable sites would be on Bald Hill Creek. This would provide roughly 1.1 foot reduction to peak flows on the Sheyenne River at Valley City during flooding. The current study only identifies the opportunities for a retention structure. It does not identify any adverse impacts nor does it identify an exact location for a dam. The Lower Sheyenne Water Resource District asked if the Barnes County Water Resource District would support further study to determine these factors. This study is estimated to cost $17,000.00 to $20,000.00 to the local sponsor. The Lower Sheyenne River Joint Water Resource District is willing to sponsor the study, but would like to offer the opportunity to Barnes County as this is proposed location of a possible facility. Discussion was held. Chairman McMillan recommended that the board review all information prior to making any decisions. Mr. Engels agreed and asked that the Board contact him once a decision was made. Hobart Lake Outlet Mike Opat, Engineer for the District, reported that the Hazard Mitigation Grant (HMG) has been completed. The HMG, if approved with pay for 85% of the project. The project is expected to cost an estimated $750,000.00 to complete. The Board was advised that the approval process can be lengthy. Mr. Opat reported that the ND State Water Commission recently approved a 45% cost share for the project. Discussion was held on other possible funding options. Manager s Kohler and Lettenmaier will be contacting all downstream landowners to discuss the details of the project. Meadow Lake Township Drainage Compaint
A complaint was received for Dwight and Karin Boom regarding unpermitted drainage in Section 35 of Meadow Lake Township. This land is owned and operated by Warren Van Bruggen. A complaint was received regarding this same issue in May of 2011. It was determined on June 13, 2011 that illegal drainage had occurred and ordered closed. Mr. Van Bruggen was given notice to close by August 19 th. Manager Hurley reported that Mr. Van Bruggen had complied with the closure order by plugging the drain. The complaint received on March 8 th 2012 stats that the drain was not closed, a wetland has been filled in and that additional drainage has occurred. Managers Lettenmaier and Hurley will complete and on site investigation and will report at the April meeting. Drain Tile Application # 2012-01 NE ¼ Section 19 T138N R58W-Eldon Maasjo Mr. Maasjo is purposing installing subsurface drain tile in approximately 230 acres of cropland. This will be a gravity flow outlet and flow capacity will be 1610 gallons per minute. The outlet discharges into a natural waterway in the NE ¼ of Section 19. Todd Velure, Mrs. John Velure and Helen Odegaard were in attendance to express downstream concerns should the permit be granted. Mr. Fredricks explained that, by law, the District cannot deny the application. Downstream landowners who are adversely affected will have to take legal action and prove loss. Drainage application procedure Discussion was held on how these applications are processed. Manager Hieb moved to complete both an engineering review and a legal review of all applications, Manager Kohler seconded the motion. The motion carried. Manager Hieb moved to carbon copy all approved drainage applications to the US Army Corps of Engineers, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Natural Resource Conservation District and to downstream landowners one mile from the outlet. Manager Kohler seconded the motion. All were in favor. The motion carried. Drain Tile permit #2011-02 SE ¼ and NE1/4 of Section 36 T139N R59W-Wayne Langer Mr. Langer requested to amend his tile permit to allow for an additional 150 acres of tile drainage. Discussion was held. The Board requested that Mr. Langer reapply for a permit that indicates 287 acres of tile drainage. There will be no additional fee and the prior permit will be destroyed. Downstream notification is not required as the drainage outlets into a natural water course.
Application to Drain #3810 S 1/2 of the SE ¼ Section 35 T138N R61W-Warren Van Bruggen Mr. Van Bruggen is proposing to drain approximately 80 acres to relieve flooding of his residence. The maximum cut would be 10 foot in depth and the length of the drain is purposed to be 3150 feet in length. The secretary was instructed to send a copy of the application to the Districts engineer and lawyer for review. Mr. Van Bruggen will need to submit the $500.00 application fee. Prairie Township-LaMoure County A letter from the Prairie Township (LaMoure County) Board was received. Prairie Township is concerned about drain maintenance that occurred in a portion of Bear Creek located in the W ½ of section 19 and the W ½ of section 30, Rosebud Township, Barnes County. The letter suggests that there will be an increase to flows in Bear Creek due to the cleanout that was completed by the individual landowners and because of this additional culverts are needed in their township roads. Prairie Township requests that Barnes County provide and install a 48 x 40 culvert in each of the 5 road crossings that Bear Creek crosses. Discussion was held. Amanda Brandt, NRCS indicated that the landowners had filed the proper forms with the FSA for watercourse maintenance and that an inspection of the completed cleanout had occurred last fall. The Biologist and the Soil Scientist from the NRCS were onsite during the onsite investigation and were satisfied with the maintenance work. Mr. Fredricks informed the Board that maintenance work is permitted under state law and that Water Resource District s do not have authority or responsibility for stream crossing through roads. Road Authorities are required by law to comply with stream crossing standards. It was the consensus of the board to deny the request for additional culverts and to notify Prairie Township by letter. Drainage concern- Jerald Orn Mr. Orn submitted possible obstruction in the SW 1/7 Section 25 Pierce Township in November of 2011. Chairman McMillan reported that he had investigated the area and spoke to the landowners. Landowners agreed to perform maintenance on the watercourse once they are able to hire a contractor. John Olson Drainage Complaint Against U.S. Fish & Wildlife The Board next considered John (Jack) Olson s Drainage Complaint against the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Mr. Olson submitted the Drainage Complaint dated May 24, 2010, but Mr. Olson also engaged the State Engineer s office so the Board had not previously acted on the matter. In the Complaint, Mr. Olson alleges the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has mismanaged U.S. Fish & Wildlife easement areas to the detriment of Mr. Olson s property in the Northwest Quarter of Section 4, Township 137, Range 59. In essence, Mr. Olson is asking the Barnes
County Water Resource District to interpret and enforce certain provisions of a wetland easement in favor of U.S. Fish & Wildlife. Sean Fredricks advised the Board that the applicable Drainage Complaint statute is N.D. Cent. Code 61-32-07. Further, Mr. Fredricks indicated that nothing in Section 61-32-07 permits the Board to interpret or apply terms of an easement within the context of a Drainage Complaint. More specifically, Mr. Fredricks indicated that, for purposes of a Drainage Complaint, the Board must follow a very specific statutory analysis under Section 61-32-07. The Board must determine if a landowner or tenant constructed drainage of a pond, slough, lake, sheet water, or a combination thereof that impacted a watershed area of 80 acres or more. Mr. Olson does not allege U.S. Fish & Wildlife constructed a drain, but, rather, Mr. Olson is attempting to utilize the Water Resource District as a forum and venue for legal interpretation of an easement document. Nothing in Section 61-32-07 permits the Barnes County Water Resource District to act as a legal forum for interpreting an easement. Manager Hurley moved to dismiss Mr. Olson s Complaint. Manager Kohler seconded the motion. Upon roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously. Manager Hurley moved to dismiss the complaint, seconded by Manager Kohler. All were in favor. The District does not have authority to enforce easements. 10 Mile Lake drainage A final inspection of the drainage closure will be completed and reported on at the April meeting. Sanborn Lake Outlet Advances are being made in acquiring the permanent drain application for the project. The Secretary was instructed to notify the State Water Commission that the Board is continuing to proceed with the application. Meadow Lake Outlet Manager Hurley noted that the final application for the Hazard Mitigation grant was being completed and expected to submit this month. A cost share request has also been submitted to the State Water Commission along with an application to drain. Discussion was held on the expenses that occur with processing drainage complaint. These expenses cannot be recouped at this time. Mr. Fredricks indicated that new legislation is being drafted and presented during the next session.
Bills were presented for payment. Hurley moved to approve bills and release payment. Hieb seconded the motion. Chairman McMillan called for a roll call report. The results are as follows; Hurley-yes, Hieb-yes, Kohler-yes, Lettenmaier-yes, and McMillan-yes. All were in favor. The motion carried. Discussion was held on a Stutsman County project that may cause additional drainage into Bald Hill Creek. This is in the preliminary phase and a route has not yet been established. Being no further business, Manager Hurley moved to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Manager Kohler. All were in favor. The meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Jamie Smith Secretary