An official website of the Roles, principles, and plan objectives
Table of Contents
Roles, principles, and plan objectives
The State of Minnesota has distributed water governance across multiple state and federal agencies, Tribal governments, the Met Council, watershed management organizations, soil and water conservation districts, water supply utilities, and city and township governments. Clearly defined roles and responsibilities for each organization help to build collaboration and trust that are vital for integrated water planning and management since water flows across political boundaries.
Metropolitan Council's water role
The Met Council’s role related to water planning and protection is shaped by our statutory responsibilities as the regional policymaking body, land use planning agency, and provider of other essential services in the seven-county Twin Cities metro region. It is also shaped by federal and state water protection requirements led primarily by state agencies.
The Met Council is the regional wastewater system operator. We are also the wastewater, surface water, and water supply planning agency. We strive to ensure sustainable water resources through intentional planning and operations. Our water resource recovery facilities consistently meet National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit requirements. Our wastewater, surface water, and water supply planning functions work to promote sustainable water resources while addressing pollution and other factors that impact those resources. Clean water for drinking and recreation, and a robust wastewater treatment system, are all important parts of the region’s livability and prosperity. We work with our partners, use our regional influence, and perform our statutory responsibilities to protect and preserve our water.
While we are responsible for essential regional services such as regional water planning and wastewater treatment, local governments focus on planning for their communities, including source water protection, surface water management, and municipal water supply and wastewater planning. Together, we work as a team to ensure clean water for the region.
Partner
The Met Council’s water-related roles include partnering with a wide range of entities, planning for water sustainability, and providing regional services. The policies, plans and related implementation actions in this document reflect those roles.
We recognize that one-size-fits-all approaches cannot address the full spectrum of water challenges across all areas of the region. The diversity of landscapes, land uses, watersheds, and local needs require community-centered co-creation, with focus on those most affected. Partnering can take various forms, whether it is offering technical assistance, convening organizations, communities, and individuals into regional conversations, or offering grant opportunities.
The implementation actions offered here represent a suite of example strategies that local governments could identify within their own plans to locally address regional policies. Over the 10-year lifespan of the Water Policy Plan, as new understandings are gained, these strategies may change or evolve. This allows for regional and local water needs and planning to align.
Water sustainability is the responsible management of water resources (ground and surface water) to not harm ecosystems, degrade water quality, and to ensure their availability for current and future generations while ensuring a balance between economic, environmental, and social-well-being.
The Met Council commits to working with its partners to achieve our vision of clean water for future generations. Partnerships move the region towards a common vision in water sustainability, climate resilience, and equitable water outcomes. This collective effort and commitment to building partnerships and trust allows the Met Council to find sound innovative solutions to complex water challenges.
Plan
The Met Council’s Environmental Services division collaboratively develops regional policies and plans to protect, enhance, restore, and sustainably manage the region’s water resources. We have three primary water planning focuses supported by state and federal statutes. These water planning topics become an integral part of the local comprehensive plans as described in Minnesota Statute §473.
- Wastewater: The Met Council prepares a comprehensive Wastewater System Plan that is a vision for both 20-year and post-20-year time frames as to how, where, and when regional wastewater service will be provided. It provides asset information, capital projects and budgets, regulatory strategies, and long-term service needs that guide how we provide wastewater service. The regional wastewater collection and treatment system is one of the four regional systems defined in Minnesota statute (Minn. Stat. §473.146).
- Water management: State and federal law requires the Met Council to adopt a water resources plan and federal requirements for a regional management plan to address pollution from point sources, such as treatment plant discharges, and nonpoint sources, such as stormwater runoff (Minn. Stat. §473.157; 33 U.S.C. §1288).
- Water supply planning: The Met Council is required to create plans to address regional water supply needs, including the Metropolitan Area Water Supply Plan; develop and maintain technical information related to water supply issues and concerns; provide assistance to communities in the development of their local water supply plans; and identify approaches for emerging water supply issues (Minn. Stat. §473.1565).
As a part of our statutory authority, the Met Council is required to review and comment on local comprehensive sewer, surface water management, and water supply plans to ensure that they are in conformance, consistent, and compatible with the regional plan. More details about local plan requirements, guidance, and the Met Council’s plan review process are included in the Local Comprehensive Plan Requirements section.
Provide
Environmental Services provides essential surface water, water supply, and wastewater planning services to the entire region. This includes technical assistance, tool development, novel research, water monitoring, and plan guidance throughout local water and wastewater plan creation and implementation. We also provide regional wastewater collection and treatment services to 111 communities through our 9 water resources recovery facilities within the metro region.
Resource Recovery is the process of recovering materials or energy from a potential waste stream and recycling them for a second use or into the environment. Some methods include reclaimed water for reuse or wastewater treatment producing clean water.
Partner roles and relationships
Organizations must work across silos to create the conditions for water and water service sustainability. The Met Council’s water planning and management work depends on partnerships with governmental and nongovernmental organizations including Tribal, national, regional, and local organizations and experts, local communities and watersheds, and residents.
Indigenous peoples are and will always be stewards of the land and water. They continue to play a vital role in protecting and guiding our region. The metro region is home to two land-holding Tribal governments: the Prairie Island Indian Community and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. The region is home to Indigenous residents relocated here with connections to over 100 Tribal affiliations and additionally holds cultural and spiritual significance to all 11 federally recognized Tribal nations within Minnesota along with Dakota Tribal nations with reservation lands outside of the state. The Met Council commits to respecting and prioritizing relationships to the land, waters, and living things, and to grow our understanding of Indigenous approaches, values, and practices.
Federal water agencies provide oversight and support to state and local governments by defining national water standards, collecting data on natural resources and wildlife, maintaining navigational channels and floodplain assessments, and stewarding public lands. Examples of federal agencies that operate within the metro region are the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The Minnesota Legislature and state water agencies are also important partners in regional water planning and management. The legislature provides policy direction and, in some cases, prioritizes funding. State agencies as regulators have a role in incentivizing public and private sectors to improve water utility service. These roles and responsibilities are distributed across six state agencies (Table 1.2).
Table 1.2: State agencies' water governance roles and responsibilities
| State Agency | Role | Example Water Responsibilities |
| Pollution Control Agency | The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is committed to ensuring that every Minnesotan has healthy air, sustainable lands, clean water, and a better climate. |
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| Department of Health | The Minnesota Department of Health exists to protect, maintain, and improve the health of all Minnesotans. |
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| Department of Natural Resources | The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources works with Minnesotans to conserve and manage the state’s natural resources, to provide outdoor recreation opportunities, and to provide for commercial uses of natural resources in a way that creates a sustainable quality of life. |
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| Department of Agriculture | The Minnesota Department of Agriculture enhances all Minnesotans’ quality of life by equitably ensuring the integrity of our food supply, the health of our environment, and the strength and resilience of our agricultural economy. |
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| Board of Water and Soil Resources | The Board of Water and Soil Resources improves and protects Minnesota’s water and soil resources by working in partnership with local organizations and private landowners. |
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| Public Facilities Authority | The Minnesota Public Facilities Authority provides financing and technical assistance to help communities build public infrastructure that protects public health and the environment and promotes economic growth. |
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Counties, conservation districts, watershed organizations, municipal water utilities, business, and owners of high-capacity nonmunicipal wells plan, partner, and implement water projects at the local scale (Table 1.3). These front-line organizations know and understand the concerns that directly affect residents and work to alleviate those issues.
Table 1.3: Local water organizations
|
Local Water Organization |
Example Water Responsibilities |
| Counties |
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| Soil and Water Conservation Districts |
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| Watershed Organizations (Watershed Districts and Watershed Management Organizations) |
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| City and Township Planning |
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| City or Municipal Public Water Utilities* |
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| Noncommunity Water Infrastructure Systems (Manufactured home parks, places of worship, schools, correctional facilities, etc.) |
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* Water utility governance is unique to each community in the region. Some operate municipal water supply, stormwater management, and wastewater conveyance as one entity. Others may have separate providers.
Complex water challenges are addressed not only by government organizations. They require diverse perspectives and resources that can be provided by numerous other entities. For example, university researchers, water nonprofit and special interest organizations, and public-private partnerships all bring valued knowledge and experience to tackle regional water concerns.
Another group of vital voices is the residents of our region. Each of us has a distinctive relationship with water, from enjoying a glass of water, to boating, fishing, or swimming at our favorite water body. Additionally, some residents operate their own private water infrastructure (drinking water wells and subsurface sewage treatment systems) and have the personal and financial responsibility to ensure it is working properly. Water and how the region values it shapes our expectations and the way we plan and create water policy. There is no universal personal and cultural tie to our water experiences. Therefore, we commit to meaningful engagement, respectfully listen, and respond to the residents of our region to ensure we protect and enhance our waters. The Met Council looks to incorporate all these perspectives when addressing water challenges and opportunities, as water is foundational to us all.
Building and maintaining partnerships with a wide swath of organizations and individuals broadens our ability to achieve regional water goals. For example, we support collaborative water planning and implementation in partnership with conservation districts, watershed organizations, academic researchers, and communities by:
- Monitoring water quality in the region’s lakes, rivers, and streams.
- Assessing surface water and groundwater conditions and trends.
- Providing technical guidance on water protection and management through research, advisory committees, plan review, and other activities.
- Planning for and protecting drinking water supply quantity and quality.
- Assisting communities through grants to implement water efficiency, stormwater, and inflow and infiltration (I/I) programs.
The Met Council and our regional partners are uniquely positioned to address water concerns and issues across the water sector. The Met Council has statutory water authorities across the water cycle – from regional surface water, water supply, and wastewater planning to wastewater collection and treatment. We have valued partnerships with water organizations within governmental and nongovernmental sectors. We push to frame our regional water opportunities holistically to incorporate and integrate good ideas across the water sector.
The Met Council welcomes new perspectives in developing shared regional understanding of how water systems work and intertwine. Our water challenges compel us to create novel approaches with innovation and collaboration. Every day, we work to make Environmental Services’ vision of “Clean water for future generations” a lasting promise to the region.
Local comprehensive plan roles and requirements
Under state law, each county, city, and township in the seven-county metro region is required to review, and if necessary, amend its local comprehensive plan every 10 years to ensure that the local plan – and local fiscal devices and official controls – are not in conflict with the Met Council’s regional policies and metropolitan system plans (Minn. Stat. §473.864). Following the adoption of the 2050 Water Policy Plan with the Imagine 2050 regional development guide and the issuance of system statements, local communities have three years to amend their local comprehensive plans. The Met Council’s requirements for the surface water, water supply, and wastewater comprehensive plan submittals are in Appendix A.
Local comprehensive plans are reviewed by the Met Council based on three primary criteria:
- Conformance with metropolitan system plans
- Consistency with Met Council policies
- Compatibility with adjacent and affected governmental units
When a plan meets these criteria, the Met Council authorizes it to be put into effect. If a plan does not meet the review standards, we can require the jurisdiction to modify its plan to reflect the regional system plans.
Conformance: Conformance is achieved if the local plan:
- Is consistent with the metropolitan system plans.
- Integrates existing or planned metropolitan public facilities.
- Addresses land use policies, plans for forecasted growth, meets density standards set by the regional development guide and maximizes the efficiency and effectiveness of the regional system.
Consistency: Consistency is achieved if the local plan:
- Addresses the community role for land use policies contained in Imagine 2050.
- Addresses the linkage of local land uses and the metropolitan wastewater system plan.
- Includes an implementation plan describing public programs, fiscal devices, and other specific actions that implement the comprehensive plan and ensure conformance with regional system plans.
- Addresses official controls and includes a capital improvement program (sewers, water supply, parks, transportation, and open space) that accommodates planned growth and development.
Compatibility: Compatibility with adjacent and affected governmental units is achieved if the local plan:
- Adequately documents that it has addressed the concern(s) of all adjacent and affected jurisdictions based on comments or concerns from these entities.
When regional and local water plans align and water roles and responsibilities are clear, water planning organizations can act in concert to collaboratively achieve sustainable and equitable water outcomes for the region.
Principles and objectives
To achieve the intent of this plan, “To guide the region towards a future where water is clean and plentiful, the benefits of water and water services are maximized and felt equitably, and risks and negative outcomes are eliminated or minimized,” we developed four core principles and four plan objectives.
Plan principles
The principles ensure that we think broadly about water challenges and opportunities without making the effort unnecessarily complex. Additionally, we must measure the success of this plan through metrics to hold ourselves accountable. We are open to adapting our approach if we do not achieve our desired outcomes. The principles are detailed below:
- Watershed approach: The State of Minnesota has adopted a watershed-based management strategy, fostering heightened collaboration and a shared perspective for planning and executing water improvement activities. This method transcends county or city boundaries and follows topographic and hydrologic boundaries. This emphasizes partnerships among state agencies, Tribal Nations, local governments, and various stakeholders that share a connection with a common water body.
- “One Water” integrated water management: The metro region is perceived to be water-rich, and that water holds immense value. Integrated water management, also known as "One Water," addresses water as it moves from water supply, through wastewater systems, and into surface waters. The ultimate goal of integrated water management is sustainable, high-quality water in the region.
- Use existing systems: The metro region has a robust water planning and wastewater operations system with many actors – community water and wastewater utilities, watershed management organizations, and regional, county, state, Tribal Nations, and federal agencies. Coordination and collaboration between these groups is necessary to protect our water.
- Metric-based policies: It is hard to quantify policy success without accountability. We will provide policy options with associated metrics and measurable outcomes where possible, to demonstrate the effectiveness of our water policies and actions.
Plan objectives
The Water Policy Plan has four objectives focused on climate, investments, health, and equity. They are vital areas to guide the region towards achieving our goal of sustainable waters by protecting, restoring, and enhancing regional waters and water services for public and ecosystem health. The connections between the natural water cycle and the built or engineered environment are evident.
Additionally, the physical connections between surface and groundwater, stormwater, drinking water sources and supply systems, and wastewater treatment result in water quantity and quality connections that are complex, and require holistic, integrated planning and management approaches. The Met Council strives to integrate regional water planning efforts and operation of the regional wastewater system to help the region have waters that are clean, safe for use, and plentiful.
The policies and actions associated with these objectives direct and guide the Met Council and our partners to employ approaches that collectively result in sustainable water uses, water and water services that are resilient to risk, and benefit a growing and a thriving economy. These approaches include convening partners, utilizing new tools and technologies, water conservation and protection efforts, and water planning and technical assistance. The Met Council commits to working with and supporting our regional water partners to meet the needs of current and future generations.
Read about the Climate objective
Read about the Investments objective
Read about the Health objective
Read about the Equity objective
