Appendix A – Comprehensive plan submittal requirements

Local Surface Water Management Plan Elements  

Background

Local water management plans are crucial in helping the region meet the challenge of cost-effective protection and management of water quality and quantity.  

In 1995, the Metropolitan Land Planning Act was amended to require that each city and township’s comprehensive plan include a local water management plan. Local water management plans need to be consistent with the requirements in Minnesota Stat. §103B.235, the Metropolitan Land Planning Act, and with Minnesota Rules Part 8410.0160.

In general, local water plans need to include a summary of the priorities and problems in the community; structural, nonstructural, and programmatic actions to take to address the priorities and problems; and clearly identified funding mechanisms to fix the problems.

Local water management plans are reviewed by the Met Council as part of the local comprehensive planning process at that same time as they are reviewed by the appropriate watershed organization(s). Met Council staff send comments to the appropriate watersheds for their use in approval of the plan.  Once approved, the city or township needs to formally adopt the final plan and send a copy of the final plan to the Met Council.  

If a community does not have a current local water management plan as part of its 2028 comprehensive plan update, the comprehensive plan will be found incomplete for review. If a community has a plan that does not meet the requirements for local water management plans, then the Met Council would likely find the plan to be inconsistent with Met Council policy.

Elements

Required elements of local water management plans are identified in Minnesota Rules Chapter 8410 Part 8410.061 and in Minnesota Statute §103B.235. 

The following is a list of those requirements:  

1. An executive summary that summarizes the highlights of the local water plan.
2. A summary of the appropriate water resource management-related agreements that have been entered into by the local community.
3. A description of the existing and proposed physical environment and land use. Data may be incorporated by reference for other required elements of this section as allowed by the watershed management organization (WMO).  The community should be aware that not all WMO plans will contain the level of detail needed for the community and, in those instances, the community will need to provide additional information. In addition, the following must be defined in the plan: 
   1. 1. Drainage areas
      2. Volumes, rates, and paths of stormwater runoff. (Runoff rates are recommended for a 24-hour precipitation event with a return frequency of 1 or 2 years. Communities with known flooding issues may want to require rate control for storms with other return frequencies such as 10-, 25- or 100-year events.)  
      3. An assessment of existing or potential water resource-related problems. At a minimum, the plan should include: A prioritized assessment of the problems related to water quality and quantity in the community.  
4. A local implementation program/plan that includes prioritized nonstructural, programmatic, and structural solutions to priority problems identified as part of the assessment completed for number 4, above. Local official controls must be enacted within six months of the approval of the local water plan. The program/plan must:  
   1. 1. 1. Include areas and elevations for stormwater storage adequate to meet performance standards or official controls established in the WMO plan(s).
         2. Define water quality protection methods adequate to meet performance standards or official controls. At a minimum, the plan should include: 
            
            1. Information on the types of best management practices to be used to improve stormwater quality and quantity.  (A five-year establishment period is recommended for native plantings and bioengineering practices.)
            2. The maintenance schedule for the best management practices. (The maintenance schedule in plans submitted by regulated Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MSA) communities must be consistent with BMP inspection and maintenance requirements of the MS4 Permit.) 
         3. Clearly define the responsibilities of the community from that of the WMO(s) for carrying out the implementation components.
         4. Describe official controls and any changes to official controls. At a minimum, the plan should include: 
            1. An erosion and sediment control ordinance consistent with NPDES Construction Stormwater permit requirements and other applicable state requirements.
            2. Identify ways to control runoff rates so that land-altering activities do not increase peak stormwater flow from the site for a 24-hour precipitation event with a return frequency of 1 or 2 years. Communities with known flooding issues may want to require rate control for storms with other return frequencies (10-year, 25-year or 100-year). 
         5. Include a table that briefly describes each component of the implementation program and clearly details the schedule, estimated cost, and funding sources for each component including annual budget totals.
         6. Include a table for a capital improvement program that sets forth by year, details of each contemplated capital improvement that includes the schedule, estimated cost, and funding source.
         7. A section titled “Amendments to Plan” that establishes the process by which amendments may be made.

The following is a list of suggested plan elements in addition to those requirements:  

1. 1. 1. A list of the regional priority waters within their jurisdiction. If the water is monitored, please provide information about who is responsible, the monitoring frequency, and analytes of interest.  
      2. A list of any impaired waters within their jurisdiction as shown on the current Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) 303d Impaired Waters list.
      3. Identify and map source water protection areas and their corresponding vulnerabilities in the community.  
      4. If a Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) or TMDL study has been completed for the community, the community should include implementation strategies, including funding mechanisms, that will allow the community to carry out the recommendations and requirements from the WRAPS or TMDL specific to that community.  More information on the MPCA’s WRAPS and TMDL programs can be found on the MPCA’s web site at www.pca.state.mn.us.
         1. Communities with designated trout streams should identify actions in their plan to address the thermal pollution effects from development.
         2. Communities with special waters, such as outstanding resource value waters, need to meet state requirements for development near these waters.
      5. Consider use of NOAA Atlas 14, Volume 8 (Precipitation Frequency Atlas of the United States) or the most current version available to calculate precipitation amounts and stormwater runoff rates. (MPCA uses NOAA Atlas 14 in calculations to determine whether the 1” standard has been met.)
      6. Consider adoption of the MPCA Minimal Impact Design Standards (MIDS) performance goals and flexible treatment options.
      7. For communities that do not adopt MIDS, the plan should use stormwater practices that promote infiltration/filtration and decrease impervious areas, such as with better site design and integrated stormwater management, where practical. (Communities must meet requirements of the MS4 permit if they are regulated. MS4 permits put preference on green infrastructure, including infiltration. Construction permits will govern this either way, and also requires use of green infrastructure when possible.)
      8. A review of the previous plan’s implementation table tasks. If they were not achieved, please evaluate the obstacles to success (lack of funding, conditions changed, etc.). This can help identify future directions and resource needs.  

Water Supply elements of comprehensive plans and local water supply plans  

Background

Minnesota Statutes 473.859 describes water supply-related content to be contained in local comprehensive plans. The comprehensive plan, including the local water supply plan if required, must be consistent with the Metropolitan Land Planning Act and Met Council’s 2050 policy and system plans, and the local water supply plan must be consistent with requirements of Minnesota Statute §103G.291.

In general, comprehensive plans need to include a description of water use and water supply concerns in the community and an implementation program including local controls addressing water supply. Communities with municipal community public water supply systems must include a local water supply plan as part of the comprehensive plan.

Local water supply plans are reviewed by the Met Council as part of the local comprehensive plan review process defined in Minnesota Statutes §473.175, subdivision 1, after submitting them to adjacent and affected jurisdictions including counties that have adopted groundwater plans, and prior to their approval by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and adoption by the city or township.

If a community with a municipal community water supply system does not have a current local water supply plan as part of its 2028 comprehensive plan update, the comprehensive plan will be found incomplete for review. If a community with a municipal community water supply system has a plan that does not meet the requirements for local water supply plans, the Met Council will likely find the plan to be inconsistent with Met Council policy.

Elements

Required water supply-related elements of comprehensive plans are identified in Minnesota Statute §473.859 and Minnesota Statute §103G.291 and generally include: 

Requirements for all communities

• Designating the existing and proposed location, intensity, and extent of use of land (including land areas that affect water natural resources) and water for agricultural, residential, commercial, industrial, and other public and private purposes.  
• An implementation program with a description of official controls addressing water supply and a schedule for the preparation, adoption, and administration of such controls.  
• A local water supply plan, if the community is served by a municipal community public water supply system.  

The local water supply plan fulfills the requirements of the first two bullets regarding municipal community water use. 

Requirements for communities with a municipal community public water supply system

• A local water supply plan, which addresses the requirements in Minnesota Statute §103G.291, subdivision 3 and Minnesota Statutes §473.859, subdivision 3, including:
  • Projected demands 
  • Adequacy of the water supply system and planned improvements
  • Existing and future water sources
  • Natural resource impacts or limitations
  • Emergency preparedness, ideally aligned with current Minnesota rules 4720.5280
  • Water conservation
  • Supply and demand reduction measures
  • Allocation priorities that are consistent with Minnesota Statutes §103G.261
  • Existing and future public water supply facilities’: 
    • Character
    • Location
    • Timing
    • Sequence
    • Function
    • Use
    • Capacity
    • Capital improvement plan 

The following is a list of strongly suggested plan elements for all communities, in addition to those requirements:  

• Identify how much water is currently and projected to be used in the community in 2030, 2040, and 2050 for each of the following uses: agricultural, residential, commercial, industrial, and other public and private uses. Water supply managers and planning/zoning/community development staff should collaboratively identify future drinking water needs and availability. New drinking water source locations in areas that are less susceptible to contaminant threats should be prioritized.
• Identify parts of the community supplied by privately owned wells and nonmunicipal public water supply systems in the community and describe these areas in the context of pollution sensitivity. Particular attention should be given to the 200-foot radius around public water supply wells, which is called the Inner Wellhead Management Zone.
• Identify the community’s and any neighbors’ Drinking Water Supply Management Areas (DWSMAs) in or adjacent to the community. This includes DWSMAs for nonmunicipal systems such as mobile home parks, as well.
• Describe the extent, vulnerability, and potential contaminants associated with current and planned land uses in DWMSAs. DWSMA maps should be included, including surface water Drinking Water Supply Management Areas (DWSMA-SWs).
• Include a summary of stakeholder-identified land use issues, problems, and opportunities related to the aquifer(s) serving public water supply wells, the well water, and Drinking Water Supply Management Areas in the community.
• Describe official controls and any changes to official controls that reduce vulnerability and improve community response capabilities, such as but not limited to:
  • Efficient water use.
  • Emergency response.
  • Protecting privately owned wells and/or the conditions under which new privately owned wells would be allowed.
  • Land use practices to protect drinking water and limit pathways that shortcut the natural geologic protection – Ideally, land uses and zoning which have significant contamination threats should not be co-located with high vulnerability DWSMAs. Land use decisions in areas along the Mississippi River upstream of the Minneapolis and Saint Paul surface water intakes should consider impacts to the quality of the Mississippi River.  
  • Other water supply practices to address issues, problems, and opportunities identified by local stakeholders.

Met Council shall prepare guidelines for the preparation of the water supply plans, per Minnesota Statutes §473.859. 

Comprehensive Sewer Plan Update Review Requirements

Background
Local governments are required to submit both a wastewater plan element to their comprehensive plan as well as a comprehensive sewer plan describing service needs from the Met Council.

Before any local government unit in the metro area can proceed with a sewer extension, the comprehensive sewer plan must be consistent with the Met Council’s Wastewater System Plan and be approved by the Met Council.  

The following comprehensive sewer plan content checklist covers information that will be used by the Met Council to: 

1. Evaluate long-term regional system capacity needs and program future capital improvements to accommodate community growth. 
2. Determine intercommunity sanitary sewer flow allocation adjustments by the Met Council where appropriate. 
3. Identify potential or planned sanitary sewer capacity projects at locations that connect to the regional system. 
4. Assist the Met Council in the development of hydraulic models for long-term capacity needs evaluation. 
5. Evaluate the continued progress and effectiveness of local I/I mitigation efforts and provide information for the Met Council to advocate for continued financial assistance programs (grants/loans) for work on both the public and private property portions of the wastewater collection system. 
6. Determine that the community’s treatment system, or a private treatment system, either has adequate capacity to serve the forecasted growth, or has programmed improvements to add capacity to accommodate the forecasted growth. 
7. Ensure that the community’s treatment system, or private treatment system, is compliant with applicable permits, and to verify that those facilities are being maintained and operated appropriately and ensure there is sufficient capacity to accommodate the service level needs through the 20-year planning horizon.
8. Conduct trace analyses. Trace analysis is used in the event of local hazardous spill for emergency response purposes. Data is kept confidential and secure.   

Elements

GIS Requirements – All Areas 

1. Provide the following GIS sewer system data with the comprehensive sewer plan submittal (GIS shape files or geodatabase feature classes):  
   1. Local sanitary lines. 
      1. Include pipe size, pipe material, year built, conveyance method (gravity and forcemain). 
   2. Local sanitary structures (for example, manholes, lift stations, etc). 
   3. Existing connections points to the MCES collection system. 
   4. Future connection points to the MCES collection system (for new growth). 
   5. Local sewershed service areas or districts by connection point. 
   6. Intercommunity connection points. 
   7. Proposed changes in government boundaries based on orderly annexation agreements. 
   8. Location of all private and public wastewater treatment plants in the community. 
   9. Individual subsurface sewage treatment systems (as mentioned in the Requirements for Areas Served by Subsurface Sewage Treatment Systems section).  

Requirements for Areas Served by the Regional System (Urban Area) 

1. Table that details adopted community sewered forecasts:  
   1. 10-year increments to 2050
      1. Households 
      2. Employment  
   2. Forecasts shall be broken down by areas served by the Metropolitan Disposal System, locally owned and operated wastewater treatment systems, and communal and subsurface sewage treatment systems. 
2. Copy of intercommunity service agreements entered into with an adjoining community, or a description of the intercommunity service agreements that confirms the Met Council’s understanding that one community reimburse the other community for the municipal wastewater charges that it will incur by receiving flow from the adjacent community. If the Met Council is responsible for adjusting flow for each community for the purpose of calculating the Municipal Wastewater Charge, note that in the description of the intercommunity agreement. Include a map of service areas covered by the agreements. 
3. Table or tables that provide the following local system information: 
   1. Capacity and design flows for existing trunk sewers and lift stations. 
      1. For local sanitary sewer lines 12” and larger that connect to the Met Council system, provide the 2050 design flow and pipe capacity for each connecting trunk sewer and lift station. Include the percentage of total capacity of each pipe that will be used by 2050. 
   2. Assignment of 2050 growth forecasts by Met Council interceptor facility. 
      1. Household and employment forecasts. 
4. For new trunk sewer systems that require connection to the Metropolitan Disposal System: 
   1. A table that details the proposed time schedule for the construction of the new trunk sewer system. 
5. Define the community’s goals, policies, and strategies for preventing and reducing excessive inflow and infiltration (I/I) in the local municipal (city) and private (private property) sanitary sewer systems.
   1. Include a summary of activities or programs intended to mitigate I/I from both public and private property sources. 
6. Describe the requirements and standards in the community for minimizing I/I. 
   1. Include a copy of the local ordinance or resolution that prohibits discharge from sump pumps, foundation drains, and/or rain leaders to the sanitary sewer system. 
   2. Include a copy of the local ordinance or resolution requiring the disconnection of existing foundation drains, sump pumps, and roof leaders from the sanitary sewer system. 
7. Describe the sources, extent, and significance of existing I/I in both the municipal and private sewer systems. 
   1. Include a description of the existing sources of I/I in the municipal and private sewer infrastructure. 
   2. Include a summary of the extent of the systems that contribute to I/I such as locations, quantities of piping or maintenance holes, quantity of service laterals, or other measures. If an analysis has not been completed, include a schedule and scope of future system analysis. 
   3. Include a breakdown of residential housing stock age within the community into pre- and post-1970 era, and what percentage of pre-1970 era private services have been evaluated for I/I susceptibility and repair. 
   4. Include the measured or estimated amount of clearwater flow generated from the public municipal and private sewer systems. 
   5. Include a cost summary for remediating the I/I sources identified in the community. If previous I/I mitigation work has occurred in the community, include a summary of flow reductions and investments completed. If costs for mitigating I/I have not been analyzed, include the anticipated wastewater service rates or other costs attributed to I/I.
8. Describe the implementation plan for preventing and eliminating excessive I/I from entering both the municipal and private sewer systems. 
   1. Include the strategy for implementing projects, activities, or programs planned to mitigate excessive I/I from entering the municipal and private sewer systems. 
   2. Include a list of priorities for I/I mitigation projects based on flow reduction, budget, schedule, or other criteria. 
   3. Include a schedule and the related financial mechanisms planned or needed to implement the I/I mitigation strategy. 
9. Provide current community SSTS ordinances or description of community’s SSTS management program compliant with current Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Rules Chapters 7080-7083.  

Requirements for Areas Served by Local Wastewater Treatment Systems (Rural Centralized System) 

1. Community sewered forecasts: 
   1. 10-year increments to 2050 
      1. Households 
      2. Employment 
2. Capacity of and existing flows to public treatment systems. 
3. Map or maps showing the following information: 
   1. Local wastewater service areas through 2050. 
   2. Staging plan, if available. 
   3. Proposed changes in governmental boundaries affecting the community, including any areas designated for orderly annexation. 
4. Proposed timing and financing of any expanded or new wastewater treatment facilities. 
5. Define the community’s goals, policies, and strategies for preventing and reducing excessive inflow and infiltration (I/I) in the local sanitary sewer system, including a discussion of sump pumps and drain tile connected to the local sewer system.  
6. A copy of facility planning reports for the upgrading of the local wastewater treatment plant. 
7. Copies of the associated National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) or State Disposal System (SDS) permits. 
8. Provide current community SSTS ordinance or description of community’s SSTS management program compliant with current Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Rules Chapters 7080-7083.  

Requirements for Areas Served by Private Communal Treatment Systems 

1. Table that details adopted community forecasts served by each private communal system: 
   1. 10-year increments to 2050 
      1. Households 
      2. Employment 
2. Describe the management program for private communal treatment systems. 
3. Copies of the associated National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) or State Disposal System (SDS) permits. 
4. Map or maps showing the following information: 
   1. Locations of private communal treatment systems including: 
      1. Treatment facilities 
      2. Subsurface systems 
   2. Current and projected service areas for private communal treatment systems. 
5. Conditions under which additional private communal treatment systems would be allowed: 
   1. Allowable land uses and residential densities. 
   2. Installation requirements. 
   3. Management requirements. 
   4. Local government responsibilities. 

Requirements for Areas Served by Subsurface Sewage Treatment Systems (SSTS) 

1. Indicate in the comprehensive sewer plan the number of individual SSTSs in operation serving residences and businesses in the community. 
2. Map identifying location of individual SSTSs. Location of known nonconforming systems or known problems should be identified. A list of addresses for SSTSs is acceptable where mapping is unavailable. 
3. Describe the conditions under which new individual SSTSs would be allowed. 
4. Provide description of community’s SSTS management program compliant with current Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Rules Chapters 7080-7083. 
5. Provide current community SSTS ordinance.